 Hasagewa kit #09125: F4U-4
Corsair 1/48 scale
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Hasagewa kit #09125: F4U-4
Corsair 1/48 scale
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| Times below are for construction and painting of the model only and do not include time spent building a display base or airbrush setup times. Manufacturer paint numbers will be mentioned with color names only once. After that, only the color names will be used. |
| 2/28
On the sprues, all parts were soaked in a mild, warm dishwashing detergent solution for an hour to remove any mold release agent from the surface of the plastic. time:
00:05
3/1
time:
00:09
time:
00:28
3/6
time:
00:03
3/7
time:
00:04
time:
00:05
time:
00:03
time:
00:04
time:
00:06
3/8
Glued engine components together and trimmed push-rods, completing the engine sub-assembly. PHOTO time:
00:06
3/11
Glued .090" shims to inside of gear wells and glued rear gear doors in place. PHOTO time:
00:30
3/12
Made filler piece out of .015" strip of sheet plastic to fill gap in left-side main gear doors and glued into place. time:
00:05
3/13
Shaved main gear door filler flush with X-acto #11 chisel blade and sanded smooth. PHOTO time:
00:03
time:
00:03
3/14
Trimmed sprue-plugs in fuselage, filed and sanded flush. PHOTO time:
00:07
3/19
Sprayed cockpit sub-assembly parts (cockpit tub with back, seat and stick) with automotive primer. time:
00:02
4/5
Sprayed cockpit sub-assembly parts with a 5:1 mix of Tamiya Park Green (X-28) and Flat Black. time:
00:08
Details
in the cockpit were painted with an 6:1 mix of Model Master Flat Black
and Gunship Gray (#1723).
time:
00:17
4/11
Cockpit details were painted with Tamiya Flat White (XF-2) and Flat Red (XF-7). time:
00:05
The seat
of the pilot's pants was sanded down to reduce his height and allow him
to fit in the cockpit with the canopy closed.
time:
00:01
4/20
Filed off the raised detail on the instrument panel and covered with a sized color photo of actual F4U-4 instruments. time:
00:06
4/25
Scraped minor flash and mold lines off of pilot figure and glued on right arm. PHOTO time: 00:05
5/2
Painted small details on instrument center-console. time: 00:03
Sprayed pilot with primer.
time: 00:03
5/9
Glued main instrument panel into cockpit interior. PHOTO time: 00:02
5/17
The pilot figure was sprayed with a 5:3:1 mix of Tamiya Flat White, Lemon Yellow (X-8) and Flat Brown (XF-10). PHOTO time: 00:10
5/18
The pilot's life vest was hand brushed with Tamiya Lemon Yellow. time: 00:09
The pilot's face was hand brushed
with a 3:2 mix of Tamiya White and Flat Flesh (XF-15).
time: 00:06
6/6
The pilot's crash helmet and gloves were hand brushed with Tamaya Flat Brown. time: 00:07
6/7
The pilot's goggles were painted with Tamiya Black. time: 00:05
The pilots seat restraints were
painted with a 8:1 mix of Tamiya White and Flat Earth (XF-52).
time: 00:05
The pilot's oxygen mask was
painted with a 5:1 mix of Tamiya Flat Brown and Black.
time: 00:04
6/20
The pilot was given a wash of Model Master Burnt Sienna and Black in a 2:1 mix, finishing the pilot figure. PHOTO time: 00:05
7/4
The wing sections were removed from their sprues and the edges of the parts were filed clean. time: 00:06
7/18
The wing vents were sprayed with Model Master Silver. time: 00:04
8/8
Wing vents were washed with Tamiya Smoke (X-19). PHOTO time: 00:05
The wing vents were glued into
the wing bottom half.
time: 00:04
The wing vents were masked off
with low-tack masking tape and the wing upper halves were glued on.
time: 00:07
8/9
K&S 1/4-inch I.D aluminum tube was cut with a razor saw and filed to shape to be used as a mounting tube. PHOTO time: 00:14
8/10
The tail-gear section of the right-side fuselage was filed to make clearance for mounting the model. PHOTO time: 00:11
8/12
The tail-gear section of the left-side fuselage was filed open. time: 00:05
8/29
The wing leading edges were smoothed together with 600 and then 1800 grit sandpaper. time: 00:03
9/5
The insides of both fuselage-halves and the mounting tube were sanded with 80-grit sandpaper to give them a rough surface for the application of Milliput epoxy putty. time: 00:03
time: 00:11
9/13
The front edges of the insides of the fuselage halves were painted with Model Master flat black. time: 00:03
The cockpit and engine sub-assemblies
were glued into the right fuselage half. PHOTO
time: 00:04
time: 00:12
9/15
Seams on the fuselage were filed and sanded with 400, 600 and 1800 grit sandpaper. time: 00:08
9/18
The antennas on the bottom of the left-side fuselage half were cut off and filed flush. time: 00:04
More filing and sanding on the
fuselage seams.
time: 00:07
9/19
Fuselage seams were brushed with Model Master brush-on primer (#2737). time: 00:03
The inside of the engine cowling
front-cap was painted with Model Master Flat Black.
time: 00:03
9/21
The two canopy parts were masked with Parafilm M. time: 00:08
The wing sub-assembly was glued
to the fuselage. PHOTO
time: 00:03
9/23
The right and left Horizontal Stabilizers were removed from their sprues and cleaned up. time: 00:04
9/25 Gaps between the wing-tops and fuselage were filled with Model Master Primer. time: 00:08
time: 00:08
time: 00:11
9/26
Seams and joints were sanded smooth with 320, 600 and 800 grit sandpaper. time: 00:12
time: 00:03
time: 00:05
time: 00:05
time: 00:04
9/27
The mast on top of the vertical stabilizer was cut off and sanded flush. time: 00:03
time: 00:06
10/2
The mast behind the cockpit was trimmed to 7/16 inch to match pictures of the actual aircraft. The mast in front of che cockpit was trimmed to the same height. A #57 hole was drilled into the fuselage to better anchor the foward mast when glued into place. time: 00:06
10/3 to 10/10
The model was prepared for painting through priming and sanding. Automotive primer was used as was Model Master to fill small flaws which were then sanded out with 400, 600 and 800 grit sand paper. This was done for a few minutes a day over a one-week period. Logged time is a close estimate. time: 00:15
10/10
The canopy was glued into place using Elmer's white glue. PHOTO time: 00:05
10/15
Sprayed the canopy with a 5:1 mix of Tamiya Park Green and Flat Black. PHOTO time: 00:04
10/16
A 4:1 mix of Tamiya Sea Blue (XF-17) and Blue (X-4) was sprayed on the entire model with a Testors mini spray-gun. PHOTO time: 00:08
10/17
A second coat of the main color was sprayed on. time: 00:07
10/24
A small amount of the main color was mixed with Tamaya Clear (X-22) and sprayed onto the model. time: 00:11
11/2
Future acrylic floor finish was sprayed onto the model to give it a high-gloss finish for decals. PHOTO time: 00:08
11/4
Minor flaws in the Future clear-coat were sanded out with 600, 800 and 1500 grit sandpaper. time: 00:14
11/7
Applied decals to the underside of the wing using Future as a decal setting solution. time: 00:10
time: 00:07
11/8 Applied decals to the right side (starboard/"passenger's side") of the plane. time: 00:20
11/14 Applied decals to the left side (port/"driver's side") of the plane. time: 00:19
11/19
Cut off the bottom of the "I" part of the decal on the vertical stabilizer's left side and hand-painted it in. time: 00:05
11/21
Sprayed the model with Future mixed with Tamiya Flat Base (X-21). time 00:08
time: 00:11
11/25 Canopy straps were touched up by hand brushing with the fuselage color mix and a 10/0 paintbrush. time: 00:02
11/29
Prop painting masks were cut from 0.020 sheet styrene. time: 00:15
12/3
Cut propeller masks out of 0.020" sheet styrene. time: 00:11
12/6
Cut pieces of Plastruct 1/4 x 5/16 inch rectangular ABS plastic tube into 1 1/4 inch sections, applied double-sided masking tape to the wide sides and stuck them to the undersides of the prop masks. PHOTO time: 00:16
Used a file to clean up the
edges of the prop blank.
time: 00:04
Taped the prop template down
to a piece of 0.100 inch sheet styrene, taped the blank down to the template.
time: 00:04
Covered the prop with Parafilm.
Used
the circle cutter to trim center area of blank to 1/16 inch of perimeter.
Taped down edges of Parafilm to template. PHOTO
time: 00:07
Taped prop masks over blank.
PHOTO
time: 00:07
12/13
Sprayed the prop with Tamiya Smoke (X-19). time: 00:04
Removed all masks from the prop
blank.
time: 00:02
12/18
Masked the inner portion of the prop blank with Parafilm. PHOTO time: 00:03
12/20 Sprayed the outer edge of the prop blank with a 2:1 mix of Tamiya Clear Yellow (X-24) to Yellow (X-3). time: 00:04
The blades were removed from
the kit's prop dome and the dome was super glued to a section of 0.080
inch dowel.
time: 00:03
The dowel and prop dome were
chucked in a hand drill and the dome was filed to an even 0.190-inch diameter.
PHOTO
time: 00:05
12/22
A brass model boat porthole was filed smooth on the front to act as a prop core. time: 00:03
The center of the prop was drilled
with a 1/4-inch drill to fit over the prop core.
time: 00:02
12/24
The model was given a wash of very thinned Model Master Flat Black to accentuate panel detail and dirty up the oil cooler vents. time: 00:06
1/2
The "prop" was given a first coat of Future Floor Polish. PHOTO time: 00:06
1/5
A second coat of Future was sprayed on. time: 00:07
1/6
A third and final coat of Futurewas brushed onto the propeller with an acid brush. time: 00:03
1/9
The prop dome and core were sprayed with grey automotive primer. time: 00:02
1/12
Drilled out the engine with a #43 drill bit (d=0.089") to fit the propeller shaft. time: 00:02
The prop core was glued to the
prop with Elmer's white glue.
time: 00:03
1/22
The model was given a wash of Model Master Flat Black to bring out the panel work. time: 00:06
2/19
The engine cowling was masked off using Scotch Removable Magic Tape and exhaust marks were airbrushed onto the model with Tamaya Flat Black. time: 00:08
"Gun residue" was airbrushed
onto the wing trailing edges around the wing guns using an equal mix of
Tamiya Flat Black and Hull Red (XF-09).
time: 00:04
TOTAL TIME: 11:54 5/14/2011 SORRY! By March 2011, with the model close to being finished, my focus shifted more to the final steps to the completion of the model and putting together the tutorial. Less time and attention was spent on keeping this log. I can't say for sure how much time I spent from this point on but I'm guessing that it took another three hours to get the Corsair finished, mostly with detailing and touch-up work. Most of the additional work is described in the tutorial. Some of the work is not. This includes repairing the wing-tip probe which broke off at least four times during handling. It was finally replaced with a scratch-built probe when the original broke off and flew to Parts Unknown. Same goes for the two masts on the top of the fuselage. It also took three tries to get the stretched-sprue rigging right. It winds up looking great but the stuff is very fragile and the fingers, big. The model was finished on the evening of May 2nd. You can see pics on the Gallery page and in the tutorial. Thanks for looking! |
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