Here are some shots of a 1/48 HobbyCraft FG-1D that I'm building for a customer. The camouflage was sprayed freehand using Gunze acrylic light gray and dark green, along with Model Master's enamel RAF interior green and middlestone.

After glosscoating with Future, I added the decals. MAN, were these troublesome. The first one shattered when I went to apply it to the surface. I was able to salvage them all, but they are very brittle. Slicing them over the panel lines caused them to flake in a couple places. Luckily, this was on the white portions of the roundels and easily fixed with white paint. Since I have another Corsair which will use some of these decals, I ordered the correct shade of blue to paint the markings on the other kit.

With the decals done, I glosscoated with Future and applied the washes. This was done in my usual manner, mixing the base color enamels with black oil paint for the wash colors. I then shot the model with Testor's Dullcote, and removed the canopy masks.

Still a bit of work to do (rockets, bombs, antenna & mast, headrest, gear doors, etc.), but I'm almost there.

This is the first time I have seen a corsair not painted dark blue, Is this common?

Not having a dk. blue finish is pretty common for the surplus corsairs that served in Latin America (since they were land based, not carrier based).

I've actually been wanting to do an El Salvador Corsair, just to get away from the typical finish you always see on them.

Nice freehand airbrushing Pixilator.

And you make the Hobbycraft kit look like it is of fairly good quality - is that the case, or is that camo job masking lots of modelling skills we can't obviously see?

Hi Bill!

Lovely camo job!
And thanks Vance for asking the exact same question I wanted to ask him!

Jean-Luc

Thanks Johnny, Vance, and Jean-Luc !

Johnny - as Vance said, this aircraft was surplus purchased by El Salvador. The "Soccer (Football to those outside the US) War" happened in 1969. It was a war that erupted over the outcome of a game between El Salvador and Honduras.

Vance and Jean-Luc - the HC kit is lacking on some of the finer details. Dryfitting, filling, and sanding are necessary, but those are all just basic skills. The radiators and gun panels that fit into the leading edge of the wing require trimming and filling. The fit of the flaps also needs TLC, LOTS of dryfitting and trimming. The surface scribing is very fine, unlike Tamiys's "trenches." Not a bad kit, overall, as long as you build it with care.

Thanks again !

Hi Bill:

Very nice looking Corsair. I like it very much.
That scheme is from the El Salvador Air Force (FAS = Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña). The roundels are of the same colour of the Argentine ones.

Well done

As usual with your builds, Bill, I can't find anything I DON'T like.
Very clean and realistic. I love the camo pattern and colors also. I'd like to have this one in my display case.

Sorry, but I've tried doing washes a few times the way you describe doing yours by mixing the enamel colors with oil paint on an old scrap model. My tests have so far turned out really funky looking. I'm guessing this technique takes lots of practice. Is there any certain mixing ration that you use between the enamels and oil?

Excellent work Bill. I love the camo, its nice to see the Corsair painted in something other than blue.
How are the rest of the "Soccer War" aircraft coming along.
Andy (++)

Hi Bill,

Great looking Corsair from a little known conflict. You just can't go wrong with any F4U in my humble opinion!

Sincerely,
Brian

Hi Bill

Lovely job!

I've always felt sorry for Hobbycraft - the timing of their Corsairs could hardly have been worse. Despite the fact that they have plenty to recommend them - including much finer scribing than Tamiya's - there was only ever going to be one winner in the mass-market...

All the best

Rowan