F4U-1A Corsair - Tamiya - 1/32 by DocRob - Finished

[DocRob]

Well, the Corsair is called finished and I'd like to thank you for your input and your encouragement. I could have done more weathering and finishing in the end, but I got a bit worn out. Not because of the build or the painting, which was especially fun, but with the latest steps of the build, like clear coating, adding bits and pieces, ... tried my patience, as a lot went wrong, in a phase of the build, where I hated it most, after painting. 
I want to end the modeling year on a good term though and have to say, I'm more or less pleased with the result. The planned painting scheme including double layer chipping and masking for markings and stencils all went well. The build itself was a no brainer, with the Tamiya quality and was more a time consuming obstacle to get to the painting stage.
I have to raise my hat to the Tamiya engineers. This is maybe the best kit, ever made in plastic, being complex and full of innovative design ideas. The level of detail you get out of the box is impressive, except maybe for the rubber wheels.

The non painted pilot next to the Corsair is a symbol for the ambivalent ending this build took and that's why he's there. Maybe I paint him later, but first I have to clean my workbench and get some distance.

Cheers Rob

[ScottsGT]

Quite impressive!  I just hope mine comes out (of the box one day) as nice as yours has.  I fully understand about having patience at the very end.  I may have rushed a build or four because of the same reason. 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Quite impressive!  I just hope mine comes out (of the box one day) as nice as yours has.  I fully understand about having patience at the very end.  I may have rushed a build or four because of the same reason. 

Thank you Scott, I was not rushing the build towards the end so much as to encounter numerous problems, like stained canopy and windscreen after mask removing, fogging clear coat (luckily tested before), too well fitting clear parts, which wouldn't click into position, without leaving glue stains, chrome foil, which didn't adhere, gooey residues from blue tack, which needed hours to remove and a lot more after a trouble free build and painting phase.
I don't like bad surprises that late in a build and try to optimize my process with good thorough planning. Seems like I failed a bit here .

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Beautifully done and the weathering while intense and time consuming, it is truly remarkable and so realistic. Just nothing like a Tamiya kit for excellence in engineering and near perfection in fit. For me, my favorite kit and the center of my display case is the:

Tamiya Mossie - just an amazing kit and most likely the reason, Tamiya to give up on designing and releasing new 32nd scale kits. 

 

 

   

[DocRob]

15 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Beautifully done and the weathering while intense and time consuming, it is truly remarkable and so realistic. Just nothing like a Tamiya kit for excellence in engineering and near perfection in fit. For me, my favorite kit and the center of my display case is the:

Tamiya Mossie - just an amazing kit and most likely the reason, Tamiya to give up on designing and releasing new 32nd scale kits. 

Thank you Peter, I have the Mossie in my stash along with a ton of AM, so this pleasure is still to come. But first I have to decide if and with what kit I enter the GB.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Great to know the Mossie is high up on your build list. Yup, the GB is right around the corner and kickoff is in two days. I'm in with the latest version of the 1/48 Revell/Monogram Kingfisher. See how it goes

 

[DocRob]

Sorry Peter, the Mossie will have to wait a bit, there are lots of other projects attracting my interest way more, but first it's decision time about the GB subject:

- Fore Models Schnellboot S-38 in 1/72 along with a crew.
- Industria Mechanika's  Long Nose Submersible, a steam punk mini submarine resin-brass-kit in 1/35
- USS Arizona from Eduard which is based on a Hobby Boss in 1/350 kit, with added metal barrels, tons of PE, printed parts and a wooden deck

Or I continue with the rigging of my Duchess of Kingston build and skip the GB

I'm eager to see what you do with the Kingfisher. I regretted not to have bought the LS one, when it was available. My only Kingfishers are part of my USS Arizona boxing, nicely 3D printed in 1/350

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

If I had a vote and of course I don't, mine would be for the USS Arizonia but that is a build requiring an enormous amount of dedication and time.  

 

[GazzaS]

Rob,

     Great job on the corsair.  I like the weathering.  I actually like it more than those birds modelled with so much zinc chromate yellow showing that you're distracted from the beauty of the plane itself.  Kudos!  The subtle directional airflow weathering over the wings is a great, subtle addition.

 

The finishing steps...   They are exhausting, I agree.  Trying to add tiny bits without putting glue blobs over your carefully manicured finish...  maneuvering the kit around hopefully without knocking off protrusions or damaging the paint...  it wears you out.  And then the pilot...  That's one of the reasons I try to do the crew before I finish the plane...  

[HubertB]

I like the result you have achieved, Rob …

And a steam punk submarine would be great in the GB

Hubert

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, GazzaS said:

    Great job on the corsair.  I like the weathering.  I actually like it more than those birds modelled with so much zinc chromate yellow showing that you're distracted from the beauty of the plane itself.  Kudos!  The subtle directional airflow weathering over the wings is a great, subtle addition.

 

The finishing steps...   They are exhausting, I agree.  Trying to add tiny bits without putting glue blobs over your carefully manicured finish...  maneuvering the kit around hopefully without knocking off protrusions or damaging the paint...  it wears you out.  And then the pilot...  That's one of the reasons I try to do the crew before I finish the plane... 

Thank you Gary, some Corsair builds I have seen, some very good ones, better then mine, looked a bit out of scale weathering wise to my eye. My goa was a worn bird, but not completely neglected. The prop for example is only weathered slightly, because I believe, that such an important part would be maintained properly. 
I always try to imagine how wear would show, being it with the airflow, through use and maintenance or fading in the sunlight and try to depict that.

Yes, the finishing steps can be testing, specially when the bad mojo accumulates in details and you feel like, the further I dig in, the worse the probs become. The finish line is what you declare it to be, not what should be appropriate .

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

I like the result you have achieved, Rob …

And a steam punk submarine would be great in the GB

Thank you Hubert, I'm still undecided about the GB. The submarine is very tempting, but only one piece of a huge underwater diorama plan, which I have in mind since years.
The Schnellboot S-38 was my initial choice, as there are not many built from the Fore kit and I like larger scales in ship modeling. The USS Arizona is a new candidate, after opening the box some days ago and browsing through the subpar plastic, which will luckily substituted by lots of PE and printed parts. I like to try new things and I have never built a 1/350 ship with all the galore.

But there is the Duchess of Kingston rigging looming, a project, I definitely want to finish this winter. (Un)Luckily the bad season here often takes until June. Decisions, decisions.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Rob, congratulations on a beautiful Corsair. The weathering as Gaz said is stunningly understated. You have nailed the worn but not abused look. I need to get mine off the SOD. John photographed the part I screwed up so if I may, I’ll borrow from your masterclass on weathering when I’ve fixed my screw up. …..

[ScottsGT]

Someone say steampunk submarine?

[DocRob]

27 minutes ago, ScottsGT said:

Someone say steampunk submarine?

Yup, me 

But this one will be different.

Cheers Rob

 

[CANicoll]

Rob,  Beautiful build and the frustrations at the end not withstanding - a great looking bird.  I'm with you.  It really takes a lot of steam out of me too, when I get to the finishing stages, and things like staining blue tac (I don't even try and use it anymore), or fogging canopies (I still dip all mine in Future and now I have THREE different clear cements to use!).  But once things are fixed and you get a result a nice as you have, well yes, the memories of the pain and frustration are still there!  

And we now have proof from you and Scott of the Nautilus builds so no sneaking them into the GB this year!!  

[Landlubber Mike]

Real beauty Rob - was following your build on MSW and so impressed by your skills.  Makes me want to hang up my airbrush!

Happy New Year!

[DocRob]

On 12/31/2022 at 1:57 PM, Bomber_County said:

Rob, congratulations on a beautiful Corsair. The weathering as Gaz said is stunningly understated. You have nailed the worn but not abused look. I need to get mine off the SOD. John photographed the part I screwed up so if I may, I’ll borrow from your masterclass on weathering when I’ve fixed my screw up. …..

Thank you Peter, the blue of the Corsair's is the perfect canvas for layered painting techniques. I can't wait until yours is off your shelf. John is right, when he states, you can't have enough Corsairs.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:48 PM, CANicoll said:

Rob,  Beautiful build and the frustrations at the end not withstanding - a great looking bird.  I'm with you.  It really takes a lot of steam out of me too, when I get to the finishing stages, and things like staining blue tac (I don't even try and use it anymore), or fogging canopies (I still dip all mine in Future and now I have THREE different clear cements to use!).  But once things are fixed and you get a result a nice as you have, well yes, the memories of the pain and frustration are still there!  

And we now have proof from you and Scott of the Nautilus builds so no sneaking them into the GB this year!!

Thank you, you are absolutely right, with some time passing, the obstacles and issues to the end of the build fade away and there is some satisfaction.
I usually dip my canopies in Future as well, but these parts were extremely clear, so I skipped it. I have no idea how a futurized canopy will react to lacquer fumes.

Blue tac is out of my masking arsenal as well, I will use it only to hold pieces in place temporary, where it was of great use to me in the past.

Cheers Rob 

[DocRob]

On 1/1/2023 at 3:29 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

Real beauty Rob - was following your build on MSW and so impressed by your skills.  Makes me want to hang up my airbrush!

Happy New Year!

Thank you Mike, don't sell yourself short, it's all just imagination, planning and some applied skills. I'm sure you can do that. 
A belated Happy New Year to you too.

Cheers Rob

[Martinnfb]

And again, such a beautiful result, weathering is subtle and feels realistic. Joy to look at. Bravo!

[Clunkmeister]

Another stunning Corsair build!  Awesome work, Rob! 

[DocRob]

On 1/22/2023 at 7:46 PM, Martinnfb said:

And again, such a beautiful result, weathering is subtle and feels realistic. Joy to look at. Bravo!

 

On 1/23/2023 at 6:18 AM, Clunkmeister said:

Another stunning Corsair build!  Awesome work, Rob! 

Muchas gracias, it was fun to experiment with the painting and weathering and try out new techniques, that equals out the boring building stage of this near perfect kit.

Cheers Rob

[MARU 5137]

Rob 

I love Corsairs.

Your Bent WINGY THINGY  is EXQUISITE to look at.

I love the subtlety  of the scuffed marks..  looks delightful to gaze at.

Kudos.. 

 

[DocRob]

7 hours ago, MARU 5137 said:

I love Corsairs.

Your Bent WINGY THINGY  is EXQUISITE to look at.

I love the subtlety  of the scuffed marks..  looks delightful to gaze at.

Kudos.. 

 

Thank you Maru, I do love these thingies too. It's the second I built and that says it all, as I'm not a friend of redundance. And there is more. Tamiya gave us one of the best plastic kits ever made with the gullwing series. They are a pleasure to build and a perfect and sturdy canvas for advanced painting and weathering techniques.

Cheers Rob