Decided to start making my Revell F4U-4 Corsair

[Teenage_Modeler]

Hey all! Been a good few months since I was active here. I have been busy with high school and life in general, so I have not done any models or anything in the past few months. However, since it is halfway through winter break, I decided to finally start making my Revell F4U that I bought a bit over 2 years ago in Hobby Lobby.

So far so good, this is what the boxart looks like. Based on some research, this particular type was the last Corsair model flown during WW2. It was used during the Korean War as well. I did a little bit of research for the model as well. It was a reboxed version of another model that was released in the 60’s, of the same manufacturer.

I remember one time I saw someone make the same model. I have forgotten the guy’s profile name, but I know this model was posted in the forum. I have yet to find it.

Anyway, this was nothing like Tamiya’s models in comparison. There is lots of flashing with the parts, and the fitment in some areas is poor. Unfotunately for me I did not have any Putty with me, because of budget cuts and other factors, so I just sanded the seam with the contact points to make it flatter and a clean fit. For the cockpit, it was a Zinc Chromate green, which I used Tamiya’s XF-4 Yellow Green and a pretty small amount of XF-26 Deep Green, since the Yellow Green alone looked too yellow.

So far so good. I definitely won’t be done with this model in a week, because that’s too little time for me to finish this, and I do not have any XF-17 Sea Blue, which is the main color of the Corsair’s paint job (this one). So that will have to wait. I will try to get things done, and I should be done with the cockpit by the time winter break ends. I will also try to work on this during the weekends.

Anyway, here is the HUGE propeller of the corsair compared to a Japanese Mechanic and the pilot of the Corsair, in 1/48 scale.

I will keep you all posted.

[keavdog]

I have plane 16 from that squadron issue from HobbyBoss in the stash. The polkadots give it away - lol. Interior looks good. I read that the reason for he gull wings was to get the prop clearance needed without having long weak main gear for carrier landings.

[wpwar11]

I read the same thing regarding the length of the blades and the gull wings.

Good luck with the build. Take your time. No rush. Things are looking good so far. I’m building the 1/32 Tamiya one.

[cbaltrin]

Teenage Modeler, You have picked a difficult kit; however it can be made to look handsome with some effort. Main issue with kit is horrible way in which they decided to engineer the clear parts.

I know jacknewbill build one a few years ago for the Monogram Mafia IV GB:

see GB page: https://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/175451.aspx?page=1

I also think someone just posted one they did on the Mogogram Models Facebook group and they did a dandy job on their kit!

Lastly, You can get interior green by mixing XF-4 Yellow Green anx XF-5 Green. Try 2 pars XF-5 to 1 part XF-4 as a starting point. Remember , paint will generally look a bit darker when it is dry than when it is wet.

HTH & Happy Modeling.

[Justinryan215]

Looking good so far, bud!

a few weeks back I posted some photos of my ‘almost complete’ Tamiya -1D version of the Corsair. My son just put this one together over thanksgiving weekend (but it stalled out because, ADD and video games…)

here is an idea for you for putty. It’s typically called “sprue goo”, and it’s a home made putty/filler.

take an almost empty Tamiya Xtra thin bottle, cut up the sprues (clear parts spruces work best, as it’s the most pure form of styrene), and add it to the bottle of xtra thin. Let it sit for a bit, to melt down, then add a few drops of colored paint (doesn’t matter what color, but something that stands out against kit plastic is a good choice), and add more extra thin as neccessary To make it the consistency you want for a filler.

another little tip…Tamiya airbrush cleaner (with the pink cap) is almost exactly the same, chemically, as their xtra thin, and cheaper too!

[Pawel]

Hello!

I’ll be watching this.

You might want to check on the cockpit colour - usually it wasn’t yellow, more often green/black, but back in the day there was a lot of variation between manufacturers. It’s a hard subject for sure, because even with museum aircraft you can’t be sure they were repainted the right colour onm the inside.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

[Teenage_Modeler]

I have plane 16 from that squadron issue from HobbyBoss in the stash. The polkadots give it away - lol. Interior looks good. I read that the reason for he gull wings was to get the prop clearance needed without having long weak main gear for carrier landings.

Is it this one? I can see what you’re talking about lol

[Teenage_Modeler]

Teenage Modeler, You have picked a difficult kit; however it can be made to look handsome with some effort. Main issue with kit is horrible way in which they decided to engineer the clear parts.

I know jacknewbill build one a few years ago for the Monogram Mafia IV GB:

see GB page: https://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/175451.aspx?page=1

I also think someone just posted one they did on the Mogogram Models Facebook group and they did a dandy job on their kit!

Lastly, You can get interior green by mixing XF-4 Yellow Green anx XF-5 Green. Try 2 pars XF-5 to 1 part XF-4 as a starting point. Remember , paint will generally look a bit darker when it is dry than when it is wet.

HTH & Happy Modeling.

Yes, I can see what you’re talking about with how difficult the kit is. However, I will take my time on this, and I will make it look good. I can see what jacknewbil’s model looks like, and it looks almost exactly mine, if not it is. Anyway, for the cockpit green, it looks fine. I just added a minimal drop of green to the yellow green to tone down the yellow a bit.

[Teenage_Modeler]

Looking good so far, bud!

a few weeks back I posted some photos of my ‘almost complete’ Tamiya -1D version of the Corsair. My son just put this one together over thanksgiving weekend (but it stalled out because, ADD and video games…)

here is an idea for you for putty. It’s typically called “sprue goo”, and it’s a home made putty/filler.

take an almost empty Tamiya Xtra thin bottle, cut up the sprues (clear parts spruces work best, as it’s the most pure form of styrene), and add it to the bottle of xtra thin. Let it sit for a bit, to melt down, then add a few drops of colored paint (doesn’t matter what color, but something that stands out against kit plastic is a good choice), and add more extra thin as neccessary To make it the consistency you want for a filler.

another little tip…Tamiya airbrush cleaner (with the pink cap) is almost exactly the same, chemically, as their xtra thin, and cheaper too!

That seems to be a crazy Idea! I also saw a video about it just now. I do have an almost empty Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, so I will try to use that.

Good luck to your son finishing the model! I hope he has a fun time building it as I did. One more question, how far is he into the build?

[Teenage_Modeler]

Hello!

I’ll be watching this.

You might want to check on the cockpit colour - usually it wasn’t yellow, more often green/black, but back in the day there was a lot of variation between manufacturers. It’s a hard subject for sure, because even with museum aircraft you can’t be sure they were repainted the right colour onm the inside.

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

I will find more photographs about it. As far as I can see, you are right, the cockpit looks a tad bit more darker than mine, which looks like it’s popping out. Good thing for me, I have not painted all of the parts with the cockpit color (landing gear, the doors, etc), so when I have the chance, I will paint the rest of the parts the correct shade of green, as well as to paint over the cockpit with the correct shade. Thanks for the info!

[Monogram_Madness]

This kit can be a challenge if you try to make all the parts work. This was originaly intended more for the toy market id assume. Aside from that its actualy a pretty decent little kit. I glue the landing gear in the fixed position and glue the wings either folded or locked out depending on what im after and its not a bad build. They updated it some years back and added cockpit detail and upgraded the wheels so the wheels wont fit in the wings anyays. It looks good when finished imho.

Thay Tamiya kit is better but its 4x the cost, as this is on sale a couple times a month at hobby lobby for 11.99. My favorite thing about the Revell kits is that they are so inexpensive that you can build them stress free, try new things, and dole out the coin for aftermarket decals, parts etc…

I get the yipps with the more expensive kits and dont enjoy the experience.

[lawdog114]

It’s nice to see youth interested in this hobby. All is not lost…[;)]. When I return to the Hobby my first two builds were the Monogram A-10 and P-61. Talk about dumb decisions as they almost made me quit again. What I did learn was basic modeling skills which actually helped me for better kits. Fortunately my next Kit was a Tamiya P- 47. Anyways, looking good. Maybe you said it and I missed it, but are you using an airbrush? If not, you may want to look into this as it will make the hobby much more enjoyable. I started out with a Badger 250 and a propellant can.

I look forward to your progress.

Joe

[Justinryan215]

Justinryan215

Looking good so far, bud!

a few weeks back I posted some photos of my ‘almost complete’ Tamiya -1D version of the Corsair. My son just put this one together over thanksgiving weekend (but it stalled out because, ADD and video games…)

here is an idea for you for putty. It’s typically called “sprue goo”, and it’s a home made putty/filler.

take an almost empty Tamiya Xtra thin bottle, cut up the sprues (clear parts spruces work best, as it’s the most pure form of styrene), and add it to the bottle of xtra thin. Let it sit for a bit, to melt down, then add a few drops of colored paint (doesn’t matter what color, but something that stands out against kit plastic is a good choice), and add more extra thin as neccessary To make it the consistency you want for a filler.

another little tip…Tamiya airbrush cleaner (with the pink cap) is almost exactly the same, chemically, as their xtra thin, and cheaper too!

That seems to be a crazy Idea! I also saw a video about it just now. I do have an almost empty Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, so I will try to use that.

Good luck to your son finishing the model! I hope he has a fun time building it as I did. One more question, how far is he into the build?

it actually works wonderfully! It is my go-to filler for larger gaps. I’ve even used it during assembly as my glue, when I know I will need to sand out a seam, you know, to kinda get the filler in there from the beginning…

my son’s build has stalled as of now, but the build itself is complete. He hasn’t put a drop of paint on anything, though (I don’t think he likes that part…)