Well
hello again!
This
is my new article here on ARC and it closes a cycle.
Back
a few months I selected 4 kits from my stash, all of them representing machines
bearing the F-4 denomination (you have to choose a criteria anyway don't you?)
I
started out with a F4F-4 Wildcat, passing to an F-4D Skyray and finally an F-4F
Phantom II (the last two being reason for an article here).
Now
before moving on to another journey I give to you my "Jolly Rogers"
F-4U-1A Corsair.
VF-17
squadron was the second Navy unit equipped with the Corsair. And it was the
type's designation that inspired the future squadron's CO, LtCmdr Tommy
Blackburn (who's aircraft is the subject of the build) to pitch the idea of the
"skull and crossbones" insignia to Harry
Hollmeyer (himself to become an ace), who was responsible for its design.
After
the Corsair was flunked for carrier duties, VF-17 established in the Solomon
Islands where it became the most successful Corsair unit in he Pacific with over
150 victories from where 11 aces emerged after 2 tours of duty. May 1944 saw the
end of combat duty of the "original" Jolly Rogers.
Since
then, the skull and crossbones have graced our eyes and proudly continued the
legacy of VF-17 on the tailfins of such emblematic warplanes as the F-4 Phantom
and the F-14 Tomcat, and it still does in VFA-103's Super Hornets.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The
Kit:
It
is the Academy kit built mostly out of the box except for Tamiya tape seat belts.
The
cockpit was painted interior green and black following photo references with
some silver dry brushing for some depth and effect.
I
gave the engine the same treatment of silver dry brushing over black.
The
only troublesome construction stages are the wing to fuselage joint (bottom) and
the left wing root which leaves a bigger than expected gap. Nothing some file,
filler & sanding won't take care of.
So
as everything was going smooth and easy I tried to spice things a little bit
by…Dropping the model on the floor!!!
The
fuselage separated itself from the wings and the molded pitot antenna was lost
forever. After banging my head on the floor for about 30 min I picked myself up
and faced the problem. Out came the glue and the filler, I repeated the all
process and was happy to see no major surgeries were needed except for the
bottom fuselage wing joint again.
The
pitot antenna was replaced by a metal pin point (it was the best I could do) and
the effect wasn't disastrous.
While
I left everything to cure I turned my attention to the landing gear parts. They
presented some seam lines that were sanded away, and both the tires and bay
doors had ejector pin holes needing correction. I also flattened the tires a
little to show some weight.
I
painted the wheel struts and hubs flat aluminum as per references in opposition
to the kit's instructions (that suggested white) and the tires flat black.
As
these aircraft used land based tracks, I decided to dirty them up a little by
dry-brushing everything with earth brown after a Tamiya smoke wash.
I
used Tamiya AS aerosols for the camouflage scheme followed by some weathering
achieved by a dark grey panel wash, some paint chipping, and pastel smudges.
Unfortunately,
in spite of the Future layer applied before the decaling some silvering was
unavoidable, but all in all I'm fairly pleased with the final result.
I
hope you enjoy
JGV
from Portugal
Click on
images below to see larger images
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