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Matt Minnichsoffer
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1:48 Tamiya F4U-1D Corsair, VF-84, White 167Jim Sullivan GB

I bought this kit for $10 at a model show and just had it sitting around for a rainy day. Well, we haven't had a rainy day in Minnesota since May so I opted to use it for this group build. I wish I had something more unique to offer, but you'all will just have to suffer through another Bunker Hill bird. wanted to build it with the wings folded. It seemed like a fitting entry to honor man who gave us so much material to work from in the world of naval aviation.

Nothing great to speak of on this build. OOB build from the stalwart kit. I did experiment with black basing for the paint. You can't see any of it in the photos, and on bird this dark not sure you'd see it anyway, but alas it was worth experimentation. I'm sure I got the wheel well color wrong and the cockpit is not the correct shade of green, but I didn't want to spiral into that hole on a weekend build. I just wanted to enjoy building a while thinking about all the time and passion Jim gave to the world of naval aviation and our hobby.

Until later Jim.

Reader reactions:
16  Awesome 3 

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


8 responses

  1. This F4U turned out really well. Great paint work , looks realistic to me.

  2. Maybe not a unique scheme, but definitely a unique high quality result, Matt @coondog
    Going to have a good look at it for my Corsair build.
    Jim would surely have loved seeing this build.

  3. This is an excellent result, Matt! Loved your painting and weathering, the latter being a challenge in the all dark blue scheme.
    An amazing tribute to Jim.
    Congratulations!

  4. Some would call the build "Minnesota nice ". But, it belongs in category of being some strong work and impressive Jim.
    Two thumbs up.

  5. Well done, Matt (@coondog). Tamiya F4Us always look great when built, even straight from the box. I might also do one for the group if I can ever finish the Kingfisher I started. I have also been using black primer on a trial basis, and it seems to work really well for cockpits. I have never tried it for a really dark color, but it seems like dark blue would be tough.

  6. @corndog That's a great result, Matt! Love those Corsairs.

  7. A top-notch build - turned out great!

  8. Well done Matt, Jim would have loved it.

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