Finished Corsair

[Oldyzracer1]

All finished. I bought this kit in 2003, the rubber band broke from age. I used white glue for construction and for sealing the tissue, which is 2-3 layers thick for a sturdier model. I was going for a “factory-fresh” look. My plan was to use everything in the box and add every detail in the plans, but I left out all the working parts like folding wings and retractable landing gear.

[Oldyzracer1]

Bottom of the Corsair. I didn’t do the landing gear recesses in the wing, just faked it. I figured the bottom didn’t matter as much as the top.

[Oldyzracer1]

Another view

[Oldyzracer1]

Back view of the Corsair

[Oldyzracer1]

Another view

[Oldyzracer1]

One more view

[Oldyzracer1]

I tried to get a picture that shows the ribs in the wing surface. It’s supposed to look ribbed on the outside panels and ailerons and smooth on the rest of the wing, but you can see the ribs all the way across. Sort of a scale look, but not quite.

[edbecky]

You did a real nice job on this model. I will say that you missed out on a lot of the fun by not doing the other movable parts.

[Oldyzracer1]

Detail shot. Some of the riveting still shows through after sanding most of it off.

[Oldyzracer1]

Thanks Ed! I built a Thunderbolt a few years ago and found that the retractable landing gear sagged under the load of the extra sturdy construction, so I left it off this time. I have a Hellcat to build next and I’m thinking about how to build that one, but I like seeing the cats nudge this one around without anything moving. I rebuilt theThunderbolt with fixed gear a couple years later. The mechanism for rotating the retracting gear on the Hellcat (same as Corsair) does look like it could be okay though. Still thinking about that one. I will definitely include the sliding canopy on the Hellcat; I left it off the Corsair because I could not wait to finish; I do regret leaving that off a bit!

[Doppiejohn]

Hey Guy;

You built a nice Corsair it looks great. I'm like you when I built my Corsair I didn't waste time with the retractable gear. When I built the P-38 years ago I did do the gear and it was a nightmare. The gear really doesn't support the model all that well either. When I build a WWII Guillow kit I cover the frame with 1/32" balsa sheeting giving a more smooth finish, I build for display and detail. Yes it is more tedious to use the balsa sheeting but the results are great, I also use a water soluble wood filler to fill in the seams between pieces of balsa and again it is more time consuming. Rarely do I use the Guillow supplied decals, I go on the internet and find the actual plane I'm building and copy the markings of that plane and print my own decals, also most of the time I have to buy a smaller scale decal set and enlarge it using Adobe Photo Shop and then print them on Testors Decal Paper. It makes the kit more realistic looking.

Ok enough said and again you put together a good looking Corsair.

[Oldyzracer1]

Thanks John! Every time I think about buying a P-38 kit I think: “It would look so awesome...but it would need like a kilogram of lead in the nose to balance on the spindly wire tricycle landing gear!” I like working with tissue right now, but I have a feeling that I’m going to get to the stage where I start sheeting the whole thing eventually. I’m going to Use a little more sheeting on the Hellcat I’m building, but just to simulate a better edge on the front cowling around the engine. But back to the Corsair. Those decals do look way too big, don’t they? I’m just starting to see it now.

[Scott]

Great work,looks very sharp.

[Oldyzracer1]

Thanks Scott! It was a fun build!

[heywooood]

Terrific outcome on your Vought F4u - it’s a real beauty !