1/48 Tamiya F4U-1 "Birdcage" Corsair

[galileo1]

Hey all,

Well, I've been contemplating this build on and off for about a year (took it out of the box several times but always ended up putting it away again) and never really got anywhere, to be honest, so I decided it was time to really get serious with it and somehow get it completed. I'm not much of a prop guy (especially in 1/48) but I've always liked the lines of the Corsair. I'm also using this build as practice being that I'll be building the 1/32 version sometime next year.

Anyway, I'm an aftermarket junkie and so I'm using lots of AM for this build. Let me just say that none of these AM sets are "needed," really, as this kit is excellent out of the box. However, being that I'm into accuracy, these sets help correct some of the kits shortcomings in that regard.

Okay, enough talk. I'll start this build log listing all the AM I'm using just for reference:

- Aires cockpit set
- Teknics Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Engine set
- Ultracast Smooth Tread wheels
- Ultracast Exhausts
- Ultracast Seats (with harness)
- Ultracast Flaps
- CMK Control Surfaces
- Eduard PE (interior only)
- Sky Models Decals

For references I'm using a couple of Corsair-specific modeling books and pics from the Internet.

Onto the pictures:

The CMK set is missing from the below photos as I just ordered it from ebay. Should be here soon...







I cleaned up the parts and dry-fitted some of the major components to check fit. I also scratched the V frame that is normally seen through the belly window using some plastic rod.

Please note that extreme care should be taken when trying to remove the floor (tub) piece from its block. I had to sand the part within an inch of it's life to be able to remove the resin stump. The round shape on the part does not help things either.





Fit of the major resin cockpit components isn't the best. I needed to rework some areas using plastic card to ensure a snug fit.



Next stop is removing all the raised detail from inside the fuselage. This was made much easier using my trusty Dremel tool and a special sanding bit.



Don't forget the raised detail on the bottom of the fuselage...



I cut off the plastic coaming from the kit to allow for the new resin replacement coaming to fit properly. This is a simple step of following the curvature of the plastic part with a scriber or a blade until it can be removed. Here's a before and after shot...





Here are the major components of the Aires cockpit all taped up and ready to be dry-fitted into the modified Tamiya interior.



Dry-fitted inside...There are some gaps between the resin sidewalls and the plastic sills but those should be easy to take care of once the whole thing is actually glued in place. Nothing some small clamps can't fix.







Just a note on the Aires coaming...The Aires set I purchased was designed for the Tamiya F4U-1A and not specifically for the "Birdcage" Corsair. Because of this, the coaming has to be modified a bit so that it represents the earlier "Birdcage" version. The gun sight and the small boxes on top of the coaming need to be sanded off for a more accurate look.

Here's the belly window V frame



Well, this is where I am at the moment. I'm working on getting the coaming modified and I have other sub-assemblies in the works. As I soon as I have them done I'll post some pics.

Hope you find this build log useful.

[snappercity]

That pit looks great. Watching with interest.

[Yevgeny]

You doing a neat job.
Is resin hard to work with?

[Paul]

Should be a great build, looking forward to seeing it come together

[cib2265]

Yep definitely watching this one! Great effort so far dealing with all that bloody resin...

[Filmman586]

Sweet!

[galileo1]

Thanks guys!

More to come soon...

Is resin hard to work with?

It can be frustrating at times but as long as you take your time and consistently dry fit to ensure proper fit it's like anything else in this hobby.

[martin57]

great job so far, looks like this is going to look amazing when its done.
never worked with resin parts as yet , might have to take the plunge and give it a go .
best of luck with the rest of the build .

[galileo1]

Thank you, Martin. Yeah, it will take some time to complete but as long as progress is being made I consider it a win.

[UKguyInUSA]

That's a great looking kit!

Seems to have come together quickly...looking forward to seeing her with some paint on now

[galileo1]

Well, here I am with a brief update on this build. Apologies for the delay but was dealing with a bad cold that just now has gone away.

Anyway, not a lot has really been accomplished but progress has been made nonetheless.

First thing I did was to modify the coaming (instrument hood) so that it resembles the one on the Birdcage Corsairs. As stated above, the one that came in the Aires set I'm using is for the -1A and not the early -1. All I essentially did was to remove the boxes on top and add a bracket/mount to represent the newer version of the Mk.8 gunsight introduced a bit later in production Birdcage versions.

This is the coaming before the modification (note the boxes on each side of the gunsight)



And now the modified coaming (note that the boxes are gone and that I scratched the mount for the glass)



I also worked on the Ultracast seat by removing it from its resin block and cleaning it. I need to modify the mount bars on each side as the real seat is nowhere near that bulky at the attachment points.



I also did some work on the wings. Being that the Corsair I am modeling is based on birds that flew off some of the islands in the Pacific during the war, I needed to build the wings in the down position (I've never seen these island Corsairs with anything but wings down). Instead of following the instructions I went with what made more sense in terms of getting the best possible fit between the upper inner/outer and lower inner/outer so that I would avoid any potential misalignment and/or steps on them.

Here you can see the inner/outer upper wings (right and left) joint and primed to check for fit





To make sure I had a straight and strong joint between these parts I glued plastic sheet on the inside so that they would act as alignment tabs (very useful as it keeps the parts in place while the glue dries)



I followed the same process for the lower wing.









This is where things are at the moment. I have other bits and pieces (landing gears, well doors, etc) that are getting prepped so I'll post some pictures on those when I get the cockpit out of the way. The landing gears on this kit need some real work!

As a last note, I finally received the CMK control surfaces set that I'll be adding later on in the build and I was also able to add one more reference to my library for this and other Corsair builds.





Thanks for watching!