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John vd Biggelaar
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Jim Sullivan Group Build: Vought F4U-1A Corsair "Big Hog"

December 26, 2023 · in Aviation · · 55 · 394

Even though it took a longer time than expected, I finally finished my contribution to honor Jim Sullivan.
Jim has been a very important person for all aviation enthusiasts and therefore it is an honor to be able to remember Jim by building this aircraft.
To participate I went to Rotterdam to get this kit, not nearby but at least they did have it in storage. This kit is really enjoyable to build. No fitting issues at all. Eric Berg @eb801 was luckily ahead of me with the same kit so I definitely made use of his thread to work on mine. Not too much scratch building, except for the well know closure of the foot step, adding some pipes in the wheel wells and adding brake lines to the landing gear, replacing the exhaust pipes (those provided by Tamiya are really small to my opinion) for which I used heat shrinking tubes and cutting the elevators to be able to lower them.
I have always liked how these Corsairs like with the wings folded but I never did build one before so this time I took the opportunity to build my first one. Same is valid for the three tone camouflage. Besides thanking Tom @tcinla, Spiros @fiveten, Eric @eb801 and others who definitely helped a lot during my build, I specially like to thank Louis @lgardner for providing lots of valuable information and his research done to get an accurate build.

Wishing everybody a prosporous 2024 with lots of health and joy.

Build thread can be found here: https://imodeler.com/groups/jim-sullivan-memorial-group-build/forum/topic/vought-f4u-1a-corsair-tamiya-1-48/

Reader reactions:
28Ā  Awesome 6Ā  3Ā 

24 additional images. Click to enlarge.


55 responses

  1. Magnificent result!

  2. A very nice model and excellent finish.

  3. Very good looking Corsair, John.

  4. Terrific work John (@johnb). I've always liked the Tamiya Corsair and it is a perfect kit for modelers to express themselves. You've done that here and it is a fine addition to your personal collection. Adding the base to the display makes for the icing on the cake. Thanks for sharing.

    • @clipper, thanks a lot, Carl. Tamiya was very helpful in this case, no issues except for the ones I created myself. The base is a simple first attempt in creating a little diorama. Clearly needs a lot of improvement šŸ™‚

      • Dioramas are a fairly new experience for me as well John (@johnb). I did one at 17 years old and then none until I did the A-20 this year (50 years later). But I learned that its like modeling in general in that you start with something and either improve on it next time, or keep adding to it . Yours looks fine. The stone ground looks good.

  5. Well worth the wait, John, Iā€™m sure Jim Sullivan would be very impressed.

  6. That turned out fantastic, John. Your paintwork turned out really well. Hereā€™s wishing you the best in 2024 too!

  7. Fantastic result, my good friend John! An excellent build thread, too and a very nice base! An awesome way to honor Jim, I am sure he loves it by seeing it from the Blue Skies he is now flying.
    Congratulations!

  8. Outstanding, John @johnb. I really enjoyed following your WIP thread. The base really adds to it. Perfect contribution to the Sullivan group build! Happy New Year!

  9. Beautiful John, I really like how you beautifully and cleanly executed the composition of the wings and details. This position certainly has something to it. Thumbs up.

  10. Fantastic Corsair, John @johnb! šŸ» Man, that looks great! What a wonderful tribute to Jim! šŸ˜Š

  11. John, That is super nice. Well done! Jim would love it...

  12. John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
    You have done a wonderful job on your Corsair. I'm also happy to have helped you along the way with the various recommendations. For the first time painting a plane in a tri color scheme and having folded wings, it sure looks great ! Everything looks spot on. You have built the perfect Corsair.

    I'm sure that Jim Sullivan is looking down right now and smiling at your Corsair.

    Thank you again for contributing such a magnificent model to our Jim Sullivan group build, and your continued support with the other group builds too.

    We hope you guys had a very Merry Christmas, and that the upcoming New Year will be the best one yet.

    I made sure to click on several of the various "like" buttons.

    Take care my friend. šŸ™‚ Well done !

    • @lgardner, thanks you very much, Louis. Your help did absolutely contribute to this result. It was my pleasure to contribute to this group build. Lots of beautiful builds are created and still in progress. Christmas was great, unfortunately not everybody in the world could say that. Wishing you all a prosperous 2024 as well.

  13. Very nice work John, @jonhb. The Corsair is such a cool plane and I love how the wings folded on the plane. Pretty amazing that they could do that and then when down take all those G-forces of the dog fighting maneuvers. You have done a really nice job on this one, without having to do a lot to the kit. A testiment to your skills and the kits quality.

  14. a great build! Well done!

  15. Glad to be of help, @johnb. This is an excellent result. Your growth as a modeler since you first showed up here is very impressive. Keep it up and best wishes to you for 2024.

  16. I love the way this plane looks, everything about it is "spot-on". A marvelous piece of model making. @johnb

  17. Great example of a perfectly built Corsair @johnb

  18. Well done John, Jim would have appreciated the nice work you did on this kit.

  19. Great Corsair! Beautiful work. I've always liked the corsair with the wings folded too, and nave never built one. Maybe I'll do it soon, I have a few in the stash.

  20. Great work, John (@johnb). It was fun following along on the build.

  21. Fantastic results John!

  22. šŸ™‚ ... Greetings ... šŸ™‚ :
    Impressive overall work John.
    Very nice touch of details on your behalf.

  23. @johnb
    Great work John specially with the folding mechanism. All the extra added details also beefed up the excellent quality of the plastic. What a good way to finish the year šŸ˜‰

  24. Very very beautifull Corsair! Iā€™m impressed!

  25. Well done - Corsairs rock!

  26. great looking build! nice and subtle, she looks the part!

  27. Superb work. Your undercarriage is fantastic. I will be referring to this for future work on mine. Excellent. G

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