The F2G is
by far my favorite version of the Corsair. I first saw one when I was
about 15 at the Pima Air Museum. That was 454 which is now in Washington.
I took a bunch of B&W photos but they are in storage in IL. I
got a copy of "F2G-1 Super Corsair" by Steve Muth which is a very good
color essay of the same aircraft. Although, I believe some of the paint
that is shown on this plane is actually over spray and not the original color.
This plane was stripped of paint after it was taken out of the crate in the 60's
and then given a coat to go on display so I don't know how much attention to
detail they spent on some of the surfaces. (Wheel wells, wing fold areas,
etc.) I used "Corsair KD431, The Time Capsule Fighter" by David
Morris
which is an awesome book! Great information and I would highly recommend
it to any one who is interested in the Corsair. Another book I used was
"F4U Corsair" by Veronico.
I am
putting plans together to build a 3/4 scale if any one is interested.
So I
started this kit soon after it was released. I loved the detail but I
wanted to do something a bit different. I have never seen anyone combine a
folded wing with the open gun bays on the other side (which one wing could be
manually lowered for maintenance). I have never attempted a model with
this much detail, so what the heck! Go for it! There were a few
other things that needed more detail so putting all of these together would be a
challenge.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The first
thing I wanted was for the flaps to be in the down position. I chose to
use the wings from the Tamiya F4U-1D, but the engine on the F2G stretches back
to the wing so I had to do some cutting, filling, and sanding for it to come out
right. I used some of the Edwards Detail Set for the gun bay and part of
the cockpit. I never have liked painting the navigation lights that are
formed on the wings so they were cut out and I used some clear sprue to form
lenses. First I painted the wing the Olive green which would show through
the clear. Then I put a small drop of the correct color on the inside of
the clear which would be the colored bulb. Once I did this, I had to cut
out the camera lenses by the guns and do the same. I used Zap-a-Gap super
glue and different grit emery boards that I found in the local drug store to
file down the clear which when polished looked (I think) really good.
I had some
trouble getting the cockpit to line up and had to remove a lot of material so
the body would join together. What a pain. I really wanted the cowl
flaps open (which is how they usually are when on the ground) so I pulled out a
soda can and tried to make them. By the way, I did not get a bottle
of Insta-set for the super glue until the end of the project. Big Mistake!
That stuff is awesome! Just get a bottle and you
can do things so much quicker.
The prop
that I used is made by Obscureco. Very nice. The one in the kit is
too small. The kits engine however is very nice! It did need some
more detail ( I know, I should have opened the engine compartment so you can
actually see it) so I added some wires and things.
The tires
came from another kit because I wanted the diamond tread and the older hubs.
Most of the wing fold area is straight from the box, but I did add some wires
for more hoses. The plane was painted with Tamiya blue, then given about 5
coats of Future. After the Future had time to cure I tried my hand at the
exhaust stains. The F2G version really did not see much service so I just
wanted to give it a dulled look instead of the dramatic discoloration of a hard
life.
I used very
fine fishing line for the antenna. This is where I finally used the Insta-set!
I tried to trim it with fingernail clippers but I was shaking too much and it
would break off. Then I got the bright idea of
using a hot knife. Slick!
Some of the
paints used were Testors Enamels, most are Tamiya Acrylic.
One last
modification that I really think looks so cool but was so simple is the tie down
on the tail wheel.
I do want
to thank all of the guys at Capitola Hobbies and Rob Williams for all the help
and putting up with my love affair with the F2G! Thanks Guys. This
is my first major project so please be easy on me. Cheers.
Jeremy
Click on
images below to see larger images
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