F4U-1A, wheels down, flaps down, hook down.
This is the 1/48th scale Tamiya Vought F4U-1A Corsair. The markings are from Superscale Decals sheet number 48-501.
'Big Hog' VF17, USS Bunker Hill. Aeromaster paint was used for the main colours.
After looking at photos of Corsairs coming into land, I changed the following:-
I cut the main undercarriage into two sections, and rejoined them using a small diameter twist drill bit as an extension to represent the undercarriage hanging down.
The hook was lowered.
I cut the rudder from the fuselage, and reattached it slightly to the right which compensated for the engine torque during landings.
The horizontal stabiliser was removed and reattached slightly up.
I used lead foil to represent the pilots harness over his shoulders.
The Eduard Corsair zoom set was used for the instrument panel, cockpit detail and some of the undercarriage detail.
Lowered flaps option come with this kit, so I didn't need to touch these.
The base is Perspex, painted black from underneath.
I made this model when it was first released in 2000. I still don't know why I didn't do anything with the propeller. Maybe I should have waited for the motorised version that followed shortly after.
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- 1. Extended undercarriage
- 2. Lowered hook
- 3. Positioned rudder
- 4. Perspex base
- 5. Trimmed horizontal stabilizer
great job Julian!
Thank youPaul.
Cleanly done - very elegant. The adaptations work very well.
Many thanks Tim.
I think it's a little to clean now when I look at it. I never weathered my models when made them back then.
Can't beat those Tamiya Corsairs...! "Beer Belly" would be proud... 🙂
Thank you Craig.
Corsairs are one of my top ten aircraft.
Not a complaint or anything, but the only time Tommy Blackburn landed "Big Hog" aboard a carrier was November 11, 1943, when VF-17 returned to the Essex to provide air cover for the Rabaul raid. They'd been kicked off the ship the end of September in Pearl Harbor when the USN decided not to put F4Us on carriers, and were operating from Munda at the time. They came aboard after flying CAP to refuel, had their first chance of good chow and hot showers since leaving the ship. Blackburn at the time had yet to score a victory. The air battle they got into when they took off again, when the Japanese followed the strike back to the carriers, was their first real opportunity to score. Blackburn scored his first two then.
This is nice work and it's interesting to see it in this layout.
Thank you Tom.
I must confess, I never thought to check it was historically correct.
It never occurred to me in my ignorance.
I was aware that Corsair operated from land (Tamiya even depicts this in their box art).
But it still never occurred to me when I made the model.
Thank you Tom for sharing your knowledge on the subject. It's much appreciated.
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Nice work on this model Julian.
Greetings to you DE4EVER 🙂
Thank you
Nice interpretation in this build.
Thank you Matt.
Much appreciated.
Great build, nice stand!
Thank you Robert.
The stand is made of Perspex.
A nice clean build Julian, and I like the "just ready to take a wire" mounting! I think the "bounce angle" depicted is reflected on the grimace on the pilot's face, unless he's about ready to flair out!
Thank you Greg.
Hopefully I got it right. I remember looking at loads of photos when I was making the model.