FAA Corsair

[gcn]

So to get one of these in quarter scale would I just hack off the wing tips of a Tamiya F4U-1A.

Has anybody done this and how hard is it to make good the wings once butchered

[Thunderjug]

Hobby Craft kit has the tips in I think also the old Otaki /Airfix kit does as well.

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hi TJ, yes - the most obvious physical change is the squared off wing tips. if memory serves, I did it with an Otaki kit, and just used some thick plastic sheet to round off the wing tip, not forgetting the lights at the wing tips. Its about as easy a conversion as you can desire.

If you want to add a bit more - then invest a few quid in

http://www.shopcreator.com/mall/productpag...ruction/CV48027

It will give you a proper FAA cockpit, plus the other bits too.

Also - please note that the Corsair Mk III & IV were Brewster and Goodyear built -1Ds, so the Tamiya -1D kit may be a better start point for these.

HTH

Jon KT

[Jens]

So to get one of these in quarter scale would I just hack off the wing tips of a Tamiya F4U-1A.

Has anybody done this and how hard is it to make good the wings once butchered

I recently made the modification to two Tamiya F4U-1As. It's quite easy, just cut off the wing tips along the edge of the position lights (parallel to the closest panel line), glue the wing halves together and sand the seam.

Note that most, if not all, FAA Corsairs had a small air scoop on either side of the fuselage right where the roundel is usually placed. I made these scoops from scrap plastic.

There might be some minor modifications inside the cockpit, but I have decided to let them be.

Regards,

[RelativeBrit]

The FAA received the following Corsairs:

95 Corsair I serialed JT100-JT194. Vought Built. USN BuNos indicated that the first 45 aircraft were F4U-1s and the final 50 F4U-1As. Photos of some of these later aircraft show them fitted with the birdcage canopy. Many of these aircraft had full-span wings (un-clipped)

510 Corsair II serialed JT195-JT704. Vought Built. USN BuNos indicated that the first 360 aircraft were F4U-1As and the final 150 were F4U-1Ds, all with the framed canopy. All these aircraft used the larger propeller.

430 Corsair III serialed JS469-JS888 and JT963-972. Brewster Built. USN BuNos indicate that the first 335 aircraft were F3A-1s and the final 95 F3A-1Ds, all with the framed canopy. All these aircraft used the larger propeller. It is believed that none saw frontline service.

857 Corsair IV serialed KD161-KE117. Goodyear Built. USN BuNos indicate that the first 410 were FG-1s or FG-1As (there is no clear distinction made in the USN records) and the final 447 were FG-1Ds. All but the first 400 aircraft had blown canopies. All the RN FG-1Ds seem to have had the smaller propeller and the final 125 also were fitted to carry 5 inch rockets under the wings but there is no evidence they served operationally. There were a further 120 FG-1Ds slated for transfer to the RN as KE310-KE429 but this order was canceled.

FG-1A KD161-255 BuAer 14592-14685

FG-1D KD255-560 BuAer 14686-14991

FG-1 KD561-570 BuAer 76139-76148

FG-1D KD571-867 BuAer 76149-76445

FG-1D KD868-999 BuAer 87949-87998, 88134-88158, 88269-88293, 88404-88428, 92171-92177

FG-1D KE100-117 BuAer 92178-92195

(Source: Air Arsenal North America; Phil Butler & Dane Hagedorn)

No Corsair I's were deployed to the Pacific, and none were in front line service in the Atlantic either, as far as the records go. They were primarily used in the training role in Maine and Rhode Island.

Corsair II's served in the Atlantic and Pacific, but all Corsair IV's seem to have served in the Pacific exclusively.

Corsair III did not serve in front-line duty as they were unreliable.

Corsair I JT100-JT194, Vought built

Corsair II JT195-JT704, Vought built

Corsair III JS469-JS888 and JT963-972 Brewster built

Corsair IV KD161-KE117 Goodyear built

Colors:

Corsair I and II factory painted Olive Drab ANA613, ANA 603 Sea Gray and the underside was 602 Light Gray.

Corsair III, either in USN Tricolor scheme (Non-spec Sea Blue, Intermediate Blue and White) or the same scheme as the Corsair I and II

Corsair IV GSB

Of course some Corsair I, II, and III were repainted in FAA colors in service overhauls by the FAA.

Edited November 13, 2007 by RelativeBrit

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hi RB - what are your sources for the above info?

Jon KT

[RelativeBrit]

Various, including the work of Bruce Archer, Paul Fortenoy of the defunct FAA SIG, Butler&Hagedorn, and numerous others over time.

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Various, including the work of Bruce Archer, Paul Fortenoy of the defunct FAA SIG, Butler&Hagedorn, and numerous others over time.

Cheers RB - I was just wondering if it was all from one mega source book on FAA corsairs - it would be nice to have a bible on their service.

Cheers again, sorry if it sounded a bit pointed - wasn't meant to

Jon KT

[mrp]

FAA Corsairs are an interesting subject with very little in print. Unfortunately there is no definative book on the subject.

The recent book by Dave Morris on the FAA Museum Corsair goes a long way to help address the lack of suitable material.

One issue that I have discovered, is that the clipped wing differed between batches of aircraft. Only the Goodyear built aircraft ( all painted DSBlue ) were actually delivered from the factory with their wings already clipped. The wings were actually built by sub-contractor Briggs and mated to the airframe at the Goodyear plant. All the other aircraft built by Vought and Brewster had there wings clipped after they had been finished. The wings were actually clipped ( nice pun) by a company at Roseevelt Field in New Jersey prior to the aircraft being fully accepted by the RN.

The difference between the Goodyear clipped wing and the sub contractor is the Gooodyear cut is deeper, probably an inch more resulting in a different shaped formation light . When you compare shots of Vought built vs Goodyear, the apperance is different. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else.I have attached a couple of shots which show the Goodyear clipped wing and a the pre cut Vought built aircraft

Mark

[RelativeBrit]

Except perhaps for this Corsair II (Color) and the fresh out of the plant Corsair III (Photographed at Brewster's PA plant)

[gcn]

excellent references guys keep them coming.

King Kit have the Hobbycraft Corsair for a tenner but i'm led to believe the Tamiya model is a much better proposition

[dahut]

excellent references guys keep them coming.

Yes, please do. Im a Yank, dumb to such things and so, as you might expect, had no idea about all this wing clipping business.

AS I get it there were two "clippings," one might say. There was the Goodyear version with the more square tip and the contractor clipped version. So , if I want to build my ARII Corsair F4U-1 into a FAA bird, what is correct?

[RelativeBrit]

If you were doing a birdcage, it would most likely not be clipped. Same with some early 1A's that were used in State-side training. These would be the Mk, I.

If you doing a Corsair II, then it would look like the tips on the color picture that I posted above. Most likely subcontracted parts, but not likely applied elsewhere. The wings were painted as a piece.

[dahut]

If you were doing a birdcage, it would most likely not be clipped. Same with some early 1A's that were used in State-side training. These would be the Mk, I.

If you doing a Corsair II, then it would look like the tips on the color picture that I posted above. Most likely subcontracted parts, but not likely applied elsewhere. The wings were painted as a piece.

Okie-Dokie. the kit I have is a F4U-1A. How would that normally have been seen in the FAA, clipped or unclipped? What are the difference between the Corsair I and II? Are there any good pics on the net of all thisFAA Corsair stuff, like colors and markings?. I confess that I know more about Me-109's than I do about Corsairs!

Edited November 26, 2007 by dahut

[RelativeBrit]

The Corsair I included both the -1 and -1A, which includes the early birdcage. The Corsair II includes the -1A and -1D all made by Vought. You quickly tell the difference by serial number. See my post above.

If it is a -1A and is a Corsair II, it would have clipped wings. You can make you Arii kit as a Corsair II.

As for markings, there are FAA Corsair decals from Sky and Techmod. Aeromaster had some, but most are out of print.

http://www.flightdecs.ca/A_techmod_48.htm

[dahut]

The Corsair I included both the -1 and -1A, which includes the early birdcage. The Corsair II includes the -1A and -1D all made by Vought. You quickly tell the difference by serial number. See my post above.

If it is a -1A and is a Corsair II, it would have clipped wings. You can make you Arii kit as a Corsair II.

An exceprt from your earlier post:

" 510 Corsair II serialed JT195-JT704. Vought Built. USN BuNos indicated that the first 360 aircraft were F4U-1As and the final 150 were F4U-1Ds, all with the framed canopy. All these aircraft used the larger propeller. "

So I CAN make my Arii/AMT Corsair as an FAA Corsair II with clipped wings. Cooool! A little saw work, some sheet stock and filler ...and your pics and.... voila! Clipped Corsair.

I have found several FAA II's on Wings Pallette and now these. From these I can cobble up some markings, even buy some if I wanted to get spendy.

So my plan will be to do an FAA Corsair II (F4U-1A/D), clipped wings and marked accordingly. Thanks for the direction finding efforts.

[Andrew]

Hello all,

Just wanted to post my thanks to you gents, RB in particular, for the detail regarding FAA Corsairs. I've learnt heaps as I read this thread and take in all the information.

Cheers,

Andrew

[ancient mariner]

Made this years ago out of the old Otaki kit ( pre Tamiya et al).

Im pretty sure I had to clip the wings and Im not at all sure now if it is the correct type for a FAA machine.

Looks like you have plenty of good advice above ,from those that do know.

[DCRanger]

My colour perception is not very good so could some one tell me what colour the three formation lights are? Also, were they actually used by the FAA at any time?

[AnonymousFO98]

No piccie Ancient

Built that kit (unfinished) in the Airfix boxing.

is not bad if a tad basic - but gives a good point for detailing if you wish.

Yes the wings needed to be clipped. As shown in the intructions.

The decals stank big time by silvering GRRRR!

Quickboost engine is a must for this kit

[Fernando]

One issue that I have discovered, is that the clipped wing differed between batches of aircraft. Only the Goodyear built aircraft ( all painted DSBlue ) were actually delivered from the factory with their wings already clipped. The wings were actually built by sub-contractor Briggs and mated to the airframe at the Goodyear plant. All the other aircraft built by Vought and Brewster had there wings clipped after they had been finished. The wings were actually clipped ( nice pun) by a company at Roseevelt Field in New Jersey prior to the aircraft being fully accepted by the RN.

The difference between the Goodyear clipped wing and the sub contractor is the Gooodyear cut is deeper, probably an inch more resulting in a different shaped formation light . When you compare shots of Vought built vs Goodyear, the apperance is different. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else.I have attached a couple of shots which show the Goodyear clipped wing and a the pre cut Vought built aircraft

Mark

Hi, Mark

True. I have never seen any mention to this, and the mental idea I have made of the clipped wing correspondes to what you call the "deeper" cut, straight at the line of the formation light. On the other side, the pictures you show are well known and have been used at lenght to show the "ANA 602" or the "ANA 610" undersurface theories (both!).

Anyone?

Fernando, out there in Haiti

[gingerbob]

King Kit have the Hobbycraft Corsair for a tenner but i'm led to believe the Tamiya model is a much better proposition

Yes, my advice would be to not waste your time on the Hobbycraft kit- pay the extra money for the Tamiya.

bob

[andym]

FAA Corsairs are an interesting subject with very little in print. Unfortunately there is no definative book on the subject.

The recent book by Dave Morris on the FAA Museum Corsair goes a long way to help address the lack of suitable material.

One issue that I have discovered, is that the clipped wing differed between batches of aircraft. Only the Goodyear built aircraft ( all painted DSBlue ) were actually delivered from the factory with their wings already clipped. The wings were actually built by sub-contractor Briggs and mated to the airframe at the Goodyear plant. All the other aircraft built by Vought and Brewster had there wings clipped after they had been finished. The wings were actually clipped ( nice pun) by a company at Roseevelt Field in New Jersey prior to the aircraft being fully accepted by the RN.

The difference between the Goodyear clipped wing and the sub contractor is the Gooodyear cut is deeper, probably an inch more resulting in a different shaped formation light . When you compare shots of Vought built vs Goodyear, the apperance is different. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere else.I have attached a couple of shots which show the Goodyear clipped wing and a the pre cut Vought built aircraft

Mark

Is that bottom pic reversed or where the Id lights on different sides on different marks of Corsair?

Andy

[Bruce Archer]

So to get one of these in quarter scale would I just hack off the wing tips of a Tamiya F4U-1A.

Has anybody done this and how hard is it to make good the wings once butchered

Hi!

So you wish to do a FAA Corsair, and I gather a -1A ( IE F4U-1A, F3A-1 or FG-1). So you will need the larger , narrow prop, the semi-blown canopy, the larger , fatter drop tank, and a pair of vents on the fuselage sides (look at the FAA Museums FG-1, and the vents are just behind the fuselage roundels). Some detail need to be altered in the cockpit, but keep the canopy closed and who cares. And of course clip the wing tips.

It appears that a compny ( the name escapes me now, but I think it was "Bliss") provided tips for Blackburn (who did the mods for the C orsair to FAA Specs). Later, Briggs started to supply wings to Brewster , then Goodyear with the tips already clipped.

It also appears that Brewster did NOT build ANY F3A-1D airframes prior to being shut down.

So colors.....

Corsair I and II (all): US Olive Drab, US Sea Grey and USN Non-Specular Light Grey

Corsair III: Initially in USN Tri-Color, then as Corsair I and II, and finally in colors which appear to be close to the TSS. This is very hard to verify, as the Brewster records are gone, and this info is from parts diverted from Brewster to Goodyear, and a couple of color images .

Corsair IV: Glossy Sea Blue

There you have the basics. I am researching an article on the FAA's Corsairs and one bit of info ( when Goodyear started to install the clear vision hood) is what need to complete the article.

I hope this helps!

Bruce

Edited April 20, 2010 by Bruce Archer

[AnonymousFO98]

There is also an anti-stall widget on the starboard leading edge

you can make it out on this pic:

not sure if that is on the US Corsairs or not, is absent on the Airfix 1/48 kit

Edited April 20, 2010 by walrus