Mark Aldrich Posted March 21, 2010 Report Posted March 21, 2010 Hello, I am currently working on a "what if" IDF Corsair. I have the Tamiya F4U-1D kit #61085. The Kit comes with 8 HVAR rockets and 2 fuel tanks. I wish to replace the fuel tanks with bombs. I need to know if the kit fuel tank mounts were also used to mount the bombs or do I need to find replacements. Also, the HVAR rockets....were there firing lines attached to the rockets or were they contained in the stubs they were mounted to? Also, if I remove the arresting hook (land based) is there more items I need to adjust? Any and all help woudl be greatly appreciated. Mark
ghodges Posted March 22, 2010 Report Posted March 22, 2010 Well, my first question would be: why worry about such accuracies on a hypothetical model? But having said that, and assuming you want those details, here's my best advice... 1) If you have a -4 or -5 Corsair kit, use it instead of the -1. Those would probably have rocket rails/stubs, which the -1 did not use. This is also consitant with the IDF using late WWII planes (Mustangs, late model Spits, etc.). The -1 Corsair had been replaced by 1945 with the -4. If the -1 is the only one you have and want to use it... 2) The bombs mount to the same pylons as used for the drop tanks. There should be sway braces for either one. 3) The rockets don't seem to have any wires over the lengths of their bodies or the warhead, but do appear (some) to have a short wire hanging out of the rear of the rocket with a "plug" on the end of the wire. Since this is how it appears on the ground, perhaps they are "plugged in" before take-off to arm them, and you don't see that in flight pics? All the above is based on the drwaings from my SqSig Fighting Colors book "F4U Corsair in Color". I like your idea, especially if you're going to do the IDF camo from the 60's on it! Cheers! GIL
Mark Aldrich Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Posted March 22, 2010 Gil, Thanks a bunch. I had the Hasegawa -4 but traded it for a Typhoon. When it comes to "What-ifs", I was told it still had to be doable. I unfortunately have no plane reference photos and most I have found show no underwing stores other than the fuel tanks. I looked up HVAR and found 3.5, 5, and 8 inch models. It appears that mine are 3.5 as the 5 inch look more like the British types. I have sway braces so the Bombs should be good to go. I do plan to do the blue tan paint job on this. Mark
JoeHegedus Posted March 22, 2010 Report Posted March 22, 2010 1) If you have a -4 or -5 Corsair kit, use it instead of the -1. Those would probably have rocket rails/stubs, which the -1 did not use. This is also consitant with the IDF using late WWII planes (Mustangs, late model Spits, etc.). The -1 Corsair had been replaced by 1945 with the -4. If the -1 is the only one you have and want to use it... 2) The bombs mount to the same pylons as used for the drop tanks. There should be sway braces for either one. 3) The rockets don't seem to have any wires over the lengths of their bodies or the warhead, but do appear (some) to have a short wire hanging out of the rear of the rocket with a "plug" on the end of the wire. Since this is how it appears on the ground, perhaps they are "plugged in" before take-off to arm them, and you don't see that in flight pics? Gil, the -4 was just coming on line in 1945. The majority of Corsair Ops in WWII were the -1 and its subvariants. In 1945, the F4U-1D/FG-1D (along with the F6F) were carrying the lion's share of the workload through most of the Okinawa campaign. The F4U-4 showed up toward the tail end of that operation. The F4U-1D was fitted early on with the zero-length rocket stubs. The firing lead ("pigtail") connected the back of the rocket to a receptacle in the wing behind the rear stub, and would not be connected until just before takeoff for safety. There is also an arming lanyard for the warhead fuze that would connect to the area of the forward stub, and run along the upper surface of the rocket/warhead to the fuze.
Mark Aldrich Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Posted March 22, 2010 Were the firing end of the rockets sealed or were they open? Tamiya modeled there's closed. Adding a wire to each rocket and attaching it to the stub sounds easy enough. The bombs are good to go and the cockit interior will be my best guess on colors of switches, dials and knobs. Mark
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