You'd think a decal company
from down under would know their subject fairly well but
this is apparently not the case when it comes to New Zealand
national markings. I found out after I finished
this model that the blue Ventura used for the Kiwi
markings was far too light - they should be closer to
Roundel Blue. So now I'm either going to find some new
decals to apply over these or try and paint over them
using a circle template. Frankly, I'm in no hurry to do
either!
I have to say also, that
these were some of the worst decals I've ever used. Completely
impervious to even the strongest decal setting solutions
and silvered badly even over a glossy surface. I ended
up painting around the personal marking behind the cowling
with Sea Blue to cover up the nastiness. I had to apply
two sets of national markings on the wings because they
were so translucent the Sea Blue showed through the edges
- this is very visible on the fuselage decals because
I didn't have another set that size so had to make do
with one layer. The decals were also extremely brittle
and the first one I applied broke into several pieces
when I tried to move it into position. It's a shame because
Ventura puts out several sheets of very interesting subjects
such as Canadian Sea Furys and Seafires and New Zealand
Kittyhawks, but I loathe the idea of finishing any of
those subjects with Ventura decals now.
The Academy Corsair
on the other hand, is a very good kit. It is basically
a copy of the old Hasegawa offering but with recessed
panel lines and better detail. Academy managed to include
most of Hasegawa's mistakes as well which is what gives
its origins away. Both firms moulded the outer flaps as
fabric covered when in fact all the flaps were skinned
in metal. They also both moulded the cockpit with a floor
which is incorrect for the F4U-1 - cockpit floors didn't
show up until the F4U-4. Several small details such as
the trim tab on the left aileron, sprung footstep covers
on the wing root and fuselage side, handholds in front
of the windscreen, identification lights under the starboard
wing tip and fuel filler on top of the forward fuselage
are missing and need to be scribed in. The tailwheel is
the early short version and needs to be lengthened for
later F4U-1s and the step cut out in the starboard inner
flap didn't appear until late in the F4U-1D production
line. Again, these errors are applicable to both Academy
and Hasegawa.
I added the pylons under
the wings to make this an F4U-1D. Out of the box the kit
best represents an F4U-1A. I figured New Zealand would
probably have gotten older models so I used the early
style canopy with the horizontal frame lines (Academy
supply both this and the later F4U-1D canopy without the
horizontal frames) and filled in the step in the inner
flap. The cockpit floor was cut away and the seat was
replaced with a True Details resin one. The kit
seat is actually fine but the resin seat has seat belts
moulded in and I was feeling lazy.... ;-}
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