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Louis Gardner
169 articles

1/48 Hasegawa F4U-4 Corsair, NAS Miami

April 30, 2017 · in Aviation · · 19 · 2.7K

It's been a while since I have posted an article with a completed build here on Imodeler. I have been very busy lately, with the Midway group build, and some projects going on out in the work shop.

The other day my wife and I were in a craft store, and she ran across this really cool poster board that has nothing but clouds on it. That's when my wife said, "Hey, this would look pretty neat as a background when you take pictures of your model planes."

(She's definitely a keeper).

So I decided to give it a try. I think she was right. Now I will eventually have to build a base for photographing my planes on. Something to represent a grassy field or a runway of some sorts...

Here's a few pictures of one of my older -4 builds with the new poster as a background... See what you think.

This plane was built sometime back in the late 1990's. It has had the landing gear repaired after a mishap during a move. One of the wheels were broken off. Overall it has held up pretty good.

I saw the markings for the NAS Miami, and since I'm from Florida, (born and raised) I just had to build it.

It's pretty much right out of the box...

Reader reactions:
7ย  Awesome

13 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Very nice Louis! "Miami Nice". Sorry for the pun. The model is a beauty; man, I need to get a Corsair in my collection someday. Thanks for sharing yours sir! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Hello Louis...Always nice to see a Corsair and those NAS Miami Reserve markings certainly brighten up that GSB finish. That old Hasegawa F4U-4 kit builds up nice and yours looks quite authentic.

    • Thanks Jim ! Your compliments are appreciated my friend. I have a few of the 1/48 Hobby Boss F4U-4 planes, and eventually plan on building them to compare against the older Hasegawa edition. The Hasegawa plane builds nicely even though its a little lacking in some details. It's definitely an older model, but it provides a nice start for someone if they really wanted to go crazy with super detailing a later mark F4U.

      I'm a big fan of the Naval Reserve markings on F4U's. Like you I think they brighten up a rather plain GSB finish.

      Thanks again buddy.

  3. Nice, nice job, Louis...and some very good photos as well.

  4. Excellent back drop!, and excellent build!

  5. Hello Louis,
    Perfect build. Is it painted in what we would call Navy Gloss Bleu.
    Greetz to you and my relatives in Okeechobee. (farmers)
    Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.

    • Hello Dirk. Thank you for the compliments. Yes it is painted in overall US Navy Glossy Sea Blue. The wheel wells and landing gear are also painted in this color. It has been a long time since I was down in Okeechobee. It's not too far from where this plane was stationed in Miami. Right now there are some brush fires burning in that area. We desperately need some rain. Take care.

  6. Louis, you have have all the excess Indianapolis rain you need! We're drowning!
    On to the matter at hand. Beautiful Corsair! Like the others, the NAS Miami paint is lovely. F4Us are cool in any paint, however. In my opinion. ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Well done, my friend.

    PS - It's nos surprise to see that Jim Sullivan is another who likes your Corsair! A fine aircraft!

    • I'll take the rain... ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thanks for the compliments buddy... I like any Corsair. I think that somewhere Jim Sullivan and I may have a common ancestor. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Looks good! The markings really make it stand out.

  8. Terrific work on your Corsair, Louis! After all these years, the old, but reliable Haegawa kit is still has the the most accurate shape and outlines of any -4 Corsair on the market. The cloud poster is a great idea! I'm going to look for one the next time I'm at a Hobby Lobby or Michael's.

  9. Thanks Drew. I just checked out your F6F Hellcat. That's a great plane you built. Believe it or not, we found the cloud poster board at Joanne Fabrics. They have lots of modeling supplies there too. You can get coupons for 50-60 percent off purchases that really help.

    I'm glad you liked my F4U. Hopefully as much as I have your recent Hellcat article that compared the Eduard vs Hasegawa models. I think Bernard might have a good idea with cross kitting the two.

    Thanks again.

  10. That cloud sheet gives a nice background for an even nicer model.

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