1/48 Tamiya F4U-1 ”Birdcage” Corsairs……………

Started by Louis Gardner · 175 ≡ · ↻ 3 years ago · 1/48, Birdcage, Corsair, F4U, Tamiya
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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Awesome, Louis (@lgardner). Not to repeat myself, but yellow markings on a blue Corsair look really classy. This build looks better and better. It is always amazing how one aspect of your life, like automotive restoration, carries over into your hobbies.

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    Robert Royes said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Louis, your stencil work is superb!

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Spiros, @fiveten
    I looked at this photo closer, and realized the "J4F" decals that were provided were actually a little too small. So I had to improvise. If you look very close at this photo,


    you will see the number 4 also has the little lines visible where the Dark Sea Blue is not painted over. I am 99% positive this is because the number was sprayed on using a large stencil. The very bottom of the letter "J" also has a small line on it.

    Thanks for the kind words. You will not have to wait much longer as I did some more work on these two F4U's last night... Double trouble on the way next.

    Erik, @airbum
    I also think they were left in this color as it was the "official" Navy markings for the plane. I'm fairly certain they used white as the color for this type of markings on US Navy planes that were painted in overall Gloss Sea Blue. The yellow color was used more for things like the squadron unit markings and codes.

    George,
    I am very pleased with the decision to change over from the white to the yellow color for the markings. I couldn't agree with you more, the Corsair looks fantastic with yellow and blue as the more prevalent colors. Thank you very much for the compliments. It is amazing how one aspect of our life will carry over to another... we are intertwined complex creatures aren't we ?

    Robert,
    Thanks my friend ! It's great to hear from you.

    Stay tuned for the latest development at the Iron Werks...

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    I was busy working on all of the Corsairs last night.


    Here you can see the Hasegawa F4U-4 that will be Ens. Jesse Brown's plane as part of the Korean War group build. I had to add some liquefied styrene to a few places along the fuselage seams. Once it dried I sanded it down and I'm VERY happy with how it worked out.

    In the background you can see the NAS Jacksonville birdcage Corsair. In the front right hand side you will see the Goodyear test plane. I believe it was the 16th F4U that Goodyear built. These pictures are in Dana Bell's magnificent books on the F4U. If you're a big Corsair fan, these are definitely worth adding to your library.


    Sharp eyed viewers will notice the windscreen and gun sight glass is missing. I took it off for two reasons. First it had a nasty glue mark on it right where the fuselage joins it. Secondly it had to come off so I could spray some of my homemade brew that I use as a flattening agent. It's a mixture of Future, rubbing alcohol, and Tamiya X-21 Flat Base.

    One thing I noticed after looking at these landing photos was this: These planes were painted in a Gloss Sea Blue color, but it has started to fade some in the Florida heat and humidity. So I decided to knock the shine down a little on my Corsair to try and match it a little better. I also wanted to make the areas I sprayed using Flat Sea Blue a little more shinier. This took care of both things at once.
    Here's how it looks after spraying on a few coats of the home brew.





    Then I set my sights on the other Tamiya F4U which I had planned on building as the Goodyear test mule. So I sprayed on some Flat White. This will then get a light shading coat of Flat Dark Sea Blue in an attempt to make a graded camouflage. This will be a first for me...

    The way these planes were originally painted at the factories is explained in detail in Dana Bells books. This could be hard to do... That's why I have not joined the wings in place just yet.
    Here's the parts I sprayed using Flat White.



    Once I get the gradient blue / white camouflage sprayed to my liking, I will join the wings to the fuselage on the Goodyear plane.

    As always, comments are encouraged.

    1 additional image. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Hi Louis @lgardner!

    Checked the above awesome photo, and J4F code is applied exactly as you described!

    J4F's homemade flattish gloss (!...) looks awesome, very realistic.

    I liked seeing that liquefied styrene works so well with you; it does for me too!

    Your flat white at the Tamiya Corsair is fantastic, too, making us eagerly waiting for those blue gradients that look so nice applied to Corsairs!

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    That has to be a first - homebrew that is good for the eyes! (OK OK, a bit far out, but I'm a foreigner, so it is to be expected) 🙂
    I like the look so far, and the work on the 16th plane brings promises of a great build too. Keep them comin' my friend!

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Looks better and better. The painted numbers really look great.

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Spiros, @fiveten
    Thanks for the compliments on the stencil work and the semi gloss finish. I want to thank you again for letting me know about using the liquefied styrene. It works wonders, and the best part is how it sands down so smooth and you can scribe new panel lines and rivets in it with ease, and not fear chipping out the filler you have worked so hard to get just so...

    Erik, @airbum
    Yes this is not that kind of "Home Brew", so it doesn't affect your vision as the "other" kind so notoriously can do... I have a bunch of un-built Corsair kits in the stash. I am going to finish these two and the two for the Korean War group build and see what happens next. I have been wanting to build a 1/48 Special Hobby F2G "Super Corsair" as Race 57, and possibly one as Miss Port Columbus, but I also want one painted as they were when they served in the US Navy. I just so happen to have 3 of these kits, so it's possible. I know for sure that one will definitely be Race 57, since I knew one of the previous owners of the real F2G Race 57 plane. His name was Harry Doan. Sadly Harry was killed in an airshow accident back in the early 1990's. His F2G was sold and Bob Odegard ended up with it and restored it to the beauty it is today.

    George, @gblair
    Thanks for the compliments. I have been watching your Special Hobby Maryland and it is looking fantastic. I like your approach to building.

    Stay tuned gents, for I have another update coming up next.

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Painting was done on the Goodyear test plane. This is actually harder than it looks. I was trying to fade the paint gradually from the Dark Blue color into the White, just as it was done on the real plane. I thinned the paint to a very water type consistency, even thinner... I held the fuselage at an angle to allow me to get the proper paint patterns I wanted. This is the end result. It took numerous passes and a lot of patience. The lower White color will need a little touch up underneath, which is not visible in this picture. This will be the perfect test for the new Harder and Steenbeck air brush...


    The Blue Gray color will be sprayed on the vertical fin assembly, and under the outer wing panels as soon as the flaps get installed. Here's a good look from the side.

    The "Interior Green" color on the wing center cockpit section was sprayed again. I was in a hurry and didn't mask it off... I should have known better, but... you know the deal. Haste makes waste.

    I held the parts together and snapped this photo. I like how it's looking. In hindsight, I probably should have opted to use the closed cowling vents. I still just may.

    I decided why not ? So I glued the wings to the fuselage. I wanted to get the resin flaps installed perfectly, and this was the next step to ensure accuracy. Here's how the Goodyear F4U-1 looks right now.

    I have this set of resin flaps. It will fix the problem of having to fill in the step hole that is present on the Starboard side inner flap. It will also allow me to install the flaps in the raised position, so I can duplicate the original B&W photo shown in Dana Bell's book on the Corsair, showing the Goodyear test mule #2. I have used these flaps on several other Corsair builds, and they work out good. Here I have removed one of them from the pouring block.

    With a little cleanup work to get rid of the pour stubs, these will be ready to install. Then I can carry on with the painting work, business as usual.

    As always, comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by and stay safe.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Hi Louis @lgardner!

    Your job looks so great! Nice paintwork, and I can see you with your Harder and Steenbeck air brush doing the magic microtouching up1

    It's so nice that liquefied styrene finds a good use in your hands. I fell proud that my suggestion is of some practical use! Please, let me add that I have two consistencies ready made, a "thinnner" and a "thicker". I usually use the thinner, which is more or less the thickness yours is, using the thicker when bonding or serious gap filling. As you may see, you may improvise to your liking!

    I love those flaps! They will look amazing when fitted.

    Eagerly waiting!

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Chuck (@uscusn), your experiment in feathering the edges of the camouflage is looking great. I have tried a few hundred ways to do this and haven't found one that consistently works for me. The one that always works is masking tape and a hard demarcation line. If you stand 20-30 feet away from the model, you can't tell the difference. :o)

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    John Healy said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Looking good Louis. I like that trainer.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 3 months ago:

    Great progress my friend. And I think you will find the new H&S airbrush very nice after a bit of trial and error - I still have a looong way to go before I understand mine - so many possibilities with that little gem!

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    Louis Gardner said 4 years, 2 months ago:

    Thanks my friends for the kind words. One thing was really bothering me on the overall GSB Corsair, and that was how the replacement yellow “485” decals were laying down into the details that are molded into the rudder and fin section.

    So I brushed on some Solvaset in order to get them to snuggle down into the nooks and crannies.

    I let it sit overnight and I was really surprised the following morning. There was some sort of reaction that caused the clear Future to turn into a white looking mess !




    I thought I would have to rip the new yellow decals off and start all over again. Then I had an idea ...

    I decided to brush some more of the clear Future on top and see how it works.

    Luckily it turned out great and the white cloudy mess was gone.


    Now I’ll have to spray some more of the special mixture of Tamiya Flattening Agent and Future that’s mixed with rubbing alcohol.

    At least now the decals have sunk into the crevices, so all is good.

    I also installed the resin flaps on the Goodyear F4U and sprayed the white paint on the underside of it. I’ll take a few pictures and post them up later tonight.

    As always comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.

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    Eric Berg said 4 years, 2 months ago:

    You gotta love Future. Saved the day. You really are going all out with this Goodyear and I look forward to the next batch of photos. Terrific.

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