Here’s my rendition of the Arii 1:48 scale F4U-1A Corsair. Even though it was first released by Otaki in 1972, the Arii kit builds into a nice Corsair. With some aftermarket parts and a little work, it can hold its own against the outstanding 1/48 scale Tamiya Corsairs. The good points are very accurate outline and shapes, finely recessed panel lines, and great parts fit. Drawbacks are a simple and inacurate cockpit and wheels, and an engine that doesen’t remotely resemble any engine used in any aircraft. Here’s how I upgraded the kit: I replaced the cartoonish engine with with a resin R-2800, updated the cockpit with Eduard photoetched insturment panel, seat and sidewall details, and used seatbelts and wheels from True Details. I replaced the kit tail wheel with a more accurate-looking one from the spares box, and attached it at an angle for a more candid appearance. I also cut away the flaps and dropped them, added resin exhaust stacks from Vector, and added a small whip antenna to the fuselage spine. Though most land-based Corsairs had their arresting gear removed, photos indicate this plane had the tail hook.
VF-17’s Corsairs didn’t have the standard antenna mast, and some had unusual field-modified antennas. Based on photos, I built an antenna that runs fron the top if the vertical fin down to the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer. From there, it runs into the usual antenna lead-in on the right side of the fuselage, behind the cockpit. I don’t know for certain if it’s accurate, but that’s how I interpreted the antenna arrangment in photos.
I used a Pasche VL airbrush to apply the three-toned camouflage scheme, though most photos of the actual aircraft indicate it was very weathered, with almost no distiction between the non-specular sea blue upper surfaces and the intermidiate blue sides.
For markings, I used SuperScale sheet #48-38 to portray “White 29”, one of the Corsairs flown by Lt. Ira Kepford of VF-17 while based at Ondonga, New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands in late 1943. I made a mistake in not placing the kill markings at the correct angle to the tape covering the seams of the forward fuselage cell. Finally, I used clear decal strips painted light gray to simulate the six-inch wide medical tape used to cover the gun ports and keep out coral dust and other debris. Scuffs and paint chipping was created with a Prismacolor pencil, trimmed down to a very sharp point.
VF-17 was the second navy squadron to be equipped with the Corsair, and the first to see combat. Assigned briefly to USS Bunker Hill, the squadron was soon transferred to the Solomon Islands to serve as a land-based squadron. In its two tours of duty in the Solomons, VF-17 was credited 156 aerial victories and produced 12 aces, the most of any squadron in the Navy. Kepford was the U.S. Navy’s 6th highest ranking ace with 16 victories and 8 probables.
