Only Tamiya makes a 1/48 F-4U-1 Corsair ??

seems all the 1/48 Corsairs are late war or Korean era. I want a 1/48 similar to the old Revell 1/32 kit.

and what is the purpose of the white striping in front of the cockpit?

thx - Craig

Reply to
crw59
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on 9/20/2007 12:27 AM snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net said the following:

Reply to
willshak

on 9/20/2007 12:27 AM snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net said the following:

The first F4Us were not suitable for carrier use until the end of 1944.

Identification, as were all paint jobs other than the basic camouflage schemes.

Reply to
willshak

It's not really striping - it's tape; masking tape or duct tape, whatever was on hand. Seems there was an issue with fuel fumes entering the cockpit, and crews would tape over the skin seams to try and lessen the problem. That's the straight scoup.

Yeah - the Tamiya one is your best bet. I think there is another one (Academy?), but Tamiya's builds like buttah.

Reply to
Rufus

No - it was tape; used to try and stop fuel fumes from entering the cockpit.

Reply to
Rufus

I think he's referring to the adhesive tape used to seal the panels from fume leaks.

Reply to
Ron Smith

No, that's white "speed" (duct) tape to cover the panel junctions on the area housing the forward fuel tank. They had trouble with fumes from that tank getting into the cockpit and causing the pilot to get woozy, so stuck tape over the seams. The pattern varies from aircraft to aircraft.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Flannery

on 9/20/2007 2:18 AM Ron Smith said the following:

Yes. My mistake.

Reply to
willshak

Isn't the Otaki kit still around? 've always heard it was a good kit. What about the Hobby Craft kit(s)?

Reply to
frank

The Tamiya kit can't be beat and can be found relatively cheap.

Otaki made a very nice F4U-1A. It has been released under other labels such as Airfixand ARII. The cockpit, landing gear and engines details are simplistic and/or wrong, but the airframe itself is accurate and goes together well with excellent engraved panel lines. It does not have a folding wing or postionable flaps.

Hobbycraft made a somewhat similar Corsair but with better, more accurate details and the option of extended flaps and cowl flaps. However, all reviews I've read state that these don't fit well. It came in -1, -1A and -1D variants.

AMT made a -1 Birdcage Corsair- don't go there.

Search eBay for "1/48 F4U". The supply must be huge because you can get them cheap.

Curt

Reply to
Curt

That bad, huh? I never saw a built one, but always wondered what it was like.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Flannery

Yeah, it's been years but it was extremely simplified, sort of a snap-together. I believe it was the first Birdcage Corsair in this scale, and it has an interesting way of locking the wings together inside the fuselage. I suppose you could make something out of it but point is, with the alternatives, it's only for collectors or as a curiosity.

Curt

Reply to
Curt

snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net wrote: : : and what is the purpose of the white striping in front of the cockpit? : Nobody has explained why tape would seal out fumes, or why there would be fuel fumes to start with.

On the other hand, radials are notorious for oil leakes (consider the sheer number of mating surfaces in a radial), and they MUST use non-detergent oil (carbonized oil does tend to stop leaks. Detergent in oil tends to clean carbonized oil. Oops).

So, the reason I have read is that it was to keep oil off of the windscreen. Later model birds had better sealing on the upper panels to help prevent that problem.

Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Burden

Neither does the Tamiya. It's flaps down or nothing--or cutting and puttying.

They take a little shaving, but much less work than raised flaps on the Tamiya. Also, there are more variants, including RN and -1, and it costs less.

Reply to
tomcervo

I've never seen a real explanation of why there were fumes, other than that's where the fuel tank is. As for oil leaks, since the tape is so far back from the firewall, I don't see what that would have to do with oil, but this is the first time I've seen reference to oil. The only real Corsiar I ever spent lots of time with was a -4 & we never had a problem with fumes & I had seen where Vought improved the tank sealing.

On Sep 20, 11:15 pm, snipped-for-privacy@realtime.net (Bruce Burden) wrote:

Reply to
frank

Maybe round engines "MUST" use ND oil back in WWII, but we've always used detergent after initial break-in & that's all I've heard of using after break in for over 30 years.

Reply to
frank

Most aircraft fuel tanks are actually rubber or neoprene bladders, which allow them to be self-sealing in the event of penetration. SOme are hard cased, but many are not. Such tanks are prone to cracking and/or weeping when left unfueled for periods of time. Oil isn't that much of an issue because it's so much less aromatic.

Most WWII fighters also generally had their main fuel tanks beneath and/or behind the pilot (Me 109, P-51, etc.), and so any residual fumes would naturally drift aft of the cockpit in the slipstream. Not so the Corsair - by placing the fuel bladder ahead of the cockpit, the fumes from any fuel seepage could enter the cockpit. So in the early models, crews applied tape to the panel joints to try to at least contain the fumes to the interior of the forward fuselage. I believe the tanks and/or structure were redesigned after the -1A to reduce the problem.

Reply to
Rufus

Rufus wrote: : : Not so the : Corsair - by placing the fuel bladder ahead of the cockpit, the fumes : from any fuel seepage could enter the cockpit. So in the early models, : crews applied tape to the panel joints to try to at least contain the : fumes to the interior of the forward fuselage. I believe the tanks : and/or structure were redesigned after the -1A to reduce the problem. : Sorry, Rufus. I was thinking that the F4U-1 was redesigned to accomodate a 50 gallon oil tank, moving the cockpit aft, but apparently the leading edge fuel tanks were deleted, and replaced with the aforementioned fuel tank.

Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Burden

In this cutaway, it looks like the fuel tank has a circular access hatch screwed down to its top surface:

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this cutaway and painting, you can see that the panels around that hatch have been taped over:
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I assume the fit on that hatch wasn't as tight as it should have been.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Flannery

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Or is that the oil tank mounted inside the fuel tank? I note there are three different cap assemblies in the area; one red one on top of the circular "hatch" and two other ones mounted further aft. I never could understand what advantage they thought they were going to get by covering a comparatively small section of the wing in fabric rather than metal skinning.

Pat

Reply to
Pat Flannery

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