I used and Eduard
Photo-etched set and the decals are from Aeromaster, like many a/c kits, I
started with the interior. The complete cockpit is painted interior green
and some details have been painted in black. The instruments panels have
been erased and replace with PE part and a drop of clear varnish is put in every
radial. The complete
seat was also replaced with PE, and is painted in green with the seat belts
being painted in a buff color. To give a bit more life and a realistic
look to the interior, I applied a dark brown/black wash and then with a large
but soft brush I applied some graphite which does give and nice effect. I
made the oxygen hose from scratch.
The tailwheel bay has been painted at the same time and weathered like the
cockpit. The fit of the completed interior is no problem.
Both fuselage are
now glued together and the antiglare panels are painted in black.
The front canopy is now glued in place and the stabilizers are put into place as
well. The interior of the engine cowl is painted interior green and
receives the same treatment as the cockpit. The engine has been painted
with Alclade aluminum and received an acrylic wash. The front of the
engine is painted in neutral gray ,the circuit of wires from the PE set is
painted with a mix of copper and gun metal and put in place. Again a tiny
amount of graphite is put with a soft brush, then the engine is glued
to the fuselage. In the meantime the cockpit has been masked and the
canopy too. The tailwheel received some serious surgical treatment.
If you decide to use the same PE set that I used, be prepared to do so, but the
results look pretty good.
Now the wings.
I did not modify anything at all on the wings. The adjustment is so
perfect that just a nice gluing and you are done. The wheel bay as been
painted with interior green and a wash was apply on every corner. With an
artist silver pen I made some chipped paint effect. Then the landing gear
and the tail wheel were painted with alclade and a wash of acrylic had been
applied. Some modifications were done to update it with PE parts and a
brake line from a copper wire was added to each strut.
The wings are now glued to the fuselage and there is no fit problem, so no
filling was required. When I masked all the areas, (cockpit, wheel bay
etc) the a/c was now ready for painting. Before that I polished the
complete a/c with iron wool (very fine quality00) and then buffed with a soft
cloth, then a complete coat or Tamiya chrome silver was applied and let to dry
for 24hrs. I forgot to mention that the flaps received the same
treatment. The a/c is now buffed and a random coat of future as been
sprayed on the model. Next the white is painted, several layers were
needed to obtain a nice opaque white. Again I let the paint dry for
24hrs,and then both blues were painted free- hand (which to me is the best way to
paint a/c models).
Then the fun starts. It was my first attempt to try to do a nice chipped
paint effect and I am happy with the results. To do this I took a piece of
magic tape and pressed on the area where I wanted to chip the paint and I pulled
it off quickly and some paint came off.....just repeat the operation until you
are satisfied. Next apply a coat of Tamiya Clear X-22. At this point a
wash of black/brown /grey is applied on the panels lines. The decals were
applied and were set with some Aeromaster setting solution.
The exhaust stains were made with my airbrush and I used 3 different colors
first out and brown and at last grey. The rest of the weathering is
made with pastels.
All the small parts are now put in place (wheels landing gear, gear door,etc).
The antennas wires were made from stretched sprue. The exhausts pipes
were replaced by plastic tubing. Finally a complete coat of flat
Aeromaster varnish is applied to the a/c.
The a/c depicted is LT Ira Kepford from the VF-17,based in Bougainville in
Salomons islands in January 1944.
This kit was pleasure to build. The general fit is perfect and it does
give a very model of this fantastic aircraft that the Corsair was.
Franck
(click on
the image below to load the full size photo)
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