Hobby Boss F4U-4 Corsair (Early Version) 1:48

[Mike]

F4U-4 Corsair (Early Version)
1:48 Hobby Boss

The Corsair is an iconic fighter aircraft that had speed agility and an unusual look to recommend it to pilots, but its gestation was far from easy due to the optimistic and highly demanding specification that required not only high speed but great war-load carrying capability and a low stall speed to make it suitable for carrier operations. It was given the largest engine then available in the shape of the Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine, which could drive a huge three bladed prop that was almost 14 feet across. This meant that the wings had to be given an inverted gull shape so that the prop didn't strike the ground on take-off or landing. It had already proved itself capable before the United States entered WWII, being the first US single-engined aircraft to exceed 400mph. Concerns about armament led to the cowling guns being deleted and three .50cal machines guns being installed in each wing, which displaced the fuel tanks into the fuselage ahead of the cockpit, giving the aircraft its distinctive set-back appearance.

By 1941 it was in production and had been allocated the name Corsair, but initial trials revealed an unpleasant stall characteristic that would lead to one wing dropping suddenly, which had to be fixed with a small root mounted stall strip. The set-back cockpit also gave poor forward visibility on landing and take-off, with oil from the engine further obscuring the view. The top cowling flaps were replaced with a fixed panel, and the landing gear struts re-tuned, but this delayed its use as a carrier borne fighter until 1944.

Despite these set-backs it was used successfully as a land-based fighter, and was used in large numbers by the US Marines to good effect. A number of aces got their kills in the Corsair, which was superior to the Zero, which coupled with the pilots' experience over the poorly trained rookie Japanese pilots made them easy targets. Because the Corsair was fast at low level it was also used for ground attack, firing unguided rockets and bombs on wing pylons. The Royal Navy also used the Corsair from 1943, putting it into use immediately, as it was far superior to their existing options, and despite its unforgiving deck handling characteristics it found favour with pilots.

After WWII it went on to serve in many conflicts, with the production line finally closing in 1953, more than 10 years after it opened. As a testament to its longevity and usefulness, some foreign operators still had Corsairs in service in the 1970s!

The Kit
This kit is most definitely one of Hobby Boss's more upmarket kits, and bristles with detail. Inside the top-opening box are 11 sprues of varying size in mid-grey styrene, a clear sprue and a reasonably sized decal sheet. On initial release there was discussion over the cowling, which appears to have an oversized opening at the front, and a misshapen auxiliary chin-intake as a result. This shouldn't be a major problem for most builders, but if you are striving for accuracy, there is a resin replacement in the wings from True Details that will address this issue, and we will bring you a review of that item shortly. This version of the Corsair is the final mark used in WWII, but an early block, although it has the by now familiar Malcolm type blown hood, rather than the claustrophobic bird-cage hood originally used in earlier versions.
 

 

The build is pretty straight forward, complicated only by the decision whether to fold the wings or not. The cockpit is built up as a "cot" with oval bulkheads at each end and a two layer floor that exposes some of the control lines through a central hole. Side consoles and the main instrument panel are supplied with raised and recessed details, plus decals in black and white if you don't feel up to painting them, or using Airscale individual instrument decals on the build. Rudder pedals, trim wheel, fire extinguisher and control column make for a nicely detailed interior.

The big P&W engine is well stocked with parts, and depicts both rows of cylinders, as well as the complex spaghetti-like exhaust stacks, which eventually wend their way out to the two exits on the side of the fuselage. There is also a reproduction of the reduction gear bell-housing with a ring for the wiring harness, although the wiring itself is absent in this kit. A little research and some lead wire will soon put that right though, and you will have a handsome looking block to put in the aircraft.

The instructions then bog down in building the wings and landing gear, when every modeller just wants to close up the fuselage. In order to do that, a pair of ribbing inserts need installing inside the fuselage for the cockpit detail, and the large tail-wheel and arrestor hook bay need building up. The wheel sits at the front of the bay with a sturdy looking framework keeping it all in place, while the tail-hook takes advantage of the strong attachment point and hangs off the back of the strut. There are two deployment jacks supplied for the hook, one shorter for a stowed hook, and the other longer for one that is deployed. A V-shaped arrangement with aft bulkhead part is also assembled, and placed within the bay, which also has plenty of sharp ribbing detail moulded into the fuselage sides. This is good news, because the bay is very visible on the finished model, so this is good news.

To close up the fuselage, the cockpit, rear wheel/hook assembly and the rear stub of the engine are trapped between the two halves, leaving a gaping hole in the bottom for the wings and one behind the cockpit for a couple of panels. It might be as well to add these inserts to the fuselage halves before they are mated in order to get the best joint possible along the fuselage sides where excessive sanding would obliterate more detail. The cowling flaps are supplied as a ring which slips over the engine before the cowling is installed. I'm a little disappointed that the option of closed cowlings isn't included, but it's certainly not a major issue. The main cowling is then slipped over the engine and mates with the flap-ring as well as the fuselage front along the lines where the flaps are absent. The big four-bladed prop is supplied as a single part with a separate hub/boss. There are demarcations for the yellow tips moulded into the blades though, which although handy for the novice isn't really very accurate, so they will need to be filled unless you have the True Detail set, which includes replacement blades and hub.

The inner wings are moulded as a single part on the underside that has cut-outs for the gear bays, while the upper parts have the large boxed in wheel bays with rib detail moulded into them. The downside is that there is a tiny sinkmark evident on the upper wing skin where a large sidewall sits, but a dab of Mr Surfacer should see it off. The radiators are mounted in the front of the wings, and are supplied as inserts that slot into the completed wing, and are backed by an insert containing a number of vanes, which prevents the viewer from seeing the boxes that are set inside the wing and help complete the walling in of the gear bays. A pair of wingfold bulkheads are added to the ends of the inner wing section, and the large sectioned flaps are supplied as separate parts, which although shown in the retracted position should be able to be deployed with little or no extra work. The outer wings are attached with strong hinge parts that are either straight(ish) or canted upward depending on whether you are modelling them open or closed.

The outer wing panels themselves have their gun bays included, which can be modelled open or closed, with a boxed in bay and lengths of .50cal ammo supplied with the guns. You'll need to close them up if you're modelling the aircraft with its wings folded, and with that in mind, a full set of covers are included. If you've the foresight to choose closed panels before you put the wing halves together, it would be a good plan to install the panels beforehand, so you can level them up and minimise of even obviate any clean up afterward. The wing-fold bulkheads hide the interior of the wing, and you are supposed to be able to slot them together whether you are building the kit with folded or unfolded wings. Some test fitting of the straight wings would be a wise move to reduce the chances of a step, and I would definitely consider attaching the inner and outer panels in advance of closing up the wing parts. The tail feathers are all posable, with a separate rudder that attaches to the fuselage's moulded in fin, and separate elevators and trim tab actuators on the horizontal tail.

The kit is designed to be built with the wheels down, so all of the gear bay doors are engineered to fit the open bays, but if you're after a wheels-up look, you may have some work ahead of you. The main gear legs are constructed early in the build, and have separate oleo-scissors, and a large A-frame retraction jack that beefs up the gear to stand the rigors of deck landings. The two small "knee-pad" bay doors attach to the front of the struts, and should be painted underside colour on the outside, and primer on the inside. The wheels are in two halves, and show a good level of detail, including circumferential treads on the tyres, and nicely moulded spokes on the outer hubs. There is no flat-spot on the tyres, so a sanding stick will be needed if you prefer them a little saggy. The canopy is in two parts, with a separate windscreen. It is shown modelled closed, but I'm sure it will be possible to pose the blown "Malcolm" style hood in the open position.
 

 

 

Apart from a few aerials, the remaining parts are weapons to load your Corsair up with for a more aggressive look to the finished model. There are eight HVAR unguided rockets that were used to great effect at the end of the war, which have separate mounts, and will just need actuators made from wire to finish them off. The underwing pylons have two large auxiliary fuel tanks attached, and these have separate sway brace and filler/overflow hose parts to give them a little extra interest.

Markings
There are two decal schemes included on the sheet, both of which are post-war aircraft in all over Gloss Sea Blue, with only the squadron crests on the cowlings and some rather fetching red shark mouths on the drop tanks of one option to differentiate (apart from the obvious codes). The options are as follows:

 

 

• F4U-4 (81048) of VF-61 Group 6, USS Midway, 1949
• F4U-4 (80887) of VF-22, USS Cord Sea, 1948

 

Unusually, the yellow prop tips are included on the decal sheet, which unless backed by white will probably look very dull over a black prop, so you'll need to paint a white background on the tips, and it would seem a waste of effort to not then overspray the area with yellow, rendering the decals redundant. That's just my take on it though... your mileage may vary. The tail-hook also has a pair of black and white striped decals that I would imagine will be horribly tricky to get on the cylindrical hook, but there they are. I'll be resorting to masking tape myself!

 

The decals are cleanly printed, in good register, and seem to have good colour density. There is a little too much carrier film on the larger code decals for my liking, but it is thin, and can easily be trimmed whilst still on the sheet.

Conclusion
With the exception of the too-wide cowling opening this is a really nice kit that's packed with detail, and should build into a good looking model. If you can live with the cowling issue, it will look great out of the box, otherwise, you'll doubtless need to pick up the aftermarket replacement. It's a shame that a couple of WWII options weren't included on the decal sheet, or at least some variation in colour. Other than that, a set of DIY serials would have been nice to allow the modeller a bit of leeway.

Overall however, it's a very nicely done kit, and should provide hours of entertainment for your average modeller.

Highly recommended with the above-mentioned caveat.

Review sample courtesy of

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Thanks for the honest review on this one, Mike. Like many others, I tend to be wary of Trumpeter kits. They are invariably superbly engineered and detailed and always easy and fun to build. But the surface detail goes out the window when you have to deal with major shape errors which are rather common with Trumpeter. I had high hopes for this one as the F4U-4 is my favourite Corsair version and I really want to build a trainer with the green and white stripes.

However, when it came on the market I read about the shape issues on the cowling and other - unspecified - shape issues. With an honest review like this we can make an informed decision. Yes, I'll buy one but I'll use the forthcoming resin cowling - although that means I can play around with the plastic one and attempt to correct its flaws.

The only thing that concerns me now is the price of this kit. It is half as expensive again as the Tamiya F4U-1 kit and is about the same price as a Hasegawa F4U-5. Add the AM cowling and that's probably fifty quid's worth of model. But then, I suppose that's the way the hobby is going.

[Mike]

With the benefit of hindsight, I don't think that the cowling is as bad as is often made out.  They got the smiley intake under the chin right according to the references I've seen, but whether the length is right, I've not been able to establish for myself.  I am wary of "unspecified" issues such as "it just looks wrong too me".  If someone can be specific with errors and back them up with evidence, then fair enough, but without evidence it just becomes conjecture, and could easily be sour grapes against a manufacturer (or even a country) rather than good honest modelling

 

My review of the replacement cowling can be found here.

[Col.]

Well said Mike. Guess if a modeller cares enough about a subject to be concerned for accuracy it's good practice to investigate primary source references whenever possible.

[Mike]

This puppy is currently on offer at Creative with 40% off... at £17 and change, it's a bit of a bargain!