F4U-I/F-4U-1AIFAU-ID_ kit summary Pros + Accurate outline Well-detailed cockpit, engine and landing gear CCrisply engraved panel lines, recessed rivets and raised fabric detail ‘Option of dropped flaps and folded wings Excellent engineering and parts breakdown Very good fie Thin, clear transparencies * Useful accessories supplied in all versions Cons + Tricky fit for wings if depicted unfolded, and flaps if built closed + Aggressive surface detail might not be to everybody’ taste Tamiya 1/48 scale | South-American FG-ID, 1/48 scale Subject: Tamiya’s FAU-1A ‘Prop Action’ built as an FG-1D Modeller: Brett Green Skill level Advanced | Base ki Tamiya F4U-1A ‘Prop Action’ Scale 1/48 Additional detailing Aires cockpit set sets used: Ultracast seat Teknics R2800 engine (partial) True Details main wheels UpNorth tin wire Propeller from Tamiya F4U-1D kit Markings: Hobbycraft decals and custom masked Tamiya’s 1/48-scale Corsairs in the box Tamiya’s 1/48-scale Corsair series debuted in 1996 with the F4U-1/2 birdcage kit. This was followed in 1998 by the F4U-1D, and finally the F4U-1A. The kits share common airframe and undercarriage components, with different parts such as canopies, propeller assemblies and ordnance supplied to distinguish specific variants. All of Tamiya’s 1/48-scale Corsairs are accurate and exquisitely detailed. Tamiya’s F4U-1 was one of the best 1/48-scale mainstream World War II models at the time of its release, and these kits remain the best Corsairs on the market a decade later. So what makes this kit so good? The outline is accurate, detail is excellent (especially the cockpit), surface detail is crisp and there are plenty of useful options including folded wings, dropped flaps, open or closed coal flaps, and a selection of ordnance. These options do not overly complicate construction, which is generally trouble free. Construction The quality of Tamiya’s 1/48-scale Corsair kits is unmistakable, so | was looking forward to this project. Despite a number of self-induced problems, I was, not disappointed. I chose to build the ‘Prop Action’ version of the F4U-1A. This kit includes a small motor, which permits the propeller to spin. I thought that this might make for some interesting photo opportunities. Aires produces a multimedia replacement cockpit for this kit. Tamiya’s front office is very nice but Aires’ is even better. The only area of concern is the seat, which is squared off at the top. This was replaced with a resin Corsair seat from Ultracast. The first problem surfaced while [ was preparing the beautifully detailed cockpit tub for installation. Despite being aware of the risks of damaging the part when sawing off the substantial casting block, I managed to rip out a large section of the resin floor. Rather than discard the tub, I improvised by adding the missing fuselage floor detail to the kit part. Once painted and weathered, the Aires cockpit looks very impressive indeed. Ultracast's seat, with its harness cast in place, is equally good.One aspect of Tamiya’s kit that can benefit from Improvement is the R-2800 engine. The cylinder banks are very nice but I preferred the deeper Teknics resin crankcase and the shape of the magnetos. Teknics also supplies a photo-etched ignition harness that makes short work of the wiring. The solid resin interior of the reduction gear housing was hollowed out with a Dremel motor tool to ensure that the propeller shaft had clearance to spin. The deeper crankcase requires the engine mounting stub to be shortened by a few millimetres. Even with the Aires cockpit and the modifications to the engine, the electric motor fitted snugly inside the forward fuselage. Basic construction moved quickly from this point on. The only awkward task was fitting the outer wing panels in the ‘down’ position. Tamiya supplies a spar to reinforce the join, but perfect alignment of the outer and inner wing panels requires a bit of fiddling. Liquid glue was brushed along the join lines when a reasonable match was made, The wings were clamped while the glue dried, In fact, the resulting join was so good that the wing fold line had all but disappeared. Self-adhesive Dymo tape was employed as a guide to re-scribe this line. Smaller details were prepared at this stage, including the undercarriage gear and ordnance. Brake lines were added to the gear legs using tin wire from a new company called UpNorth. Fight Sin. HVAR rockets were sourced from a Hasegawa F4U-5 kit. The fins of the rockets were too wide to permit installation on Tamiya’s mounts, so they were trimmed to fit. The back of each rocket body was also drilled out and fitted with a fuse made of fine copper wire, and a plug comprising a blob of superglue. This Corsair was to be finished as an FG-1D in the setvice of El Salvador. The FG-1D was the Goodyear manufactured equivalent of the F4U-1D. The only part for the FG-1D not supplied in the F4U-1A kit was the 13ft. in. propeller. This was sourced from leftovers of another ‘Tamiya kit that I had built as an FAU-4, A number of profiles published over the years depict the canopy and trim of these Salvadoran FG-1Ds as yellow, but recent evidence suggests that they were the same blue as the prominent national markings. (continued on page 47) ‘The Corsair saw its final operational se over the skies of Central and South America, Tamiya’s 1/48-scale kit has beon built as an FG-ID Corsair in service with El Salvador:Aires’ multimedia cockpit set was used for this project. The resin Also note the very substantial casting block on the bottom of the castings are beautifully detailed and extremely dalicata, Note thar tub. Large casting blocks are the natural enemy of delicate resin the resin of the cockpit cub is quite translucent. parts! Despite extreme care, a large chunk of the cacpit flcer was torn Ares’ resin parts have structural derail cast in place, so Tamiya’s off the resin part during my attempt to remove the casting block. _sidewall detail must be removed before the cockpit can bo Resisting a strong urge to drop the part in the garbage bin, | installed. eventually decided to remove a larger, more uniform section of the cockpic floor, and adapt the kit to compensate for my mistake. The resin parts have been painted and received a wash of thinned Wartime photos of Corsairs show a seat with a curved top. This Raw Umber oil paint. This wash pools in natural shadow areas, 148-scale resin seat from Ultracast seemed to be a becter lending an impression of depth and grime to the pares representation of the typical Corsair seat than the part supplied by Aires. The cast-on harness was a welcome feature too.