Academy 1/72 Corsair F4U-1A, Tommy’s Big Hog, Ondongo, 1943.

[jkim]

That's a really nice looking instrument panel, especially for 1/72 scale. But if you are going to for a more simple/economical approach, you may not want to spend the extra money. It's hard not to get sucked into that spending hole unless you take a step back and see what your money can buy you.

$5 - Yahu Instrument Panel


$15 - Eduard F4U-1a Interior Set (You get a seat , side consoles and other tiny details in addition to the IP)


$25 - Tamiya F4U-1a kit

[speedgraflex]

Thanks, Kari, that looks like a very nice instrument panel, indeed. One of the goals is not to spend any money. This kit was purchased with eBay bucks that were expiring February 2nd, which may be a marketing ploy. I don’t know. This kit cost less than the Yahu IP. It has its faults but what I like best about it is not having spent a lot on it, I feel freedom to build it in non-traditional terms, using the paint stock and parts I have at hand. I know the cockpit looks crude and feels crude, but this is in the first stage towards correction.

John, I agree completely about choosing a Tamiya kit for both the Thunderbolt and the Corsair. I do think having peeked at Darth Cake’s Britmodeler build of the Tamiya Corsair that its cockpit is amazingly well done. Ultimately we all decide our Fate when we choose the kit. This is a very builder basic kit with all that entails. What I stand to gain by scratchbuilding the cockpit is design comprehension in 3D. One aspect I have to resolve is the location of the seat itself which is too far rearward and should be over the wing and not on the edge of it. This is also tricky. I don’t know. I’m confused about the direction to take this, but I do know my goal is $0 budgeting here.

The other point I have to make is to generally thank everyone here for making me better as a modeler and more concerned with finish as well as fidelity.

[Stikpusher]

Good points. Very good points. Thank you for your suggestions. I am trying to figure out a no cost option. I had hoped the kit included a decal but it did not. One thought I had was to drill out the openings, making a sandwich of kit part, clear polyvinyl and a head on photocopy of an actual IP.

Yes, that’s a hardcore old school option. Create a 1/72 IP from a photo with a copy print, cut out a matching piece of sheet plastic and drill out matching spots for the instrument, paint it up, sandwich a sheet of clear acetate in the middle.

[speedgraflex]

Tomorrow I will pull the seat which is PVA’ed in place, and prime things. I kinda wanna just squirt green to see how it looks, but I would have to spray UV Flat Clear first. Huh. Maybe. I wonder.

[Handiabled]

Looks like you have been very busy. Great work Bruce!

[jkim]

Good progress on the seat!

I was not necessarily recommending the Tamiya kit. Just wanted to show the conundrum we get into when considering aftermarket parts. It all depends on what we want to do with each particular build. I personally have no problem spending 3X the kit price on a single aftermarket item, as long as I feel that item elevates the build to where I want to go and is not achievable otherwise. And its usually identified in the planning process.

Buying a simple kit for a simple build and then adding aftermarket stuff to it maybe puts you down a road that you don't want to be on. In that case, I was suggesting taking a step back and considering Kit A + Aftermarket Stuff << Kit B by itself.

[speedgraflex]

Hey Brent, John, good morning to you both and thank you both for checking in! John, I agree about being smart or in this case smarter about where you spend. When I have the coin, I definitely will spend. I don’t have as many of Henri’s resin props as you (I have 3), but that man is an artist and I will always support an artist. Forgive me if I did not quite interpret what you wrote correctly - a good friend of mine likes to say that “ideas will mutate through language,” which to an extent captures what happens in conversations. I actually found some old 1/72 IP decals bagged up (I was gonna write “like cocaine”) that my RB Punch ought to be able to “discify” for me.

[KSaarni]

The seat looks really good Bruce, I like the scratch built parts in it.

Hope to see the fuselage parts go together soon!

- Kari

[speedgraflex]

Thanks, Kari. This is where I am: fit check, metal primer which needs to be polished.





Man, that looks weird. Let’s see how the Mr. Grind Cloths tame that rough wildness from scratch building. I also used too little PVA to secure the cockpit to my toothpick... I had to search for the part after it fell off—fun times.

[Floki]

Seat looks good in there Bruce!