1/32 Tamiya F4U-1a Corsair - Boyington 17740

[jkim]

Adding the different color for the canvas covers was a great move. Those gear bays look lovely.

I didn't know about the canvas until someone at LSP pointed it out. Thankfully, it was easy to incorporate as was painting the square block on the rear wheel well wall brown since it was made of wood.

[KennyX]

Thank you for digging so deeply into this, because I plan on using all of this knowledge you’ve acquired when I do my own 1:32 Corsair. That’s a lot of it but it isn’t the majority of my gratitude. The majority of it lies in my thankfulness I get to watch you do this project. Seeing your thought process always helps me so much. And the work you’re doing here is amazing. Thank you for not keeping it to yourself.

[BlackSheep214]

Wait... how in the world did you manage to paint the small area without hitting the wires? Seriously, it looks good. It’s always nice to learn something new.

[AtomCat109]

Ho-lee *beep*

[jkim]

Thank you for digging so deeply into this, because I plan on using all of this knowledge you’ve acquired when I do my own 1:32 Corsair. That’s a lot of it but it isn’t the majority of my gratitude. The majority of it lies in my thankfulness I get to watch you do this project. Seeing your thought process always helps me so much. And the work you’re doing here is amazing. Thank you for not keeping it to yourself.

Thanks Kenny! I'm just passing on a lot of knowledge/tips that I'm receiving. So just being a conduit. You could also consider posting your work at LSP and getting the info firsthand. Lots of knowledgeable modelers over there willing to drop in and give their two cents. On my K-4 build, Jerry Crandall (from Eagle Editions), Radu (from RB Productions), Alexey (from AMUR Reaver), and Vincent (from MDC), among others, have all chimed in.

Wait... how in the world did you manage to paint the small area without hitting the wires? Seriously, it looks good. It’s always nice to learn something new.

A sharp brush and using Tamiya paint thinned with a drop of iso alcohol helps get the paint into very tight areas. It would've been easier had I known about the canvas area before installing the wheel wells but it wasn't too bad. And... looking at it now, I SHOULD have painted the recessed edges of the wheel well opening in the wings BEFORE I put the wheel wells into place. Now I'll have to do some masking.

[Duke Maddog]

Wow, I bow to the Master! Amazing work on those wells.

[speedgraflex]

John, welcome back somewhat belatedly, but most sincerely! I was thinking about what you wrote regarding LSP as well. I did meet both the Reaver and Ralph Riese through LSP. Honestly Ralph is the kind of treasure I would love to bring here. My main LSP concern is non productive criticism of details. In my opinion, a critique should be sensitive to the builder’s stated goals, and in the case of your Schwalbe you were extremely clear about your intentions. However I would hasten to add that Spam as a forum is more of a fellowship than a crucible. That is all strictly my opinion. I will probably dual post a 1:32 project there and here so I can further decipher what the pro and cons are.

Turning to your progress reports, all I have to add is simply my utmost admiration at the structure of your weathering approach! This is simply extraordinary to me. Congratulations so far and good luck with your masking.

[jkim]

Thanks for the input! As far as online communities go, all of the different message boards have their own unique qualities. I haven't found one in which I feel totally comfortable yet but you get what you put in and I have a limited amount of time that I'm able to spend participating in these communities. I greatly appreciate the comments that I get, especially the technical ones so I try to approach them as judiciously as possible even if it means repeating myself.

I'm approaching the point where the exterior colors of the Corsair are coming into play and I'm hesitant. Much like the 262 build, I don't have a clear idea or game plan. I AM questioning my past pre-shade techniques as I review the results and wonder if there is another way to approach the tonal variation that I'd like to build into my color schemes. To that end, I am playing with masking patterns including Scotch Brite pads, the Artool Freehand Airbrush templates and a recently ordered Spatter Template from RB Productions.

And there is also the question of how the AK Real Colors will chip using the hairspray approach. My experience with the wheel wells tells me that the AK paints might be significantly more resistant to chipping than Tamiya or Mr Hobby acrylics so I'll have to keep that in mind. I do have the blue colors in Mr Hobby Aqueous as back-ups.

[KennyX]

John, welcome back somewhat belatedly, but most sincerely! I was thinking about what you wrote regarding LSP as well. I did meet both the Reaver and Ralph Riese through LSP. Honestly Ralph is the kind of treasure I would love to bring here. My main LSP concern is non productive criticism of details. In my opinion, a critique should be sensitive to the builder’s stated goals, and in the case of your Schwalbe you were extremely clear about your intentions. However I would hasten to add that Spam as a forum is more of a fellowship than a crucible. That is all strictly my opinion. I will probably dual post a 1:32 project there and here so I can further decipher what the pro and cons are.

Turning to your progress reports, all I have to add is simply my utmost admiration at the structure of your weathering approach! This is simply extraordinary to me. Congratulations so far and good luck with your masking.

Bruce,

I can’t speak for John or any of the other guys, but personally I think you hit the nail on the head with your take on what equals constructive criticism and solid feedback. Yes absolutely critique should be appropriate to the builder’s goals. You laid-out a fantastic and intelligent nuance that’s very important and yes, I believe it goes unnoticed in other forums.

SPAM is the only web forum like this that I’m a member of because I like the fellowship angle. I like the nuance.

Do I personally need to get better at taking criticism (positive and negative)? CERTAINLY. That’s why I’m a member of a FB critique group. I share a few WIP pics or a finished model, let them tear it apart, read their suggestions, and use them if I wish. And that’s fine, BUT—

I share what inactually do here. I share the new techniques I’m learning here. I document my builds here. Because like you said, it’s a fellowship. And I like you guys, I always appreciate your input, and I want to make a positive contribution myself.

John,

As to your hesitance with the paint, have you considered black basing this one? I’ve got some nice Tamiya paint formulas for the Corsair’s colors I’d be happy to share. And you could even still use your ideas even while black basing... Just an idea, but it might be a viable option. Though I admit to being extremely biased, because I really, REALLY alike how that non-speculate white and intermediate blue look when they’re black based.

[jkim]

Thanks guys! Kenny... yes, black basing is an option. But my natural inclination is towards a dark on light pre-shade versus the light on black. It saves me a coat of paint and it presents less of a contrast difference between the chipping layer, which I am intending to do on the wings.

The lipped edged around the main wheel wells have been masked off and sprayed Insignia White. I've also added some black staining to the wood block on the rear wheel well wall, although it is hard to see in the pics. Since the wheel wells are complete, I want to see if how the landing gear fits...