Tamiya 1/32 F4U-1 Birdcage dual build

Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon May 07, 2018 2:39 am

Hello hello!

Back after an extended break but this time an aircraft build instead of cars. Now I know what you’re saying “really?”
Another F4U-1 build?! Ok point taken but I’ve had these in my stash since it was first released a few years ago and
Have only gotten around to them now. The dilemma I had with this was that it’s such a beautiful kit and so many
Great builds out there that I wanted a folded wing and an inflight version but being as it’s one or the other I couldn’t
Decide. Also I really like navy birds but the Marine Corps pacific Corsairs with their beat up worn appearance was
Particularly appealing. Sooooooooooo..........

2EDE98B0-9558-4467-B1AE-5AB626A3220E.jpeg

Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon May 07, 2018 2:46 am

I’ve decided on both! And I will be building both at the same time. I’ll be doing a navy bird with wings folded,
And a Marine Corps version in flight with some extras thrown in.

So the goodies.......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon May 07, 2018 2:49 am

And reference books.....

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So off to make a start on these bad boy and some progress updates soon!

Post by **aur0ra145** » Mon May 07, 2018 3:26 am

Wow, that's a lot of aftermarket and books. Should be a fun build to follow!

Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon May 07, 2018 9:29 am

aur0ra145 wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 3:26 am Wow, that's a lot of aftermarket and books. Should be a fun build to follow!

Yeah, most of that will be for the folded wings version as I intended to have lots of thing open and exposed.
I’ll be scratch building other small details in the cockpit in particular mostly hoses,pipes and electrical cables.
Thankfully the inflight version won’t need most of that OCD detail as it will be mostly closed up.

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 11, 2018 1:49 am

And so it begins with these.......

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And a pile of P.E thrown in as well.

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 11, 2018 2:05 am

So, the cockpit details are fantastic and with just a little scratch would be great I their own right but as I’m OCD
I’ll be taking it all the way. It starts with omitting some details......

F815FBCE-3C83-40C0-9A36-F2BE7FE8799A.jpeg

Some of the P.E details.......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 11, 2018 2:07 am

And one more......

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Another update soon.

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 18, 2018 11:02 am

Ok, so a small update on the cockpit. Now I’ve had these kits and the after market bits for a couple of years now so
I don’t know if Eduard have corrected this, but the “bird cage” big set is in fact based on the F4U1-D!

I suspect this is because the reference book included in the kit is actually of the “D” variant and not the bird cage.
Also on retrospect, the details in the Tamiya kit are quite accurate and barring some scratch don’t really need replacing.
And as I was going over the Eduard cockpit set, I realised that it was a little too two dimensional and flat that I’ve
Decided to change it up and switch the build of the open cockpit back to the Tamiya details and use the Eduard
Replacement for the closed/inflight cockpit. Now you may gasp and say why?! But there is method to the madness as
Weathering the Tamiya detailed cockpit looks sooooooo much better and lends itself to much more depth. (Pics later)

I decided to use alclad aluminium as the base for the seat and rear bulkhead and chose a slightly darker colour of
Interior green than I normally would have as the MIG enamel dust effects will lighten this colour quite a bit and leave
Some very cool effects. At this point I had run out of “chipping” fluid

so I decided to try using liquid masking
Instead and came us with some interesting results.......

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 18, 2018 11:05 am

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 18, 2018 11:07 am

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I then added a scratch built air hose......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri May 18, 2018 11:12 am

And settled on the Eduard seatbelts.....

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Then had to fill a gaping hole?!

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So more to come soon as now I’m on to placing the barracuda placards and cockpit stencils!

Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 9:40 am

Right, so an update on the cockpit. Using masking fluid instead of the chipping fluid has produced some interesting results.
And the mig dust effects enamel has toned down the cockpit colour to something more in line with the colour I was aiming for.
I also used mig track wash to dirty down some of the lower areas to give a little contrast.

D91D0D85-D575-4A5D-ACD7-23F8A2A8F299.jpeg

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 9:44 am

Now before all the weathering, I used the barracuda decals cockpit set for the placards and controls to add some
Busy work and detail along with some wiring and hoses.

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 9:49 am

So eventually all this came together nicely with all the elements put together......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 9:51 am

Some test fitting......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 9:57 am

Now a little earlier I said I was swapping the builds to have the Tamiya details in the open cockpit and the Eduard in
The closed one...... well..... there’s two reasons for that, first: I hand already removed the original details off one of
The cockpits (so I kinda had no choice) second.... well I’ll just show you why......

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 10:01 am

Nice but flat and two dimensional. Now I didn’t bother with weathering this cockpit as most of these details won’t be
Visible particularly with the bird cage style canopy.....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 10:04 am

Compared to this....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat May 26, 2018 10:13 am

So that’s it for now, next will be the cockpit side walls and tail wheel wells for both aircraft.
Thanks for viewing!

Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu May 31, 2018 9:04 am

Alrighty then, it was decision time with the inflight build as I had to choose to have the pilot figure in or out...
Easy right?! Well being as I suck at figure painting ( that is to say I’ve done two.... ever) and leave them out 99%
Of the time, it looks a little silly without it in soooooo.....

B4704BE9-FC58-42FD-B799-FD6B179DBF18.jpeg

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Then into the side walls....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu May 31, 2018 9:07 am

The mig enamel dust effects came out quite nicely as well as the track wash to dirty it down...

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu May 31, 2018 9:08 am

Blends well with the cockpit details......

CFEA34F7-F866-453B-8251-2192FB4DEDB0.jpeg

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu May 31, 2018 9:09 am

More angles.....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu May 31, 2018 9:15 am

And finally both fuselages buttoned up with seams filled and buffed....

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So that’s it for now, next is engines for both that I will take some time on as I’m still waiting for special
Smelly toxic (but colour matched

) paints to get here by boat for the main fuselage!

Thanks for viewing!

Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon Jun 04, 2018 4:32 am

So a small update as the paints finally arrived!

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Hard to get here in Australia if the one place you know stocks them is out of stock!

Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 12:53 pm

Ok, so a sizeable update as I had to tackle the engine and exhaust. Some unexpected results came about while I was
Simulating the iron exhaust manifold and associated plumbing. First after priming with Tamiya Ts-14 goss black, I base
Coated with alclad exhaust manifold.......

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This achieved a really nice texture to give it a true iron look.

Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:13 pm

From there I added on some of the eduard engine P.E to simulate exhaust clamps and connectors then set about
Rusting up the pipes for a more used look to the iron. I used A.K enamel rust effect to create tonal variations
To the final look....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:17 pm

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I used a random method of distributing these effects and then stumping them to blend in these tones leaving at least a
Days drying time between applications of the progressively lighter tones....

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To achieve this.....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:36 pm

So then it was on to the engines them selves and once again primed in Tamiya Ts-14 Black I then used alclad
Aluminium for the main bulkhead and used mig pigments burnt steel blue to give it a dirtied down look...

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:41 pm

Then onto some drilling of the cylinders for later wiring details. This was done with a 0.3mm drill bit for the H.T wires
And a 0.6mm bit for the oil transfer pipes.....

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Then finally as with the main bulkhead alclad aluminium.....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:47 pm

Once this was all masked up I painted the hub of the engine in mr hobby aqueous H307 grey. Now as this was all nice and
Shiny, I dirtied it down with A.K enamel engine grime to pull back some of the shine stumping the colour till it was nice
And subtle....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 1:54 pm

I added on some ancillary pipes between the cylinder heads for more authenticity detail as well as adding on the
Barracuda early engine dynamos and ignition ring. Then attempted wiring both cylinder banks and ring

Ah...... a little frustrating to say the least......

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It’s getting late here so I’ll sign off for now but I’ll have some more pics of the final wire details and weathering
Tomorrow.

Thanks for viewing.

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:10 am

So, as promised engine complete with final weathering touches. The other engine has a lot lest detail being inflight but
You get the general idea.....

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Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:21 am

And finally this one......

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So now it’s onto the engine cowl for both aircraft with the navy version open. Eduard provide detail for the inner
Surfaces of the open flaps. Very fiddlely but worth the effort.

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 8:20 am

Wow that's amazing work on the radial

Post by **digger303** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:30 am

yeah thats GOOD !

Post by **Modelfreek** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:32 am

digger303 wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:30 am yeah thats GOOD !

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 8:20 am Wow that's amazing work on the radial

Cheers Kev, this has been a joy to build so far. Though the eduard P.E is sending me cross eyed

Thanks as well digger!

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:16 am

Modelfreek wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 9:32 am Though the eduard P.E is sending me cross eyed

Oh I share your pain mate, I've got a ship load on my bomber build B17

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:18 am

Modelfreek wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 9:08 am Blends well with the cockpit details......

CFEA34F7-F866-453B-8251-2192FB4DEDB0.jpeg
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Mate this is stunning work

I've somehow missed this build completely, but I'm following with interest now

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat Jun 23, 2018 3:55 pm

How the heck did I miss all this fun!
Wow what a build so far, awesome work on the engine and all the other details

This is top notch stuff

Post by **Modelfreek** » Sun Jun 24, 2018 12:19 am

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 10:18 am [quote=Modelfreek post_id=311074 time=<a href="tel:1527754136">1527754136</a> user_id=11045]
Blends well with the cockpit details......

CFEA34F7-F866-453B-8251-2192FB4DEDB0.jpeg
533ED3A3-1406-42B0-9D08-40B45A17F1D6.jpeg
8D521DDA-389E-4C10-B049-61427B806727.jpeg

Mate this is stunning work

I've somehow missed this build completely, but I'm following with interest now

[/quote]

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sat Jun 23, 2018 3:55 pm How the heck did I miss all this fun!
Wow what a build so far, awesome work on the engine and all the other details
This is top notch stuff

Thanks fellas! Most appreciated.
Just working on the cooling flaps for the navy bird so
More to follow soon.

Post by **onemac** » Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:23 am

OK, so I'm another one who missed this and it's even more infuriating since I've got this in the stash

I've got the Big Ed set and the Brassin wheels - I've never done the engine leads thing before and might give it a bash but I'm not sure about metal undercarriage?

It's great to see build reviews like this and they are soooo helpful to those of us still fairly new to the hobby. Superb work so far and I've picked up many tips for the cockpit detailing. Please continue to post your reviews and I will attempt to replicate your work in my efforts

Thanks

Al

Post by **Modelfreek** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:08 am

onemac wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:23 am OK, so I'm another one who missed this and it's even more infuriating since I've got this in the stash I've got the Big Ed set and the Brassin wheels - I've never done the engine leads thing before and might give it a bash but I'm not sure about metal undercarriage?

It's great to see build reviews like this and they are soooo helpful to those of us still fairly new to the hobby. Superb work so far and I've picked up many tips for the cockpit detailing. Please continue to post your reviews and I will attempt to replicate your work in my efforts

Thanks

Al

Hey onemac, thanks for dropping buy.

If you have any questions about things you might be stuck on, just drop one in this thread and if I can I’ll answer it for
You. Also the people on this site are very welcoming and are willing to do the same. As for the metal landing gear,
I use them because over time with out reinforcing the kit gear tends to sag and also why I use resin wheels instead of
The rubber ones as the rubber tends to disintegrate over time especially in the humidity in Australia (also I prefer the look).

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:01 pm

Right! So a small update that will bring us up to the main wing options of the build ( folded and extended)

Firstly both engines are now finished.......

46D89BDC-5819-4809-9302-B082ADBAFE35.jpeg

And some more eduard goodies......

F0E18F16-D2D6-45FA-A546-D6C6279EA628.jpeg

Post by **Modelfreek** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:08 pm

The cooling flaps for the open build get some amazing detail with the eduard P.E......

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And finally the horizontal stabilisers in place on both fuselages........

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Bringing us up to the meatie bit of the build. More to follow soon!

Thanks for viewing.

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 3:56 pm

I am blown away by that engine and cowling detail

Absolutely astounding

WOW

Post by **Modelfreek** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 7:47 am

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Sat Jun 30, 2018 3:56 pm I am blown away by that engine and cowling detail
Absolutely astounding
WOW

The detail eduard produce in some of their upgrades is amazingly accurate and worth the purchase if you are
Into OCD details.... like me....

These Tamiya kits will build up very nicely without them though I just can’t help myself

On a side note, I have been playing around with these MRP lacquer paints and they are just sublime.
They go down like Alclad’s and produce a next to flawless finish that is maskable minutes of applying
And don’t pull up with Tamiya tapes. Even the “insignia white” covers brilliantly and is opaque in two
Coats. It needs to be sprayed like alclad meaning low pressure (I use no more than 15 psi) then mist coats
To bring up the density of colour. They work on Tamiya spray primers very well and dry to a satin finish
Ready for weathering. Having said all that you do need to take the same precautions as you would with
Any toxic lacquer base paint but I would highly recommend these if you want a nice colour matched finish.

Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:05 am

Modelfreek wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:01 pm Right! So a small update that will bring us up to the main wing options of the build ( folded and extended)

Firstly both engines are now finished.......

46D89BDC-5819-4809-9302-B082ADBAFE35.jpeg

And some more eduard goodies......

F0E18F16-D2D6-45FA-A546-D6C6279EA628.jpeg

You're a man after my own heart, like you I love detail but I have some way to go yet to achieve the stunning results you're delivering

Post by **Modelfreek** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 9:56 am

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:05 am [quote=Modelfreek post_id=313260 time=<a href="tel:1530270115">1530270115</a> user_id=11045]
Right! So a small update that will bring us up to the main wing options of the build ( folded and extended)

Firstly both engines are now finished.......

46D89BDC-5819-4809-9302-B082ADBAFE35.jpeg

And some more eduard goodies......

F0E18F16-D2D6-45FA-A546-D6C6279EA628.jpeg

You're a man after my own heart, like you I love detail but I have some way to go yet to achieve the stunning results you're delivering

[/quote]

Cheers Kev for the kind comments. I’ve just received my 1/32 b-17 in the post so I’ll be picking your brain for some tips
In the future!