Bill Cross does a build review of the Tamiya F4U-1 Corsair "Birdcage."

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Thanks!

Thanks, Rowan, for getting this published.

Bill,
What a great build review. Concise, accurate, and very well written.

Also your build pictures really add immensely to the review. The 2nd picture of the Double Wasp engine really shows off the extra detail, especially the wiring harness. Just a great job of weathering. My only question is the Brownish color of the wheel wells. Is that supposed to be dried dirt, as there is a hint of Green Zinc Chromate in the corners of the wells?
Joel

Great review, Bill. Thanks for highlighting the different issues, good and bad. You have brought the plastic to life. I would love a kit like this, but I don't know if I have the skill yet to match the price.

Joel, I think that is the salmon primer you are seeing in the wheel wells.

Thanks, Joel and Russ!

Joel, Russ answered your question: the photos don't do the salmon justice (there is quite a bit of controversy about the exact color of the primer). We went round & round over on Large Scale Planes about it, and the Corsair experts convinced me that the wheel wells of the early birdcage birds were salmon.

Russ, you're a fine modeler and this kit pretty much puts itself together. For example, the instrument panel is made up of a decal, clear instruments and black dashboard, so you would have to really work hard to screw it up.

The only area where it requires some work IMO is the engine wiring harness, though I imagine that Eduard has an upgrade that would handle that.

Awesome build and review Bill! I was particularly impressed with your weathering and accuracy of colors specifically the salmon primer in the undercarriage wells. I bought this kit a bit ago and can't wait to build it. Great work! Take care Bill. Jim

Thanks, Jim, I think you'll be very pleased with the build. The kit is masterfully designed and it goes together so well.

Bill,
Colors of USN WW11 aircraft changed at such a fast rate, that there were multi combinations. I just checked my references that I do trust, and for what it's worth have many F4U-1s with that Salmon color for wheel wells,(which I totally forgot about, and got wrong on my Tamiya 1/48 Birdcage Corsair) with a upper black cockpit interior. One of the more recognizable F4U-1s belongs to Major Boyington of VMF 214.
Joel

Joel, you are correct about the various color combos. If I were to build a second version of this kit, I would likely go with salmon wells again and the black interior. If there weren't so many good kits in my stash....