1/48 Tamiya Corsair F4U-1A

by Franck Oudin 

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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

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Photos and text © by Franck Oudin