Hi again folks, how’s things?
Just wondering about Hasegawa’s Corsair’s, are they worth the price tag?
What’s the ups and down regarding these kits?
I think that I saw somewhere that when they did the -5’s, they never
moved the wings forward in the fuselage is that correct?
Is it much of a difference or it something that you can live with?
Can you build them with folded wings as well like Tamiya, or do you need a
conversion kit to do that?
I bought Tamiya’s F4U-1A a few weeks ago, to stock up on kits for the future
and I thought that I’d get a few “late” Corsair’s as well like the -4, -5 and the -5NL.
So what do you think, should I live it in case something better comes up or should I go for it?
Please feel free to hit me with all the information that you have.
Janswede:
I am currently building Hasegawa’s F4U-4, and overall it fits together well. I believe it is from an older set of molds - most (if not all) of the panel lines are raised, the cockpit and engine detail are sparse, and if you want to do folded wings, you’ll need a conversion kit (or a lot of scratchbuilding).
I have heard rave reviews of Tamiya’s F4U series, but have not built them.
Good luck!
Thanks MA Cooks. Much appreciated. [:D][:D][:D]
Hi Jan,
Yes, Hasegawa’s -4 is one of their older kits, but I have to say it makes a very pretty model on the shelf. It looks like a Corsair, and you can add a few AM bits, bulged wheels, a resin cockpit and R-2800, aftermarket decals… Only those pesky raised panel lines would be left. But you know, I scribed an old Hawk Bearcat a few years back, and from any more than 12 inches away you can’t see the lines. The work is very hard to make out against the dark blue paintjob, and when you look at photos of the real thing the panel lines are not easily seen at all. So it’s up to the individual as to whether they really make a difference.
The -5 and -5NL are much later kits, and do have recessed panel lines. However, I’ve not built them and not measured them up, so I can’t vouch for their dimensions. They look good, too, but looks aren’t necessarily accurate (though frankly, I think they probably are, certainly to a standard higher than many products out there).
Tamiya’s Corsairs are gorgeous, accurate, easy to build and great to display. 'Nuff said!
But for that matter, Academy’s old, old -4 was a nice kit that went together well, had detail in unexpected places, like the gear bay door interiors, and had recessed panel lines, so go figure… Find one for a song, add in the AMs and you could have an excellent display subject.
Cheers,
Thunderbolt37
Jan,
I fairly certain that it was another Corsair -5 kit that had the wing problem. I’m thinking the old Heller kit. As far as I remember the Hawasega Kit, (reboxed Monogram ProModeler) are good kits.
I’ve never seen a 48th scale -4 from Heller, so can’t comment. The 72nd -5 from Italieri and Revel Ger. are both wrong. They are nice kits, and go together well to make an excellent “Corsair-y looking” model, but the problem is that the engine on a -5 was longer than on the -4, so the distance between the leading edge of the wing and the back of the cowling is longer. The Pro-modeller 48th -5 got it right, but I don’t know about the rest of the kit.
I found the old Hasegawa 48th -4 to be a low-level kit - easy, not a lot of detail, good for younger or beginning modellers. I wouldn’t mess with the 72nd Heller or Smer kits, though Hasegawa’s -1A and -1D have potential. Their -1 need a lot of help!
Wess
The Hasegawa F4U-5, 5N, 7 kits are all fairly new tooled kits & are excellent quality. Heres one I built a few months ago.
The kits are well detailed with recessed panel lines & dimensionally accurate. They come only with the extended wing option, so if you want them folded you’ll need to do that work yourself. The Hasegawa F4U-4 is an older kit & not too bad except for the raised panel lines & some dimensional inaccuracies. The older F4U-4 from Minicraft is the kit to avoid if you like accuracy.
Regards, Rick
I believe my Heller kit was a AU-1 but it’s the same airframe as the -5. Cheeks just filled in and the canopy is raised.
[#ditto]…I’ve built the Hasegawa -4 and bought another one (first one was given to a friend and then destroyed during a California earthquake [xx(]). The fit was really nice. Toyed with the idea of the -5 but ended up with a Tamiya F4U-1A. [:D]
Thank you so much guys, you’re the best!
I really appreciate it.
[:D][bow]
I just remembered!
It was in the second book on F4U Corsair from Detail and Scale that mentioned the wings on the F4U-5 etc.
Need to find one now, since mine are left back with my mum and dad in Sweden.
Take care everyone
[:D][:D]
Do you guys know who makes the wingfold conversion for the Hasegawa Corsair?
Hi.
Sorry to bother you all again, terribly sorry.
I bought Hasegawa’s F4U-5 and -5N the other day,
and I noticed that there’s a wee ridge around the front
of the fuselage, not very much but you notice it.
Which is the best tool to use to get rid of it?
How do rescribe the panel lines?