mustang1989
Well-known member
I bought this kit during the spring time of 2015 for a project to do with my son. I bought one for me and one for him to build together at the same pace. After we got started we both realized that this wasn't the kit to have a beginner on so I shelved it and bought something a little easier for him. The reason behind this build was a meeting with my mentor at a church function we had over early summer. He used to build models but cant any longer due to a slight shake he has in his hands which makes him unsteady. I had asked him what his favorite WWII aircraft was(because he's into that kind of stuff) and he responded almost right away with "The Corsair". I kept that in the back of my head until September 26 when I put the wheels in motion on building this kit. What I didn't know was just how much of a challenge this build would be with all the gaps, misfits and alignment issues. I literally slaved away on this thing to get it done in time to present it as a Christmas gift by next month for him with anywhere from 30 min. to 4 hours a day being spent on it. This is the kit I'm talking about to give you all a visual (and to properly warn any innocent bystanders out there) of what I bought.
The fit issues alone where enough that I actually had the thing in the trash can................ twice! I knew if I did what I wanted and went for the Tamiya 1/48 kit that I would have had a lot better looking build with more detail but I wouldn't have been able to finish it by Christmas because thats how I am. The more detail, the more time it takes to get it done. I built her as flown as part of Black Sheep Squadron VMF-214 operated off of the USS Sicily (CVE-118) , Korea in 1951. I added a set of PE seat belts to the pit to spice things up in there as it wasn't very accurate and needed all the help it could get. I sourced a set of AM bombs from I can't remember where and I used the wheels & tires from Eduards F6F Hellcat kit as these two aircraft share the same wheels and tires. I also resorted to medical syringes for the wing cannon barrels as the wing mounted guns looked more like scale toilet paper rolls hanging off of the front of the wing. I drilled the recesses in and fit the syringe cannon barrels in for a tad bit more realism.
Anyways here are the finishing photos:
Cannon barrels before I modified them. Just a way different era of modeling back then I guess.
and a clear shot of them afterwards.....
And a shot of it on the display base without the acrylic glass top on it. (It's actually a shadow box with the glass removed, mirror cut to fit and a acrylic glass top made by a local plastic glass shop. You should have seen the look on his face when I gave it to him for Christmas. It really didn't matter about the fact that this isn't my best build but the look on his face was priceless!
![BoxArt_zps1150fc54.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FBoxArt_zps1150fc54.jpg&hash=d7b3e390cbaa4860b6a6a550a0b3abd9)
The fit issues alone where enough that I actually had the thing in the trash can................ twice! I knew if I did what I wanted and went for the Tamiya 1/48 kit that I would have had a lot better looking build with more detail but I wouldn't have been able to finish it by Christmas because thats how I am. The more detail, the more time it takes to get it done. I built her as flown as part of Black Sheep Squadron VMF-214 operated off of the USS Sicily (CVE-118) , Korea in 1951. I added a set of PE seat belts to the pit to spice things up in there as it wasn't very accurate and needed all the help it could get. I sourced a set of AM bombs from I can't remember where and I used the wheels & tires from Eduards F6F Hellcat kit as these two aircraft share the same wheels and tires. I also resorted to medical syringes for the wing cannon barrels as the wing mounted guns looked more like scale toilet paper rolls hanging off of the front of the wing. I drilled the recesses in and fit the syringe cannon barrels in for a tad bit more realism.
Anyways here are the finishing photos:
![CorsairFinished_zps7ba0e356.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished_zps7ba0e356.jpg&hash=77e247bcb2f30e91830eddaa8da85eb1)
![CorsairFinished003_zpsfa546767.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished003_zpsfa546767.jpg&hash=cde8bb21e85dc4cd00036d99fd48ef29)
![CorsairFinished004_zpsa36fd91b.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished004_zpsa36fd91b.jpg&hash=51231002dbc115ce4d84310a2bd96235)
![CorsairFinished005_zps03f940ff.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished005_zps03f940ff.jpg&hash=87ae36b119b150c43309e148c3aef0c1)
![CorsairFinished001_zps1b84e8ff.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished001_zps1b84e8ff.jpg&hash=f1b8785a05d82a251e0a15888e2c8d9e)
![njH5yy.jpg](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F924%2FnjH5yy.jpg&hash=3311807060e7466bf5cf59de5ac48d1c)
Cannon barrels before I modified them. Just a way different era of modeling back then I guess.
![VXis2P.jpg](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F922%2FVXis2P.jpg&hash=3ad7f2efe16a4f5269ec83b187ee3dbf)
and a clear shot of them afterwards.....
![ArFU4z.jpg](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.com%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F922%2FArFU4z.jpg&hash=d36cf8311b38c30bf6ab23b41ebac8bb)
And a shot of it on the display base without the acrylic glass top on it. (It's actually a shadow box with the glass removed, mirror cut to fit and a acrylic glass top made by a local plastic glass shop. You should have seen the look on his face when I gave it to him for Christmas. It really didn't matter about the fact that this isn't my best build but the look on his face was priceless!
![CorsairFinished008_zps4bb428e3.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1061.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft469%2Fbf109g430mm%2FUSS%2520Lexington%2FCorsairFinished008_zps4bb428e3.jpg&hash=b0374f432f3b5efbb7728d5256072062)