Maybe choosing different markings is a good idea, my friend @eb801.

Eric, @eb801
At this point if the cowling is only glued on, can it be removed without too much trouble? Maybe glue debonder or not too much major cutting?
If not, then a new scheme/markings may be your best option if you don't want the wrong flap configuration with that scheme.
Good luck! I'm sure what you decide will come out looking good.

Eric Berg (@eb801)
Here’s what I did to convert my Tiger Mayberry Corsair. I used the leftover flaps and added them. The pictures will help explain how I did it.

The Green ones show the replaced flaps. They should be painted in a Blue Gray or Light Gray color inside, as should the interior of the cowling. In most original color photos I have seen, the interior of the cowling is Light Gray. But once they were placed in service, anything goes. I have seen some that were painted Black in the field.

I had to carefully sand down the outer edge of the part that represents the intake and exhaust pipes. It has to be able to pass through the center of the cowling because this alteration messes up how the cowl mounts against the engine. It can be done though, using the parts supplied in the box with a little bit of work.




The early Corsairs also lacked a head rest for the pilots. They were added during the production run after a certain bureau number at bureau number 02725. I have also read these head rests were sometimes retro fitted to older airframes in the field.

I simply cut the head rest off the armor plate and filled it in.

1st LT Walter "Tiger" Thomas Mayberry, USMC Reserve, VMF-123 F4U-1 "Birdcage" Corsair Bureau Number 02351, March, 4th, 1944 Tunnel Hill Massacre near Rabaul Tamiya 1/48 Corsair

You have to take a close look at the engine alignment once this is done. It alters how the cowling slips over the engine. The engine is still mounted securely to the front of the fuselage. It only affects how the cowling is secured to the engine. Hopefully this helps.

Eric Berg (@eb801)
Yes you are correct. The cooling flaps I used on mine are the "open" style, and were leftover from a previous Tamiya Corsair where I had built the model with the cooling flaps closed.

There's one other slight modification you will have to do to the fuselage when you have the cooling flaps opened...

On the top front of the fuselage, where the cowling is connected to the fuselage, there is a small flat spot that is used to properly key the cowling and assist with alignment. When the flaps are opened, this notch has to be filled in. If you leave it as is, it is very noticeable.

I used some plastic sheet cut into shape here with a little bit of the Liquefied Styrene filler. I used a nail file sanding stick to shape / smooth it down. This worked like a charm.

You should be able to use the parts you have to modify yours. I usually build mine with the flaps open, so I would have to check and see if I have any spares left over like the one I used to convert the Mayberry Corsair.

If you need me to look, I will. I can send you one if I have one left in the parts stash.

I can't promise you that I do have one left, because 99% of the time I build mine opened up too. I simply like how the Corsair looks better with them opened up.

Please let me know, and I'll see what I can dig up for you if you need one.

Another option would be to try and scratch a replacement set of these upper flaps using sheet plastic.

Thanks.

Thanks for the offer to send me that open cowl piece if you have a spare, Louis @lgardner. I sent you a PM and a phone text.

Brake Lines

Thanks so much Louis @lgardner for hunting through your large stash of Tamiya Corsair cowls and offering me a replacement. However, the good folks at Tamiya USA down in Irvine CA offered to send me a replacement open cowl part A-14 at no charge so I can cut apart the cooling flaps and fabricate the look of the "all around" cowl flaps these early F4U-1s had. Tamiya has always had very good responsive customer service. While I'm waiting, I got rid of the ejector marks on the gear and installed "brake lines" made from stretched sprue. Too much glare on this photo.

Brake lines look great, my friend @eb801!

Cowl Flaps Corrected!

I was able to score an extra part A-14 open flaps and used that to cut out a section and plug the missing gap as these early F4U had wrap around cooling vents. Because I had already glued the engine and firewall in place, it would have been much easier if I had done this prior. Thanks to Louis @lgardner for showing me his technique for this relatively easy fix. Now I can move on. Additional thanks to TC @tcinla for reminding me that this plane had these wrap around cowl flaps.