MATCHBOX 1:72 F4U-4 CORSAIR

 

Reviewer: Michael Johnson (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:  22 August 2003

Kit Details:

Matchbox 1:72 Chance Vought F4U-4 Corsair


© Michael Johnson 2003

The Aircraft:

Development of the Corsair began in 1938, when the US Navy issued a request for a new single-seat carrier-based fighter. The Chance-Vought company won the contract with their unique, gull-winged airframe pulled by the largest engine then available, the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp. The wing design was necessitated by the tall landing gear which was, in turn, necessitated by the huge propeller required to propel the plane at the desired high speeds.

The prototype of the Corsair was first flown on 29 May 1940, but due to design revisions, the first production F4U-1 Corsair was not delivered until 31 July 1942. Further landing gear and cockpit modifications resulted in a new variant, the F4U-1A, which was the first version approved for carrier duty.

The Corsair served with the US Navy, US Marines, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (and later, the French Aeronavale), and quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter/bomber of the war. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in additional aircraft being produced by the Goodyear Company (as the FG-1) and the Brewster Company (as the F3A-1). Production ceased in 1952. Over two dozen Corsairs are believed to be still airworthy, most in the United States.

Nicknames: Bend-Wing Bird; Bent-Wing Ensign Eliminator; Bent-Wing Monster; Whistling Death; Horseshoe; Super Stuka; U-Bird, Hose Nose; Hog Nose; Sweetheart; Hog.

Specifications (F4U-1A):

    Performance:

    Armament:

Preamble:

Ahhhh, the memories filter in again! I remember building this kit back in dimmer times when filling seams were unheard of, kits could be completed in an afternoon and the heady aroma of Airfix glue and Humbrol paints filled my bedroom!

My main project currently is the 1:48 Premiere Hawk T.1, so I started this kit purely as a break from all the detailing and scratch-building on the Hawk.


© Michael Johnson 2003

The Kit:

A typical Matchbox side opening box. The box proclaims “1:72 in two colours” with two finishing options printed on the rear of the box. This kit is the first Revell Germany re-release of this particular kit, the only giveaway being the horrid early Revell-Germany decals that are thick, indistinct and reluctant to settle down on anything but a flat surface, even with decal treatments!

So what is in the box? There are three sprues within the typical box, one blue, one grey and a clear sprue for the canopy. The canopy is rather thickly moulded with incorrect shape but has nicely defined framing. 

Two  decal options are provided, along with an instruction sheet with painting instructions for two aircraft printed on the back of the kit box in typical Matchbox style.

The kit is typical of Matchbox, trench like panel lines abound. Well I was not after a contest winner here at all, so I could safely ignore all the shortcomings built into the kit or otherwise. There are some shape issues, particularly around the cowling and the fact that this particular version had 6 x 50 cal machine guns and not 4 x 20mm cannon as provided, even the box art shows the subject with 6x 50 cals!

Construction:

Assembly started with the cockpit, what cockpit??? I sprayed the cockpit walls, lounge chair and tub flat black. The matt black hid the gaping deficiencies in detail. 

The remainder of assembly proceeded smoothly and rather quickly, with only small amounts of filler required to smooth out ill fitting joints. At this point I cleaned up,  polished and masked the canopy. The masked canopy was offered up to the fuselage and cemented into place with clear parts cement, reinforced with a careful application of liquid cement, this filled any gaps between the fuselage and the canopy. A quick application of white glue, with excess wiped away with a wet mk1 finger, smoothed out any remaining gaps.

This kit is a joy to build with no particular vices. Other Corsair kits that I have seen have the bottom wing half moulded in one piece so as to ensure the correct dihedral and sit of those distinctive inverted gull wings. Not so Matchbox! The wings are assembled from four parts and are attached into recesses on either side of the fuselage perfectly. I then adjusted each side slightly and used the cotton bud/nail polish remover (acetone type) to fill slight gaps at each wing root. The only issue I had with each wing were the oil cooler intakes so I fudged them best I could, with the instructions being no help whatsoever!

Each cannon assembly needed filler to smooth the leading edge join. Yes I know, I should have fixed the armament issue! 


© Michael Johnson 2003

Painting:

Now that construction was finished I could settle down to masking fun and painting. I started with the white cowling. For white areas I generally use Citadel “Skull White” spray cans. These cans have 3 times the amount of a Tamiya spray can and cost around $15 from Games Workshop or Games World stores. In my opinion they are the best hobby spray paint on the market, giving a fantastic even coat in minimal passes.

I then used a spray can of Tamiya USN Sea Blue, no airbrush work here!! The completed airframe was put aside to cure prior to application of Johnsons “Future” with a wide flat brush kept especially for this purpose. Now this Corsair was ready for decaling.

Decals:

The decals turned out to be a really big problem. 

As mentioned earlier, these decals are the horrid, thick and very matt variety provided by Revell AG. (Thank the modelling Gods, they have improved!) with the white edged green stripes (which make the box art so attractive) provided on the kit sheet.

I started off with the cowling stripe and this refused to sit correctly, I knew (after repeated application attempts) that not even Solvaset would make them conform to the cowling surface. Time to mask again with the stripe consigned to the rubbish bin!


© Michael Johnson 2003

Masking took place over a couple of hours with the white laid down first followed by green sourced from a Tamiya can of an appropriate colour green that my wife used for her Polar Lights Jetson’s kit. Removing the masking revealed the colourful stripes in all their glory….Much better!

Early Revell decals do not react noticeably to setting solutions and these were no exception. In the end, all the decals were bedded in Johnson’s Future, once dry this sucked the decals down over the surface details. I sourced the white 14 on the cowling from a Roo Decals 1:48 Macchi 326 sheet my wife found for me (I had wanted the sheet for some time anyway!)

The Stars and Bars were sourced from a Siga sheet. These turned out to be slightly transparent, a trade off for being nice and thin!

Everything was then sealed in with several more coats of Future resulting in a nice shiny looking Corsair. I decided not to apply any weathering or to tone down the gloss, it looked fine the way it was.

Finishing Touches:

I added new, thinner radio aerial and pitot tube from stretched sprue, and touched them over in appropriate colours. Once these had set, the canopy masking was removed, the pre painted undercarriage was added and the Corsair was finished. I can even blow the prop around… BONUS!!

Overall Recommendation:

The 1:72 scale modeller has a good selection of Corsair kits to chose from, with all the major model companies and even limited run manufacturers marketing kits. For those who want a super detailed “Braille scale” replica, there are also plenty of aftermarket detailing sets and decal sheets available.

This little Matchbox Corsair, inaccuracies aside, builds up exceptionally well and would make an ideal first kit or a quick fun build between more serious subjects. Total build time was only about 10 hours. My other more serious kits in this scale have taken a lot longer.

Good fun and it looks great!

References:

None!!!

 


© Michael Johnson 2003

 

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