1/48 Marine Corsair

[ghodges]

This is the Pro-Modeler edition of the 1/48 Hasagawa F4U-5N Corsair. I actually started this last winter as a diversion while finishing the B-47 up, and finally finished it today.

 

 

 

 

 

I built it OOTB with the exception of adding resin tires in lieu of the kit tires. It's a great kit with very good detailing. The only difficulty was in attaching the rockets, as there's really no solid, positive positioning pin to help lock them down on the pods, which were also too thin to drill to add wire pins. The GSB was done with Floquil Dark Blue, which was then also post shaded with a slightly lightened version. The markings are from an old War Eagle decal sheet, which performed very well considering they're old enough to vote! The checks on the cowl fit almost perfectly, which is amazing when you realize the decals predate the release of the kit. The exhaust stains were done with pastel chalks.

This is not my favorite version of the Corsair, but it does add an important Korean War version to my collection. It also ties in with some nostalgia, as I always liked this same scheme that was on the old Monogram 1/48 -4 Corsair that I built as a kid. Now I have those markings on the shelf once again! Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as always!

 

IMPORTANT CORRECTION: A person with better knowledge than myself contacted me to point out that these markings are not historically accurate for VMF-312 during the Korean War.

As stated, I built the model based on the War Eagle decals, and it appears that they based their sheet on a color profile in the SS book "Mig Alley". The side view on the decal instructions and that color profile in the book (showing an -5N of VMF-312) match perfectly, and it's also the "reference" listed for that scheme in the decal instructions. That book was released in '78, and there's a very good chance that the color profile was a mistake.

Historically, it seems that VMF-312 only flew the -4 and -4B Corsairs in Korea, and not the -5 or -5N. So, if historical accuracy is important to you, then make your adjustments accordingly and do not copy my build. Luckily, it matters little to me as I build "representative types" for my collection for the most part, as opposed to historical miniatures, so this -5N still fills my needs. Cheers!

 

GIL

Edited June 24, 2015 by ghodges

[RLFoster]

Exceptionally well done, Gil. Thanks for posting it!

[mustang1989]

Now that..............is what tha hek I'm talkin' about!!!! Beautiful Corsair Gil!!!

Edited June 22, 2015 by mustang1989

[Zglossip]

Nice very good looking corsair love the weathering just curious is that a radar on the right wing .

[ghodges]

The radar pod on the wing was also used on the Hellcat (F6F-3N/5N). It gave the pilot limited night interception capabilities when combined with help from the carrier's (or ground control's) radar to get it close to the enemy and within range of the plane's own radar. I'm sure it cut down on the the plane's maneuverability, but then it was intercepting a lot of slower, larger, twin-engine enemies, so it didn't need to be as nimble at night. It came into use from 1943 onward. Hope that answers your question!

 

GIL

[mustang1989]

Slow or not there's just something about 4 20's and a butt load of rockets that spells disaster for anything that's in front of it.

[Mark Deliduka]

Brilliant work Gil! Quite the Masterpiece.

[WildBill50]

THAT looks great! I like everything about this one Gil.

 

Nice weathering overall also.

 

Bill

[aAzZ09]

Way to go, Gil. Keep up the great work!

 

Mark

[GregWise]

nice work.

[VonL]

Ditto Bill's comment on the WX effects. Nice touch with the GSB; taking notes on that.

[captfue]

Nice build

[kpatterson]

" I actually started this last winter as a diversion while finishing the B-47 up, and finally finished it today."

 

Gil,

That's a very nice diversion. Great build!

 

Ken