Another Vought (Blackburn) Corsair from Kitbasher

kitbasher · May 22, 2012, 01:28:33 PM

Once upon a time there was an Airfix 1/72 F-4U Corsair. It wasn't the best Corsair kit, but it had been around for a while and was a happy little thing. A nice man had dressed it all up and the little Corsair was very happy.
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But the nice man grew tired of the little Corsair and left it on the shelf. One day the man, who had by this time had grown old and grumpy, took the little Corsair off the shelf and decided that something needed to be done to it. He cut off the wingtips, which hurt the little Corsair a lot, because the was-nice-but-now-nasty man didn't explain what was happening. Then the was-nice-but-now-nasty man decided that the little Corsair could look a lot better in new clothes. These new colours suited the little Corsair, but the man made it wear them over its old clothes, which was lazy really, and not very kind to the little Corsair, either.
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The was-nice-but-now-nasty man decided he wanted to change the little Corsair's clothes again, but this time wouldn't make it wear the new clothes over the old ones.

Here's the stripping under way.....
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.....to be continued (but don't hold yer breath!)

Thorvic · May 22, 2012, 02:46:41 PM

Oh its a model of the Fleet Air Arm Museum Corsair (they stripped its paint back to the original scheme and created a book from their discoveries

)

raafif · May 22, 2012, 06:15:53 PM

Ah !, so that's how you do weathering !

NARSES2 · May 23, 2012, 02:36:38 AM

Looking forward to this. Both the origional an "second coming" are stunning models

But then you know I'm a sucker for SEAC

Army of One · May 24, 2012, 09:14:41 AM

That's an Airfix Corsair.....?? Wow great job...!!! Like both schemes....SEAC scheme suits it....!

kitbasher · May 28, 2012, 12:39:33 PM

'Ow, ow ow,' cried the little Corsair, 'you're hurting me.' 'I'm sorry but it's for your own good, you mucky little Corsair,' said the nice-but-now-nasty man. 'Your new clothes won't feel nice or fit properly if you don't get properly clean, will they?, he said firmly. The nice-but-now-nasty man scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until the little Corsair cried, but still the little Corsair still wasn't clean enough. 'One more scrub and you should be clean enough,' said the nice-but-now-nasty man, who wasn't nearly as nasty as the little Corsair thought he was. He just wanted the little Corsair to be loved by everyone in the land and so was doing the only thing he thought was best for it.

.....to be continued (but still don't hold yer breath!)

kitbasher · June 07, 2012, 02:45:08 PM

The nice-but-now-nasty man (or so the little Corsair thought) scrubbed and scrubbed until he could scrub no more. 'Now to give you a good rub down before you see the doctor,' said the man. 'What doctor?' asked the little Corsair, 'Why?' 'To get you ready for your new clothes', said the nice-but-now-nasty man.

kitbasher · June 27, 2012, 01:13:07 PM

The nice-but-now-nasty man (or so the little Corsair thought) finished scrubbing the little corsair and gave it a really nice time ina health spa geting all clean. The bruises were all healing up now, and when the nice-but-now-nasty man let the little Corsair look in the mirror, the little Corsair burst into tears.
'Oh, I was so wrong to think you were a nice man who'd gone nasty', the little Corsair sobbed, 'I think I like what you've done for me and I can't wait to try on my new clothes.'
The nice-but-now-nasty man who was nice again smiled. 'Good', he said, 'I have just the right colour for your new clothes - I think you'll look just righ in this really nice shade of dark blue.
So the nice-was-nasty-but-nice-again man who was nice again set about making the new clothes out of the shiny blue material.

To be continued..........for as long as I can keep making this drivel up!

bobbo · June 27, 2012, 03:18:11 PM

Quote from: kitbasher on June 27, 2012, 01:13:07 PM
The nice-but-now-nasty man (or so the little Corsair thought) finished scrubbing the little corsair and gave it a really nice time ina health spa geting all clean. The bruises were all healing up now, and when the nice-but-now-nasty man let the little Corsair look in the mirror, the little Corsair burst into tears.
'Oh, I was so wrong to think you were a nice man who'd gone nasty', the little Corsair sobbed, 'I think I like what you've done for me and I can't wait to try on my new clothes.'
The nice-but-now-nasty man who was nice again smiled. 'Good', he said, 'I have just the right colour for your new clothes - I think you'll look just righ in this really nice shade of dark blue.
So the nice-was-nasty-but-nice-again man who was nice again set about making the new clothes out of the shiny blue material.

To be continued..........for as long as I can keep making this drivel up!

I hope you can keep it up for a long time; I'm finding it quite amusing and entertaining!

bobbo

Old Wombat · June 27, 2012, 05:01:28 PM

I concur with the gentleman above!

kitbasher · July 02, 2012, 12:03:58 PM

The little Corsair began to get excited. 'Ooh, ooh,' it trembled, I love that shade of blue.'
'Calm down,' soothed the nice-was-nasty-but-nice-again man, 'Your new clothes are almost finished.'

kitbasher · July 08, 2012, 12:16:15 PM

'Ooh, ooh, ooh, oooooh,' the little Corsair squealed, 'let me show everyone my new look. Please, please.'
'Not just yet,' the nice-was-nasty-but-nice-again man said, 'Later this week. Maybe when it's stopped raining.' Not that the weather had anything to do with it, of course.

NARSES2 · July 09, 2012, 03:12:55 AM

Quote from: kitbasher on July 08, 2012, 12:16:15 PM
'Later this week. Maybe when it's stopped raining.' Not that the weather had anything to do with it, of course.

More like next year with the weather we have at the moment

You do realise you are going to win the "Tease of the Year" at the next Wiffies with this thread ?

kitbasher · July 11, 2012, 12:16:26 PM

'One more sleep?' asked the little Corsair.
'Yes I think so,' the nice-was-nasty-but-nice-again man said.

kitbasher · July 12, 2012, 01:28:52 PM

Well here it finally is playmates.
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The backstory? Well it's Vought/Blackburn Corsair VI KE310 A/124 of 1850 Squadron Fleet Air Arm, embarked upon HMS Vengeance in 1946 (this assumes no atomic bombs in August 1945, so fits into NARSES II's 'alternative 1945/46' thread which I can't find right now but will post a link when I do). Blackburn was contracted to build licence-built Packard Griffon Corsairs for the FAA's use in the RN's Indian and Pacific fleets. The war was ending in Europe so all eyes were turning to defeating the Japanese. The Manhattan Project's was subject to delays so development of both the Centaurus Corsair V and the Griffon Corsair VI was made a priority. The war's sudden end in April 1946 halted prooduction after only 100 examples had been built (the Corsair V would, however, remain in production).
The Corsair VI was considered something of a stop-gap compared to the more radically altered Corsair V (see http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,16188.msg227194.html#msg227194 and http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal7/6301-6400/gal6327-Corsair-Drake/00.shtm). even so, while the Corsair VI saw service until 1948, the Corsair only soldiered on until 1950.

And the Corsair V, just for comparison:
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I've always wanted to build an in-line Corsair and when I had the opportunity to purloin (OK buy) a resin semi-annular cowled Merlin/Griffon (I think the former but it looks just like the Griffon as fitted to the Hawker Fury/Sea Fury prototype LA610) from OGL I thought 'game on'. The conversion was easy - strip the paint, sand the model, cut off the original nose and fit the new resin power egg. Very little fairing in was needed - in fact the only stumbling block was the propeller.
Although as mentioned Fury LA610 was fitted with what looks like the contra-prop fitted to late mark Spitfires and Seafires it just didn't look right - too small, which is odd as it looks fine on LA610, which isn't exactly a weedy airframe when put against a 'regular Corsair. What to use? A spare Academy P-47D Thunderbolt propeller with a spinner made from a PM Sea Fury drop tank.
The colour scheme was of course worn by real Corsairs in the British Pacific Fleet - in fact the yellow prop spinner is based upon the yellow engine cowls worn by 1850 Corsair IVs. The serial is taken from a Corsair order that was cancelled with the end of WW2.
And there you have it - a tired old Airfix F4U-1 recycled not once, but twice. Enjoy!