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!
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!
