Aha! Thanks for posting the photo. I see the problem. That's a bad bit of positioning, I'd say. Thanks, Louis.

Hello Pedro.

Good eye ! You're not missing a thing. I have painted the interior using a color that is supposed to be DDG. On the early built Vought F4U's this is the color that was used in the cockpit areas. When they removed the early birdcage F4U from the Great Lakes, they found the color present in these areas including the "Hell Hole" below the cockpit. Here is a photo I found online from several yaers ago showing this.

I even have built one F4U using a home made mix of "Candy Apple Green" which was used when Vought was allowed to use a clear coat of ZC over the airframe to show a second coat of protection had been applied.

This color was used on some early F4U's during the production run. They don't have the exact bureau numbers it was done on. So far they have narrowed it down by the date of production. James Cupp's F4U was built during the timeframe that the clear ZC was used, so I figured "why not" ?

This cockpit color was used on "Daphne C" and ended up looking like this once it was completed.

I'm fairly certain that Brewster and Goodyear built planes used ZC yellow in place of the "Salmon" color elsewhere throughout the airframe. But keep in mind there were some sections that were built by sub contractors such as the wings, which were built by Briggs.

On this OTU-4 Jacksonville based F4U I painted the area above the cockpit sidewall consoles in flat black. This was done when the plane went through a refurbishment after returning from use in the Pacific. Planes going through this freshening up at Jacksonville NAS received this treatment with painting the sidewalls in flat black. It became the standard color for cockpits used on Navy planes soon after.

Hope this helps to answer some questions... It probably raised a few more. That's good.

Pedro, @holzhamer
You are quite welcome. I never realized just how many colors were used in American (or Japanese for that matter) until a few years ago when I started doing a lot of reading on the subject. If you look at most of my earlier American builds, they all have "Interior Green", as back then this was considered proper. I also used to follow the color call outs listed on the instructions exclusively. The same thing went for decals and markings.

It's surprising to see just how often things were incorrect... But things are getting better for us afflicted with modelling OCD. The internet and research that has been done by a lot of others who are far more versed in the subject of colors have helped shed light on a lot of things.

We have definitely come a long way...

The P-47 is among my favorites ! I'd really like to see what you have going underway. Once I get most of my current builds cleared from the work bench, I have several T-bolts in cue. Major Eagleston's yellow nosed plane with the large black skull, Tarheel Hal, Hun Hunter XIV are among some of them. I think my fondness for the Thunderbolt all goes back to this plane...

When I was a little boy, my Dad sat me in the cockpit of this very same P-47. Back then it was on outside display at a museum that sadly no longer exists. It was called "The Museum of Speed" and was located in South Daytona.

The plane was flown into the Daytona Beach airport to be put on display. Here are a few pictures of it after it was "delivered". These pictures were taken shortly after he engine was shut down.

Luckily for us, the original pilot who flew this plane into the airport posted these photos online some years ago. It was flown in and was part of the Puerto Rico ANG. His name was Lt. Ralph Delgado and he can be seen in two of these pictures.

This just happens to be the very first airplane I have ever been in... and I have been fascinated with aviation ever since...

The P-47 is a great plane !

Thanks for the compliments on Daphne C.

Your Corsair is looking great, Louis. Looking forward to seeing some decals on the plane which will really make the dark blue finish stand out. You are going to need a lot of shelf space to display all of those unbuilt Corsairs.

First I started with the biggest parts. They were removed from the plastic trees and the attachment sprues filed down.

Then I glued together the lower outer wing panel to the lower center section.

I set it like this for a while so the glue could set up a little better.

While this was drying, I prepped the other lower wing panel...
Then I glued it in place too.

Then the lower wing section was propped up vertically and allowed to dry overnight.

This picture is from directly overhead. I used paint bottles and pop sickle sticks to hold things in alignment.

This morning I checked on the parts to see how they turned out. So far so good.
The gap is not there...

This is how the wing looks now.

Now all I have to do is get these parts ready for glue...

Please stay tuned for "Part 2". I hope to post it tomorrow.

As always,
Comments are encouraged.

Thanks !

Thanks, Louis, for posting Part 1 of the wing assembly process. I will have to try it on my next model with folding wings. Looking forward to Part 2. Did you happen to post what brand of paint you are using for the Navy blue exterior, or did I just miss it? Cheers

OK here we go !

Tamiya F4U wing construction "Part 2"...

I glued the upper wing halves together last night and let them dry in the same manner as the lower section did. This is the end result.

This allowed me to get the wing joint perfect. No filler is needed and no gaps are present. Here's a close up photo.

Next I turned my attention to the small internal wing parts. These were all removed from the parts tree, and the attachment points were cleaned up. I then slid the outer wing spar onto the wing rib. No glue is used on these parts yet. This is very important.

To keep things organized, I try to mark small parts in a place where it can't be seen just in case there's a reaction between the paint and the marker. This is part #24. The inner spar.

Here the parts are laid out for assembly.


I started out by gluing in the inner spar to the upper wing surface. I used liquid glue, and you can apply glue to the insides of the spar for a very neat joint.

This was done on both sides.

This next step is very important too. Do not use glue at this point on the wing ribs and outer spar. Simply place them together. A press fit is good enough for now. You will have to drill out a small hole that is marked on the rib with a drill guide that is cast into the part. Otherwise, the parts will not slide together and you will be forced to cut off one of the locating pins.



Then I set the corresponding parts into the correct wing. You can see my needed part numbers written on the inside of the wing...

Still do not glue anything until you are happy with the alignment of the ribs and spar. Once you are satisfied with alignment, proceed with glue. I use tweezers to make sure the ribs were secured in the marked locations in the wing.

I cut away the outer flap actuating rod. My raised resin flaps will not fit unless this part is removed. This is not needed to be done if you plan on using the kit supplied flaps.

Then I joined the upper and lower wing halves. Notice the oil coolers were not installed.

Once I lightly sand the leading edge of the wing, and things are nice and smooth, I'll add the oil coolers. The will fit into the openings easily afterwards.


As always,
Comments are encouraged.

Let's hope this Hurricane Dorian doesn't mess things up too bad for us ... If things get bad, you will not see me posting on here for a while, until after life returns to a somewhat "normal" status. (if there is such a thing).
Take care, and try to stay safe.

Really neat job on the wings. Thanks for the info on the paint. I always used to use Model Master paint, but lately Model Master availability has been spotty here in South Central Texas, at best. Maybe the supply problems will eventually smooth out, but I was forced to find other alternatives.