ITALERI 1:72 F4U-5N CORSAIR
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: John Lacey  (rec.models.scale)

Italeri 72nd Scale F4U-5N Corsair

Italeri's 'Night Intruder' Corsair is another of their F4U series, this depicting the cannon-armed & radar equipped Korean war fighter.

Instructions are the usual Italeri type with multi-lingual history & warnings, painting callouts, parts map, nine construction steps and one page depicting the two painting options.

The sprues contain finely detailed parts with engraved panel lines, wheel bay detail, a moderately detailed cockpit and consist of one sprue with the 'common bits' in the series (ie: the mainplanes, tailplanes and a couple of smaller parts) and one sprue of the 'version specific' parts, such as fuselage, engine cowling, weapons, prop etc. Some points of note are the wing cannon, complete with flash hiders, a single centreline fuel tank and naturally, the radar pod. Other parts include the bay doors, allowing gear up or down and a clear sprue with separate canopy & windscreen which is a little thick, but clear all the same. A note here must be made regarding the kit's accuracy as other reviewers on some internet sites regarding this kit and others in the series make some rather disparaging remarks about the fuselage length & profile. For myself, it looks like a Corsair and at $9 AUD, who can really complain?

The two painting options remind me of Henry Ford. To paraphrase Pappy Ford 'You can have any colour as long as it's Dark Sea Blue'. This overall colour is broken by a flat black anti-glare panel and white prop hub & radar radome. Further detail painting can be gleaned from the box artwork, but at the end of the day, the basic scheme is one solid colour.

Decals are given for a USMC machine from VMF(N)-513 based at Wonsan in 1950, this machine having standard red & white 'stars & bars' that were prevalent on USN & USMC machines until the introduction of Gull Grey over White in the late 50s. The second machine is rather more interesting, being flown by Lt Guy 'Lucky Pierre' Bordelon of the USN's VC-3 based aboard the USS Princeton in 1953. Bordelon achieved 'ace' status by his skill in downing 'Bedcheck Charlies' during the conflict. Kill markings and nose art are welcome, but the thing that really sets it apart from the other is the light blue colour of the 'stars & bars', similar in shade to the WW2 RAF SEAC blue and designed to complement the aircraft's nocturnal role.

In conclusion, for all the naysayers, I say Pah!! The kit is a good little buy for those of us who enjoy 72nd scale modelling and a bargain to boot.

Recommended.

 

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