Introduction

The following is the introduction supplied with the model from RoG (Revell of Germany)
The prototype of the Vought F4U Corsair first flew on 29th May 1940 in response to the United States navy request for a carrier based fighter that matched the performance then being achieved by land based aircraft. Design work began in 1936 under Rex B Beisel to build a very compact airframe around the new Double Wasp engine. The distinctive inverted gull wing design gave adequate ground clearance for the 13’ 4’’ Hamilton standard propeller without needing very long undercarriage legs. Powered by the Pratt and Whitney 1.800hp R-2800 Double Wasp engine, the Corsair was the first US fighter to exceed 400 mph in level flight. Entering service with Marine Squadron VMF-124 in late 1942 the first Corsairs remained land based due to ongoing work to make the new aircraft safe for carrier operations.

Gradual design improvements incorporated on the production line meant that the early F4U-1’s were quite different from those that followed, the most noticeable point being the lightly framed blown Perspex cockpit hood that replaced the earlier ‘Birdcage’ style hood. These modified aircraft were later referred to as the F4U-1A’s. As well as the Vought production line at Bridgeport, Connecticut, Corsairs were also built by Goodyear at Akron, Ohio and Brewster at Long Island, New York. The F4u-1A Corsair was armed with six 12.7mm Browning machine guns in the wings and some could also carry a single 450kg bomb in place of the centre line drop tank. Total Corsair production was 12,571 the last of which was delivered in January 1953. The F4u-1A Corsair was powered by a 2000hp R-2800-8 giving a maximum speed of 417mph and an operational radius of 1015 miles. Maximum altitude was 36,900ft, wingspan 41’, Length 33’4’’ and a height of 16’ 1’’.

Contents

The model is packaged in a smaller than usual end opening box for a 1/32nd scale box, however there is a good artwork on the box front. Inside the box you will find;

• 4 light grey sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 decal sheet
• An instruction booklet

Review

I should say that this is a reissue of a model that is nearly as old as me, but is it holding up better than I am? Being a model with 40 years under its belt you cannot expect this to match up to recent model releases but it is not all bad news. There are surprisingly few parts to this model and the sprues do show the age of the moulds with quite a lot of flash present and some large gates between the sprue and the mouldings. The large gates will make removal of parts challenging due to how easy it will be damage the mouldings and also the cleanup of these areas afterwards. Perhaps one thing shows the age of this model more than anything else which is raised panel lines. On the plus side the overall dimensions of the model are fair, as are the general lines and appearance of the model; the gull wings make this model easy to identify.

Cockpit
The cockpit is very simplified and as fair as I can see not very accurate. There is a pilot figure supplied with the kit which should at least help to mask the inaccuracies or perhaps more accurately the simplification of detail. RoG has supplied decals for the cockpit interior to replicate the dial detail as well as raised dial detail on the mouldings. Those modellers who rate accuracy highly will want to look to the aftermarket companies to improve this area of the model. A seat for the pilot is moulded attached to the rear wall of the cockpit however no harness detail is present. This is not an area of the model that modellers who are keen on detail and accuracy will be pleased with.

Engine
The engine is another area of the model that suffers from soft detail, but once inserted into the engine cowling this detail will not be seen cleanly and should provide a good impression of a busy area. The bell housing just behind the propeller is perhaps the saving grace of the engine as it is a fair moulding which will look the part when everything goes together.

Fuselage, Wings and Tail
As mentioned earlier the weakness of the external surfaces of the model are the raised panel lines. The wings and tail parts are moulded with the control surfaces attached, and while some surgery will allow the modeller to display the control surfaces in different positions it will be a lot of work. The wings are supplied with the ability to show them folded but due to the mechanism used I would stick with the wings deployed. The general fit of these quite large components appears to be quite good and this at least should make construction fairly easy, and I believe plays to the market it is aimed at.

Undercarriage
The undercarriage of the model is again simplified and will require some work to improve, and a lot of work to make accurate and stand up to inspection, the wheels are ok and should look fair with some washes applied.

Canopy
The clear mouldings for the canopy are as expected, even if they are a little on the thick side but not excessively so. The framework is clear and should be easy enough to paint.

Decals
The decals in this offering from RoG are perhaps in some ways the star of the show. They appear to be accurate with the red around the stars and stripes decals and show no signs of colour bleeding. There is very little excess carrier film on the decals with the exception of the Number ‘3’ and the ‘Big Hog’ name plate, so all in all a good set of decals. There are decals for two aircraft which are;
Vought F4U-!a Corsair, VF-17 Squadron, US Navy, Ondonga, Solomon Islands 1943
Vought F4U-!a Corsair, VF-17 Squadron, US Navy, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, February 1944

Conclusion

This model with its age was never going to appeal to a modeller who is looking for near perfect accuracy and lots of options; however this would be a great model for a youngster who is new to the hobby or a recent convert possibly. Its large size, ease of build and great lines will I believe gain their interest, in addition to that the minimum number of parts which allows for a quick build which will also play to the fact that the attention span of a child seems to have greatly reduced since I was one. As a guide; excluding the painting of the cockpit and tail wheel, you could have everything together with the exception of the engine and main landing gear together in an hour and a bit easily. The price also puts it into a range that a parent would not really object to paying to keep the nipper happy and occupied while mum or dad concentrate on their own next show stopper.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For
details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell

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