“Nose Art Group” (almost)
Taking a break from all of the excitement going on around here right now, the YouTube shooting within view from my home and with helicopters hovering over my house I decided to post this.
This is an (almost) "Nose Art Group" build, Marking on the side is close. This is an F4U-1 Corsair flown by 2nd Lieutenant Kenneth Walsh while with VMF-124 out of Munda, New Georgia in August of 1943. The markings for this are shown in the Squadron Signal F4U in Action, by Jim Sullivan, page 13. The decals are from the excellent BarracudaCals decal sheet. I don't need to go into the quality of the Tamiya kit except to say it is excellent.
I had the privilege to meet and have a lengthy lunch with Ken Walsh in 1989 at the Marines Memorial Club in San Francisco. He was indeed a true gentleman. He began his USMC flying career as an enlisted man and we got along famously as we were both, at one time, USMC corporals. We stayed in contact up to the time of his passing. I tried to include a photo of us at the Marines Memorial. He was there to autograph a painting of his aircraft painted by a very talented artist, Larry Lapadura.
Nicely done Frank. That's a fine build of Ken Walsh's 'Viva'. While I never had the privilege of meeting him in person, I did correspond with him a number of times and certainly agree he was a true gentleman. Thanks for sharing the photos of your fine Corsair model as well as the photo of Ken and yourself.
Thanks for posting Frank. I have this same kit in the stash. Think you motivated me to get mine on the build list for 2018. Congrats on an awesome build. Well done!
Nice looking build, Frank...and a neat 'backstory' as well.
Frank, what's the significance of the "13 in a shamrock" ? Unusual, unless he's Irish, or it's a lucky clover combined with unlucky number 13. Little mixed message...
Most all of his airplanes carried the #13 even up to the -1A and he was Irish so the shamrock seemed appropriate. Sort of ironic when you think of the number 13 being unlucky and the Shamrock being lucky. being Irish I loved it.
Even used 13 on his F4U-4
Great model and tribute, Frank.
Frank, anther nice project, always nice to have a little extra meaning behind a build. Well done !
Very nice build Frank!
Nice work there. Walsh's Corsairs are a genre to themselves.
Great build and story!
WoW! Knowing him was certainly an honor, Frank! I don't know why you put this as "Almost" for the group build ... "Viva!" looks very artistic and it's painted on the nose ... and then there's the lucky 13 & shamrock. Looks pretty artistic to ME! Jim Sullivan surely knows his Corsairs and his books are interesting and informative. By the way, in Brasil, the number 13 IS considered lucky, if memory serves from when I lived there. I have a small "Lucky Charm" called a "fFga." On it are all different symbols for good luck; the 4 leaf clover, an anchor, the number 13, the horseshoe, and the figa itself; done by making a fist, but with the thumb poked out between the index and middle finger. (By the way, the same symbol in Arab lands is NOT good luck and is basically saying "Go f ... yourself." Different strokes for different folks! HA!)
So, if Lt. Walsh thought the number 13 was good luck enough to paint on the side of his plane, so be it!
Anyway, that's a beauty of an F4U, Pard! I hadn't seen any with the tail painted gray, either. Makes it stand out in a crowd, so to speak!
Bravo !
Well done Frank ! Besides the F4U being my all time favorite plane (not that I'm biased at all)
🙂 ,
I really like the way it turned out. The plane definitely looks the part... Having the opportunity to meet this great man was an honor. I have future plans of building this exact plane, possibly later this year.
I have always said, the best military "Officers" were the ones that worked their way up from the enlisted ranks... the "90 day wonders" left a lot to be desired.
Well done my friend, well done.
and it just so happens that I'm the 13th person to post a comment...