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Bryan W. Bernart
40 articles

Tamiya 1/48 F4U-1 Corsair

March 14, 2013 · in Aviation · · 10 · 2.3K

My latest. Literally no putty, easy build, but kicked my own arse a few times by screwing it up. Splashed thinner on it after it was "done", and had to re-flat coat, among other exercises. Built OOB with the exception of seat belts and some ignition wires that I cobbled together. Supposedly a VF-17 bird aboard the USS Bunker Hill.

Reader reactions:
2  Awesome

3 additional images. Click to enlarge.


10 responses

  1. Very nice work on the "birdcage" Corsair, Bryan - I like that.

  2. Looks great. Is the chipping done by "splashing the thinner"? Corageous... but the effect is nice, can you share some further details of how you've done this?

    • No, I managed to cover up most of the splash damage. The chipping was accomplished using a technique borrowed from a non-iModeler-ChukW-I used RAF Dk. Sea Gray, applied with a small piece of open-celled foam, and a tiny brush. TC will tell you that it's over done (it is), as aircraft alloy aluminum literally dissolves in sea water. Land based a/c-particularly those in dry climate-can endure much more without harming the alloy.

  3. Nice work on that excellent kit. It's always fun to do one of them.

  4. Glad you enjoyed it, but it is a prime example of why you should NEVER refer to boxtop art and/or the "destructions" if you're looking for an accurate representation, which it isn't. How do I know? Back-channel info from those that know better, but are too kind not to roast me publicly, for which I am grateful 😉

  5. Nice work Bryan I'll have to reconsider my current build list and move this one up a notch or two.

  6. Don't you love splashing thinner on your planes by accident.. I did this to my B-26, before I clear coated it. I went nuts haha

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    said on March 15, 2013

    Looks great to me - nice worn finish with lots of chipping - magic!

  8. Nice job Bryan. I like the choice of colours. Good representation of the "Norfolk" scheme. VF-17s initial work-ups on BUNKER HILL were something of a debacle, what with Corsairs bouncing all over the place, missing the wires, hook points snapping off, and getting tripped up in the barriers.

    But the paint scheme sure was cool!

  9. said on May 18, 2013

    Bryan .. you captured the REAL look of a gulled-wing bird after sooo much use/ hours of flight time .. as David said, the old bird-cage had a way of bouncing upon landing .., AND sometimes a hook would come loose . on a scale of 1 to 10 .. this gets an 11+ !

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