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This
is my attempt to produce an up to
date F4U1 Birdcage in 1/72nd scale. Hasegawa produces a nice little
kit of the Birdcage Corsair, but the kit suffers from old time engraved panel
lines. I decided to use sections of the Academy 1/72 Corsair (an recessed
panel line copy of the Hasegawa rendition) to build my Birdcage.
The
Academy Corsair will provide 95% of plastic parts. As the Academy shares the
same faulty cockpit as the Hasegawa model, I replaced with a True Detail resin
set. It correctly depicts an early floorless Corsair cockpit. The bottom of the
resin parts is removed as a see through. Early Corsairs had a window under
fuselage as a common measure in the US NAVY of the time (F2A Buffaloes and F4F
Wildcats had it also) to improve visibility during carrier recovery. Main colors
are interior green, with black instrument board and throttle quadrant. Some white
and red details are spread in cockpit on various knobs (be light on colors, you're
not building a Christmas tree here).
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Fuselage
is cut behind cockpit. This part is replaced by the corresponding section is cut from
the Hasegawa Birdcage. Part is cemented into place, joint is filled and filed,
then panel lines are rescribed for the fuselage section to blend in the kit general aspect.
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A
hole is cut in the bottom of fuselage for window. Window is cut from either an
old transparent part, or vacuum formed using rodhoid or even taken from a Tamiya
F4U1D if you don't plan to use the part (that is actually what I did).
Engine
is detailed by painting cylinders aluminium with a wash of diluted Tamiya smoke
for an oily and shadowed aspect. Crankcase is painted medium grey. Stretched
sprue is used to depict wiring.
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Construction
is straightforward.
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cooling vents are thinned from the inside of engine cowling
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tail gear is shortened by a good 1/8'' giving a finished aircraft a pronounced
nose up stance
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boarding step (slot) in inner right wing flap is filled
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position, identification, landing and formation lights are built according to
documentation to depict standard lighting of the version.
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exhausts are replaced with hollow stretched
sprue.
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wiring is added to landing gears to
resemble brake lines.
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Hi
Tech resin wheels are used.
I
painted the model with Humbrol enamel parts : A thin layer of chrome silver was
airbrushed on fuselage. I then painted bottom surfaces gull grey, upper surfaces
were a standard blue grey of the time. I used several hues of the same color to
show a panel weathering. Black wash was used to enhance control surfaces
separation, a medium brown/grey was used for panel lines. I then gloss
varnished, decaled then matt varnished. I then used the tip of a sharp blade to
scratch some paint to depict paint chipping (surfaces leading edge, cockpit
sides, etc…). Decals were taken from a Superscale sheet.
So in conclusion.....Corsair #20 (F4U1 "Birdcage"above) was built using the same Academy
"F4U1D" kit. I just used 0,5 inch of fuselage section from the Hasegawa kit,
just aft of
the cockpit to get the Birdcage fuselage spine. The idea was I wanted an
engraved panel line Birdcage Corsair.
I either had to;
- Rescribe a Hasegawa Birdcage kit (version available but engraved
molded lines)
- Just robbed the 0,5 inch spine section from the Hasegawa kit and fix
it on a recessed panel Academy F4U1D kit (after I had chopped the
corresponding area on the Academy model). Fit was perfect as Academy
basically copied the original Hasegawa models (just changing lines to
recessed lines)
As I hate rescribing, I chose option Number 2.
Corsair #82 (see below) was built as a F4U1D out of the Academy box.
The Academy box is labeled as a F4U1D but is more like a F4U1A. I did the normal improving
job on this kit (Cockpit, adding short rocket pylons under wings) so that
kit is built as it should have been by Academy.
Eric
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