Experiments in heavy weathering – a Birdcage Corsair in 1/48 Scale
I wanted to try out some rather heavier weathering than usual, and I also haven't done any US Navy aircraft from the Second World War before, so in the spirit of a bit of a challenge I figured I'd try to spruce up Tamiya's rather old Birdcage Corsair kit in 1/48 scale over the Christmas break.
The kit generally fits really nicely (it's Tamiya!) but the surface detail is really a bit lackluster, and because the kit is cleverly engineered to allow folded or unfolded wings, doing the latter means quite a fiddly job to get good alignment on both wings on both sides.
The riveting was quite a challenge due to the complex shapes and large airframe, but I think turned out really nicely and was very useful as a guide for later weathering stages.
Scheme-wise, I went for an aftermarket decal set and a VF-17 aircraft, which as a US Navy bird served both ashore on island bases like the US Marines and on a carrier periodically. For appropriately heavy weathering, I went for the classic metal (AK Xtreme Metal Aluminium) and Zinc Chromate Yellow primer, followed by chipping varnish technique, coupled with airbrush shading of each panel and rivet line to give a faded paint look, and then oils after a panel wash to add enough grime and dirt.
I made a short YouTube video of the process for those interested - https://youtu.be/cF8xUxhrY1Y?si=ncAbmtg_K0ratjeV
I hope you like the result! I'm pleased with it as a Christmas project, and a weathering learning experience.
Your weathering effects look marvelous. Good job. @britflyer
Cheers John! Much appreciated
you nailed this- great job. I think it looks heavily weathered which was the look you were going for without going over the top. Well done
Very glad you like it David - I know it's on the heavy side of realistic at this stage...
While you have done a lot of interesting work here, and I like all your other examples, the Corsair is overdone. One of the reasons Sea Blue was chosen was it was more resistant to weathering and fading than Blue-Grey (though after a six month WestPac tour on a carrier, it could feel like chalk, but it still mostly kept the color). Additionally, the "shelf life" of Corsairs in the South Pacific (I wrote a book on this, "Under The Southern Cross") wouldn't have given time to get this far. Look at photos of the F4Us brought back from SoPac, that went into Training Command and you will see what I mean. Also, why would the wings and stabilizer go this route and not the upper fuselage?
I'm not putting you down here. You obviously have the skill and ability to Go The Distance on creating an interesting model. But Skill and Ability (talent) needs to be firmly anchored in Knowledge. In art, the concept "less is more" has been around for as long as it has because it's true.
Keep up the good work in 2024.
That's possibly true Tom, although I faded the Intermediate Blue more than the upper 'Sea Blue' precisely because the latter was much heavier wearing in service than the former, and this VF-17 bird had older USMC-style pattern Intermediate Blue wings and horizontal/vertical stabilisers, but Sea Blue upper fuselage. In addition, whilst it's on the heavy side of realistic, this was as much an exercise in technique than precise reproduction, and in any case a combination of the Intermediate Blue fading and the chipping to metal/ZCY primer in these shots of different Corsairs suggests it's not too egregious.
I appreciate the feedback. As ever
5 attached images. Click to enlarge.
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Nice modeling, Justin.
Thank you sir!
Nice weathering techniques on display here.
Thanks very much George!
Love this weathered Corsair, Justin!
You're very kind as ever Spiros - Happy New Year!
You did really well on the weathering, Justin @britflyer
Besides the Corsair, also your other builds do look very nice.
After building this kit myself recently, I fully afgree on your statement that this kit goes together nicely.
It does indeed John - I love Tamiya builds for that! The engineering is so good. I just wish for Tamiya engineering with Eduard surface detail 😉
It is always hard to draw line when it is enough with weathering, especially with Corsairs...but i like how it went at the end. Your skills undoubtedly...are great.
Regards, Djordje
Haha, thank you Djordje - and very tactfully put too 🙂
Great experimentation. And wonderful results. I always have an issue getting the chipping to look right from walk patterns. The island based birds seemed to have always looked more beat up than the carrier based ones. Thanks for sharing.
Really kind of you Matt - I've always found the Island Corsairs both extremely enticing and also really intimidating as subjects for that reason... I'm generally good at crisp work but weathering isn't my forte!
I like weathering, and I also enjoy playing around with the various techniques to see what kind of effects I can get. I think your Corsair came out great and I really like the results of your weathering experiments, Justin (@britflyer).
I'm really pleased you like the result George, thank you!
Nice to see different weathering techniques come together in this by war and elements beaten Navy bird.
Cheers Alfred! That was the aim 🙂
Love it! I'm working on a 1/72 Corsair patched together from 2 different airframes, and I plan to mimic some of what you did! Well done!