1/32 Trumpeter F4U-4 Corsair  

by Gonzalo Vidal

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The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was one of the most successful fighters of WWII. It was in production longer than any other US fighter in World War II (1942-1952). The F4U-4 saw service in the final stages of the Pacific War, using the Pratt & Whitney R2800-18W. This engine required more air, creating the need to re-design the nose with the distinctive chin intake. The exhaust system was also re-designed with exhaust outlets both above and below the wings. The other major change was a complete re-design of the cockpit, making it more ergonomic. This included a new cockpit floor, new consoles, re-designed instrument panel, and a simplified seat which consisted of a bucket-type base and a flat armored plate for a back rest. The F4U-4 first saw combat at the battle for Okinawa in 1945.

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I began pre-shading the panel lines with black matt. Due to the dark blue color of the primary camouflage, the effect of volume obtained  is very subtle.  The used colour has been Gunze "Midnight Blue", lighting the center of the panels with a mixture of "Blue Grey" and white. The next step was to apply filters successively with diverse blue colours, and finally, a layer of "future" was done, and I came to the positioning of the decals.

After another layer of future I painted the panel lines, with oil paint "white" mixed with "black oxide" (obtaining a light grey) to simulate the characteristic dirt if these planes. Finally I soiled diverse zones with oil washes of such colors. The scratches in the fuselage, mainly in the wings, were made with brush using aluminum painting. The model was ended with a layer of matt varnish "Titan opal", used generally for pictures. The antenna was done with nylon thread painted in metalized and stuck carefully with cyano, and the engine was extradetailed with copper wire.

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Thanks to all the members of the forum of yoryi (http://jbelena.en.eresmas.com/).  If you wish to see more photos and other of my models, visit my web page http://hangar51.sytes.net/.

Gonzalo

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Photos and text © by Gonzalo Vidal