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Jim Sullivan
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1/48th Tamiya F4U-1A 'Sally'

June 9, 2014 · in Aviation · · 30 · 2.9K

Years back, I read an article in Air Classics telling the story of 'Sally'. That was a salvage job constructed from the remains of several Corsair hulks from the boneyard by mechanics of Marine Service Squadron Eleven out in the South Pacific. The plane was used as a squadron hack and was eventually given the tri-color paint scheme. It did not see combat use and in fact, carried no guns. The -1A model is an OOB build with the exception of the weighted wheels and custom decals. It was airbrushed with MM Aluminum and flat black. This model dates back several years but I wanted to share it with the folks at imodeler.

Reader reactions:
9  Awesome

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30 responses

  1. Gotta love those Tamiya Corsairs and this one looks just as good as the others you've shown. I'm willin' to bet you don't even glance at the directions anymore. Nice work, Jim.

    • Thanks Craig and I do check the instructions at times as my aged brain wants me to be sure I haven't missed something. A case in point is the over-engineered HobbyBoss F4U-4's. Unlike the Tamiya Corsairs which pretty much go together smoothly, the HB Corsairs are a royal PITA.

  2. Nice job!
    Being Dutch I have some trouble understanding... What is a squadron hack ?

    Best regards;
    Ulrich

  3. Jim,
    Very well done, and an interesting story. Kind of goes with our recent exchange. Thanks!

  4. Nice and sweet Jim.
    It makes a change to see one in a NMF.
    Well done Jim.

  5. That is one unique Corsair. Good work.

  6. said on June 9, 2014

    .

    Congratulation, Jim. Your model is really nice and I am very much impressed by the beauty of this specific Corsair. Besides that, I have a question for you.

    To your knowledge, was the real Corsair aluminum dope painted or was it striped and cleaned off paint down to the bare metal ?

    .

  7. Wow! What a difference a coat of silver paint makes. Great job Jim.

  8. Striking Corair with a great story to boot. Great work Jim.

  9. another killer jim

  10. said on June 10, 2014

    Sweet Corsair!

  11. said on June 10, 2014

    for sharing such unsual paint scheme!

  12. Jim,
    This is beautiful and just another example of how great the Corsair looks. Even with out it's blue clothes it looks good. You did and excellent job on this and I really like it.

  13. Nice build, but looks nekkid. Like a hairless dog, or my bald head. Good research and history lesson.

  14. It seems you can't go wrong with a Tamiya Corsair on this site, and this one is just that little bit different with the silver finish, very nice.

  15. Beautiful build Jim
    Did you make decals yourself or purchased them somewhere?

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