1/48 Tamiya Vought Corsair II

by Randy Lutz on Dec 29 2003

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This is my Tamiya 1/48 Vought Corsair II which is finished in the markings of:
Sub Lieutenant Donald J. Sheppard
Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve
No. 1836 Squadron, HMS Victorious
Sakishima Islands, East China Seas
May, 1945

Sheppard holds the distinction of being the only FAA Corsair ace of WWII.  My Corsair is finished in Fleet Air Arm colours.  Some sources state that the Corsairs were painted in US equivalents of Olive Drab, Neutral Gray and Sky Gray.  This could very well be, but a colour photo I have, does not look like these colours.  Furthermore, Dana Bell has stated in his Export Colors publication that some US aircraft were still being delivered in the proper British colours right up until war's end.  So, that is good enough for me.

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Modifications to the kit consist of the following:

Cockpit Area
- rudder pedal foot trough brackets drilled out
- photo-etched seat belts installed
- objective lens added to gun sight

Fuselage
- ignition wires added to engine
- engine accessory compartment cooling vent flap thinned to a more scale appearance
- cowl flaps thinned to a more scale appearance
- drop tank and propeller from Tamiya bird cage Corsair
- whip antennae made from surgical wire

Landing Gear
- landing gear retraction springs added to main gear
- kit tail wheel hold down ring replaced
- tail wheel strut assembly drilled out

Wings
- wing root aft engine compartment intake vanes opened
- pitot tube drilled out
- landing light replaced with MV Products lens
- wing tips clipped to represent style found on British Corsairs
- boarding step filled in

Paint and Decals
- airframe painted with Xtracolor X5 Extra Dark Sea Grey BS640, X25 Dark Slate Grey and X7 Sky BS210
- national insignia from Aero Master sheet 48-400, with personal markings from White Dog sheet 481001
- aircraft weathered with chalk pastels

References
- RT, Volume 25, Number4/5.  IPMS Canada
- Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 8, Corsair Aces of World War 2.  Osprey Publishing
- F4U Corsair in Action No.29.  Squadron/Signal Publications
- F4U Corsair in Action No.145.  Squadron/Signal Publications
- F4U Corsair Detail and Scale, Part 1.  Squadron/Signal Publications
- Aerodata International, U.S. Navy Carrier Fighters of World War II.  
Squadron/Signal Publications

Randy

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Photos and text © by Randy Lutz