downwindleg/Aros ESM 50cc F4U Corsair Build (Electric Conversion)

[F106DeltaDart]

I have been in contact with him and he's agreed to make them for me. Sweet! I am going to cut out one of the stock coolers and send it to him so he can get the size right. Thanks again F106 for the hook up!

Glad it worked out for you, his work is fantastic!

[Aros]

And it saves me I don't know how many countless hours farting around with who knows what kinds of tools and materials to jimmy rig something that could be passed off as even remotely scale from 2 feet! LOL

[Aros]

Cut out the port side cooler to send to Redhood....Can't find my hobby knives anywhere so I had to use a razor blade, regular knife and dremel. Hopefully the molds will be close to drop in and can hide the less than perfect cutting job. May need to putty/sand to hide any obvious edges when the time comes. I'll do whatever it takes to make these intake sections as scale as possible.

I gotta say, it wasn't a totally awesome feeling cutting into this bird and using a knife as a hand saw. :Scared:

[downwindleg]

It can be very intimidating working on something like this when there aren't any second chances. Glad you didn't hit those servo wires. and it's you doing the cutting not me. I'm sure it's going to look way good when it's all done. Brad

[Aros]

Yeah I would have had a nervous breakdown if I cut outside of the intake section, or cut through the wing and servo leads...I am hoping his molds are a complete housing that will simply slide right in the holes...No matter what I won't leave them alone until those coolers look the part.

[downwindleg]

May I suggest acrylic body filler by 3M for any little divits that need filling around that curved inlet to the coolers where you cut the old one out. You can get it at auto parts stores and it comes in a toothpaste type tube. You can also get soft plastic spreaders there too. Somebody else might have something more recent but I've used it on composite parts with great success. Just squeeze some out in the area and work it into any little spots that need filling. Let dry over night and then sand it flush to the surrounding area starting with 320 grit down to 4 or 600. It takes paint great and matches the surrounding area perfectly. It will also work great on my little owie where I drilled through the fuse back near the leading edge of the horizontal stab. I pointed it out to you and Chris but you may not have noticed through those starry eyes. :Drooling:Brad

[Aros]

Thanks Brad for the tip! Very serendipitous as I was wondering what to use for a good filler...Something that is easy to shape and sand. I will definitely pick up a tube!

[downwindleg]

Hey Todd, let me know how you like working with that filler material. They use it on body work to fine tune the surface after the main bondo/body work is done. Then prime-sand, prime-sand, paint. Brad

[Aros]

Will do! Right now the build is in a holding pattern as Chris is currently busy on weekends with his daughter's volleyball tournaments. I have some test oil coolers coming to me from the guy on RCG. He sent them out yesterday so I should get them tomorrow or Saturday. He said to see how they fit and if any added detail needs to be done. I will take photos and post. That will go a long way in determining what kind of work I will need to do with filler. I'm hoping it's a drop in that overlays the existing cutout sections but time will tell.

I can also get started on the cockpit kit as that's something I will be doing not Chris. The strut guard/air brakes I will need Chris' help how to mount those properly. I am going to go look for links on that cockpit construction...Stay tuned!

[Aros]

Well I took a look at the build video for the cockpit kit and quickly surmised that with my "Bull in a china shop" delicate style working with tiny plastic pieces that it would be best to see if I couldn't find someone with the talent, skill, tools and patience for it. A smart guy finds the right parts and pieces for his giant scale Corsair project. A REALLY smart guy finds people with superior talent to work on the intricate detail parts! So that's precisely what I did when I got in touch with our own Plastic_Aviator. He has been building phenomenal scale detail plastic models and cockpits for years and as my luck continues with this project he agreed to build/detail/weather it for me! I am ecstatic because his work speaks for itself. Here's some examples:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJMhYRUhJiP/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJMh7FcBjNE/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBlvFXBp00B/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBb9c7_p08I/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGhpIfIJ0_V/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGhqfpBp0zL/

YOWZA baby! Talk about an office worthy of the 1/5 scale Pappy I plan on putting in it!

Now before you all ask "Well Todd, is there ANYTHING you plan on doing yourself?" (and fair question, lol) I will be fully in charge of all the painting and weathering of the exterior aircraft. I know Plastic_Aviator's cockpit will set a very high standard for the rest of the model which I will do my very best to uphold. I am in contact with the master himself, Mr. Greg Thomas, the builder and owner of that incredible CARF Corsair you can see in the video a couple pages back. I will be learning a great deal of detailing and weathering techniques over the next several months. I will be investing in an airbrush system and practice on other models before taking aim at this Corsair.

Those oil cooler test molds should be in the mail today so I will be checking those out and documenting shortly.

[Plastic_Aviator]

Aros!

Thank you for the kind words bud. Definitely looking forward to this project! Seeing as youre going to try and tackle the weathering process yourself, below are some better pictures of another Navy bird which I completed. Maybe they can help?

[Aros]

Dang it I need your skills. LOL

[Aros]

On the rivets Brad...

I noticed on this giant scale Pappy Corsair there's those types of rivets on and around the canopy...That was my thought for those...

[downwindleg]

On the rivets Brad...

I noticed on this giant scale Pappy Corsair there's those types of rivets on and around the canopy...That was my thought for those...

That looks like it will work great for that application. Man, you're assembling a great team to put this bird together.....good delegation skills! Guess you'll be in charge of watching paint dry.LOLKidding aside, I'm very impressed with your commitment to this project.....one for the books. Brad

[Aros]

Thanks Brad! Just got back from our vacation at the ocean over the 4th. Had a ball. Beautiful weather. Got the cooler test piece...Looks good as a starting point. A tiny bit too large for the cutout so I will work with him on that, plus I am asking if the mesh will come with the final molds and if he can add depth or not as the vents have more depth to them on the full scale. So I will see what he says...

[downwindleg]

I agree, good starting point and more depth if possible for sure. Seems like there was more angle on the inlet vanes but maybe that will come with greater depth.:Cool:Brad

[Aros]

Like minds my friend! Those were the thoughts I had as well. I touched base with him and I got him precise measurements and he said adding depth is not a problem, plus the mesh will come with the final versions, I am going to also inquire about the angle of the inlet vanes...I agree they should have more angle to them then they currently do. If it's not too much trouble for him that would be great. I was going to order that Frank Tiano dummy radial and the page is no longer active. Oh no! I hope I didn't miss out!

I just sent him an email...Hopefully it's a website glitch and not that he's no longer offering them.

[Aros]

I was walking by our front room when it dawned on me that our blinds would be a perfect reference for the oil cooler man! So along with my request (it's begging really, lol) I sent him this...(oops spelled vane wrong, doh!)

[Aros]

Here's his latest CAD renders...I told him we're getting there but I made some more suggestions based off the CARF Corsair coolers which I think really hit the mark. Hopefully he can get there with the points mentioned...I hope he doesn't start getting annoyed with my attention to detail but the coolers on the Corsair are such a cool, highly visible part of the wing I really want them as scale as possible.

[downwindleg]

A job worth doing is worth doing right,right? Brad