This is my Tamiya 1/48th F4U-2
Corsair night fighter. Brake lines, seatbelts/buckles are scratch built.
All
lights save the spine light and wingtip nav lights are MV lenses. I added wiring
to the engine. Paint is Model
Master Deep Sea Blue, Intermediate Blue, and White. Decals are kit supplied,
although I had 4 sheets to work from. Lots of troubles with these decals.
Some wouldn't stick, and some broke up once wet.
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images below to see larger images
A word about my painting system on this
bird. These night fighters were converted from -1 Corsairs at the Naval
Aircraft Factory at Philadelphia. They came out of that facility still in
their original Blue Gray over Light Gray finish. Sometime before they were
boarded on the carrier, they were repainted in the newer Naval Air colors
at a Navy depot. Photos reveal a light color in the insert behind the
cockpit, under the glass. I know it was not an interior color, as Vought
painted that area the same as the external surfaces. I feel that it was
probably easier to mask off those windows, than remove them for the
repaint, thus that area remained USN Blue Gray. Note that when repainting,
the depot personnel applied the Sea Blue in a straight line above the
Intermediate Blue, rather than the official Corsair pattern where the Sea
Blue scoops down fore and aft of the wing to merge with the Sea Blue upper
surface of the wing. Because this was a -1 U-bird, I elected to use a home
brew Salmon mix in the wheel wells. The gear doors were originally Light
Gray both inside and out, but the repaint only coated the outer surfaces
with white. Photos of these aircraft onboard the carrier show a very dark
radome, which I took to be black. Pics taken on the islands later, show
them as white. Repainted, or new replacements, I have no way of knowing.
Well, that's the logic behind my painting method. Seems reasonable to
me.
Weathering was accomplished with eye shadow and Prisma silver pencil.
I regret that I had yet to attach
the "T" shaped antennae under the fuselage before these pictures were
taken. I have leaned heavily on material from William Reese and Corsair Jim
Sullivan in the preparation of this build.
Hal Marshman Sr
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images below to see larger images
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