Academy (Hobbycraft) 1/48 Vought F4U-1D Corsair

ACADEMY 1:48 F4U-1D CORSAIR

Reviewer: James Garnett (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 1 May 2003

Kit Details:

Academy 1/48 F4U-1D Corsair - #2147; appears to be reboxing of Hobbycraft kit

Aircraft History:

An aircraft which requires little introduction, the F4U Corsair was one of the most outstanding fighter aircraft of World War II, serving mainly in the Pacific arena for the USAF. It first flew in 1940 and first fitted Marine Corps Units. Poor visibility inherent in the early F4U-1 precluded its use aboard US Navy carriers and it was restricted to operations from land bases. Later versions with a modified cockpit arrangement began carrier operations late in 1944.

The Kit:

The kit is marketed well with nice graphic boxart and inside the top opening box you are provided with about 130 light grey injection molded parts which feature engraved panel lines and a good amount of surface detail. There are also two clear parts for the canopy which are sealed in their own bag. The decal sheet is also sealed in its own bag. The kit looks too much like a reissue of Hobbycraft and further investigation through other mediums about this kit revealed it is.

Construction:

The cockpit is well catered for considering there are no extra detail parts in the kit; providing a floor, stick, seat plus main instrument and sidewall panels, with raised dials and gauges. Some work will be needed to get a truly accurate replication in the cockpit, since there are lots of hydraulics and just a couple of timber boards rather than an actual floor. True Details provide a resin cockpit for this kit so I am lead to believe but I could not find one on the market when I had a quick search. In any event, the detail was enough for me as I was planning to close off the cockpit. I did however paint it up in the USAAF interior green and add in a couple of radio boxes and a fire extinguisher to make it appear more busy. Seat belts need to be added from masking tape also.

The fuselage halves close almost perfectly, with only a minimal amount of seam and join line cleaning required. There are two options for the tailwheel, short and long version, which should be affixed before the halves are closed, and both are fragile so care is obviously needed. The upper decking behind the cockpit is a poor fit, and needs some trial fitting and sanding to correct.

The kit supplies a reasonably detailed engine assembly with cylinder block and separate crank case. It’s best to install this inside the cowling before attaching onto the nose, while at the same time also fitting the propeller shaft and subsequently the propellers. Two sized propeller blade options are provided. A trial fit reveals that following the Academy instructions will result in the propeller sticking too much out of the cowling, so some judicious filing is needed and perhaps even shortening of the shaft in order to have it more flush with the front of the cowling. Be prepared to do some work here since I don’t think it looks right having the propeller jut out so much.

The wing assembly is a typical underwing plus two upper halves affair, with the oil coolers and gun bays separately affixed. Unfortunately, none of this was particularly good as far as fit was concerned, and several test fits, adjustments and blobs of filler were needed to fix. One of the anomalies in this kit is that the landing lights are not catered for by clear parts, which was a disappointment, they are simply represented as outlines on the plastic. Flaps are provided as separate parts for this kit which is all well and good, but again the fit was poor, and more filler and trimming was needed. Likewise the roots of the wings at the fuselage join needed filler to blend it in. The tailplanes were better to fit and required only a minimal amount of filler at the roots.

For stores options the kit provides a pair of 500-lb bombs; eight rockets and a choice of two styles of drop tanks. Finally, the canopy can be installed, which fits better in the closed position than it does open.

Overall I have experienced both better and worst fitting kits than this one in the Hobbycraft range, this kit itself seems to sum up some of the poor fits and some of the best fits in their range all inside one box!

Colour Schemes/ Decals:

Two aircraft examples are provided for by the kit. The first is in the three-tone white, intermediate and dark blue scheme as shown on the boxart, flown by Major Boyington. The second is in the overall glossy sea blue scheme from VF-84 USS Bunker Hill, which took part in the 1945 Tokyo raids. The decal sheet contains a little stenciling in addition to the two types of insignia as worn on the two schemes. The colour density is good and they are of a medium thickness, with a semi gloss finish. I had no problems with the decals and Micro Set/Sol. There are a few choices of Modeldecal and Aeromaster aftermarket decal sets as alternative options, because I am pretty sure Tamiya also release a kit with these examples to build.

Accuracy:

Dimensions are good, the model comes within a millimeter or two of quoted references. The overall profile looks convincing, but as already mentioned the propeller/engine assembly is a little suspect. I am not a rivet counter, it looks right to me but there are probably a few minor flaws.

Overall:

It’s a decent kit at a decent price, but I would still rate the Tamiya quarter scale Corsairs quite highly above this one, after all it is a Hobbycraft reissue rather than a new tooling from Academy. The only real winner for those looking at this kit is in the value, since the Tamiya one is expensive. If you place a higher rating on value than accuracy then this model can still be recommended. It’s a bit of a mixed bag as far as the fit of some of the parts are concerned, and so long as you are prepared to do a little bit of work to sand, fill and correct a couple of problems, then happy to recommend this model.

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