Jim Sullivan Group Build: Vought F4U-1A Corsair "Big Hog"
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 Tamiya 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/
Magnificent result!
@scalerambush, thank you, Harvey.
A very nice model and excellent finish.
@christopher, thanks a lot, Christopher.
Very good looking Corsair, John.
@blackmopane, thank you, Rafi.
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 🙂
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.
Well worth the wait, John, I’m sure Jim Sullivan would be very impressed.
@chinesegeorge, thank you, George. Jim's research on this aircraft collected in the "Aircraft in action No.29" was definitely very helpful.
That turned out fantastic, John. Your paintwork turned out really well. Here’s wishing you the best in 2024 too!
@j-healy, thanks a lot, John. I'm quiet happy with how the scheme turned out as well.
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!
@fiveten, thank you, Spiros. Jim definitely deserved all those beautiful models being created in this group build. The least we could do to honor him.
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!
@eb801, thanks a lot, Eric. Also for being slightly ahead with your build so I could learn from that.
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.
@milantesar, thank you, Milan. First time build with folded wings but I'm sure it will not be the last one.
Fantastic Corsair, John @johnb! 🍻 Man, that looks great! What a wonderful tribute to Jim! 😊
@garybrantley, thank you, Gary.
John, That is super nice. Well done! Jim would love it...
@gwskat, thanks for liking it, Gary.
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. 🙂 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.
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.
@luftwaffe-birdman, thank you, Walt. The techique behind the mechanism is indeed amazing. Withstanding all those forces in flight requires a very strong structure.
a great build! Well done!
@gkittinger, thanks a lot, Greg
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.
@tcinla, thank you very much for those motivating words, Tom. All the best for 2024.
I love the way this plane looks, everything about it is "spot-on". A marvelous piece of model making. @johnb
@jdtruby, thank you, John.
Great example of a perfectly built Corsair @johnb
@greenterrorz, thanks, Keith. This a big compliment but there are always things to improve.
Well done John, Jim would have appreciated the nice work you did on this kit.
@tom-bebout, thank you, Tom. I do hope so, his research on this aircraft was very helpful.
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.
@curtisshawk, thanks a lot, Clint. You definitely should. Besides the nice looks it also saves some storage area.
Great work, John (@johnb). It was fun following along on the build.
@gblair, thank you, George. It was a pleasure to have you following along.
Fantastic results John!
@tarantinopaolo, thank you, Tarantino. Well appreciated.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Impressive overall work John.
Very nice touch of details on your behalf.
@de4ever, thanks a lot, DE.
@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 😉
@hlozhamer, thank you very much, Pedro. Details on the folding mechanism were nicely added by Tamiya, one of the reasons I did want to build it with folded wings.
Very very beautifull Corsair! I’m impressed!
@lis, Thanks a lot, Bernard. I'm glad you like it.
Well done - Corsairs rock!
@chasbunch, thank you, Chas. They are impressive aircraft.
great looking build! nice and subtle, she looks the part!
@jimh, thank you very much, Jim
Superb work. Your undercarriage is fantastic. I will be referring to this for future work on mine. Excellent. G
@graemestreet, thank you, Graeme. Glad you like it. I do hope it will help you on your future Corsair build.