VF-17 F4U-1 Birdcage

Hi All!

Easily one of the most recognizable fighters of WWII, the F4U Corsair provided the Navy and Marine Corps with a fighter which had the performance of, or better than most of the fighters in the world. The only reason it was not aboard the carriers was that the Navy wished to streamline its need for spares. The Marines were extremely happy to get the Corsair as it outperformed any of the Japanese fighters it met up with in WWII. And the Royal Navy finally had a world-class fighter. It all started with the F4U-1 “Birdcage” Corsair. The only gripes were its vicious stall characteristics (fixed with the wedge on the starboard wing). These “spoilers” became part of a large program to retrofit them to all Corsairs. The other complaint was the vision from the heavily framed canopy. With the advent of the “raised cockpit” F4U-1 this changed. The Corsair went on to be a major player with the Royal Navy, the USN and Marines in WWII and Korea, the French Navy, and the last kill of the so-called Soccer War  was the downing of Honduran F-51D and FG-1D aircraft by F4Us of the Salvadorian Air Force in 1969.

What can you say about Tamiya kits. For the most part they are molded superbly, are in scale and have very nice detailing. Their F4U-1/2 kit is all of that. Probably the best Corsair kits (they produced the F4U-1, -1A and –1D) on the market, and definitely the best early Corsairs. This model is Tamiya’s F4U-1/2. And I wanted something different than the usual VF-17, and general Marine birds. So in looking around I found an image of a F4U-1 performing Carrier Qualification on the USS Wolverine (the Wolverine and Sable were side wheelers converted to carriers on the Great Lakes and used for training). It was an early Corsair in Blue-Grey and Lt. Grey paint and had the designator 17-F-6 on the fuselage side. And I wanted the wings folded (I am running out of display room).

The kit went together very easily, very little work was required to get the parts to fit .The cockpit was painted Dull Dark Green, and the wheel wells in light grey as per Navy specs. No filler was used and a sanding stick cleared up the seams. The step on the starboard inner flap was filled in, as this a/c did not have it. The aircraft was painted with Polly Scale Blue-Grey and Non-Specular Light Grey. When cured, Future was applied fr the decals. The decals came from the kit and the decal box. When dry a second coat of Future was applied then a flat clear was sprayed on. The final bits such as the canopy, antennas etc were attached and the model was finished. 

The model represents an early build F4U-1, coded 17-F-6 of VF-17 performing the Carrier Qualifications for the F4U on the USS Wolverine in March of 1943.

The Tamiya Corsairs are molded very well, fit very well and look the part. They are easy builds and are highly recommended to all.

Bruce

1 additional image. Click to enlarge.