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

[Grossman56]

LAYERS!!!
Todd, the secret to a great paint job, layers!!!!
One thing to keep in mind is the tape used on the nose to seal the panels


Grossman56

[Aros]

As you can see by this post's time stamp I can't sleep so I am up thinking about this dang model and all the possibilities!

At first, I was thinking making her into a random Marine or even Navy livery but re-running through this thread, it's clear that this is Pappy's bird. Weathering is going to be substantial and also exponential as the months roll into years. At first, I plan on a fair amount of detailing with the weathering increasing over time, almost like the real thing. I love the idea of painting her silver first, then the actual blue top coats, and physically chipping away at the high weather stressed areas like the LE of the wing, canopy, tail, rivets, et al to reveal the "aluminum" underneath. Of course the easy way is to simply paint on the weathering but something about applying the silver first, then the top blue coats and chipping away seems much more thrilling and authentic.

Rivets is going to be a whole other segment and production all its own. There are several methods to employ for realistic rivets. The burnishing kind, the decal kind, the glue kind, on and on. I may end up using more than one method.

Airbrushing is going to be the real question mark, since I have yet to invest in an airbrush system, it seems foolish to use this beauty as my virgin canvas but at the same time, it may be a good thing since I would be hyper-focused to take my time and do a very good job. And it certainly is inspiration for me to finally pull the trigger (pun intended).

My Scale Wish/To Do List:

• Pappy Boyington 1/5 scale Best Pilot
• Servo-actuated turning head for Pappy (in sync with the ailerons)
• Highly detailed TYS Planes cockpit kit
• Servo-actuated canopy
• High end sound setup (Benedini?)
• Close-to-scale 3 blade propeller
• Detailed Frank Tiano dummy radial
• Functioning cowl flaps
• Detailed decals and nomenclature from Callie
• Added foot holds and other details
• Realistic detailing/weathering

I look forward to the adventure!

[downwindleg]

Probably something from Zappos..............no wait that's 70 + years later!!!!!!:Confused:Brad nevermind

[Grossman56]

That IS a great shot!
They look like they maybe some kind of sandal, possibly picked up in China?

Grossman56

[Aros]

Yeah that is a great color shot of Pappy and company.

[Aros]

Yeah bring on Father's Day Weekend!! :Cool::Cool:

[downwindleg]

Awesome color shot of the Blacksheep Squadron. Those are some interesting shoes that Pappy has on. Don't exactly look like standard issue but then it's Pappy right? Brad

[TiredIronGRB]

Later in the war they were solid blue, probably painted with a mop.

[downwindleg]

Nice weathering job on the model. The VMF-214 shot really denotes how fast the colors fade in that hot south pacific sun. Notice how much right rudder the pilot has to hold against the torque of that R 2800 ? They had to hold a bunch until they were in the air and climbing out. I also noticed the" marsdon matting" on the taxi ramp. Very cool shot.:Cool: How many days 'til fathers day weekend ?Brad

[Aros]

I think this is the color choice I am going to go with. It's darker than the original VMF - 214 but it will get a bit lighter with all the weathering I plan for her.

















































































































































http://www.blitz72.com/2012/06/baa-b...orsair-braill/


Here's what appears to be an accurately colored photo of a F4U-1A from VMF - 214 circa 1943. A hardcore scale guy might be all over this, I just prefer a less contrast livery. (Note the lighter tail, nose and fuse aft of the cockpit).

[Aros]

Same is true about artists, writers and musicians. Some of the most gifted are and were tortured Souls addicted to drugs/alcohol.

[downwindleg]

Just had to follow up on my previous comments. Some of our greatest statesmen, patriots, and war heroes were very flawed individuals and in a way, that just made their accomplishments all the more amazing. Brad

[downwindleg]

Definitely a character, ya know that one of the reasons that Frank Walton wrote "Once They Were Eagles" was to counter all the bad feelings among the surviving Blacksheep about Pappy being the technical adviser for the tv series Baa Baa Blacksheep in which he allowed or caused the Blacksheep pilots to be characterized as screwups and misfits. And that they spent most of their time being drunk and running around with nurses. That might have been true of Pappy ,at least the drunkeness, but not the rest. All totally untrue. I heard this verified by the surviving Blacksheep in person at the Museum of Flight in 2002. They all said that the combat footage in the show was mostly accurate but the rest was "bull"! There weren't any nurses even there to run around with. And yes, I read the same account about sleeping 'til he needed to be awake and using up allot of oxygen to offset the hangover. Yet, he still was a five time ace.............go figure. Brad

[Aros]

No kidding! Man, oh man! What a character he was.

[Grossman56]

We all could probably swap Boyington stories for a couple of hundred pages, but the one that made me shake my head was when he was describing going on long flights. He reasoned that he was surrounded by younger pilots with much better eyesight than his, so he rigged up his Corsair with elastic bands to hold the stick in place and would sit back and fall asleep!!! He had one ear listening to the sound of the motor and could tell if the planes started to gain or lose altitude. He would reach out and tap to stick to regain level flight while sleeping !!
Now Pappy was never above embellishing a story, but makes you wonder doesn't it!!

Grossman56

[Aros]

Nice job TI! Looks sweet.

Thanks for the link Bill, he had a nice flight and landing. Hearing the electric motor makes me think I don't want to add additional weight for a heavier wing load but a Benedini sounds system would sure sound sweet in this girl!

I read The Life of Pappy Boyington a few years ago. Wow, what a story. An imperfectly perfect warrior and true Ace. Even flying a Corsair drunk at times! I wouldn't chance that with this model let alone strapping into the real thing! I would probably make it about 50 feet down the runway before ground looping!

I know about how often he flew whatever was available, that's why I am not going to be too strict on precision details as far as exact color matching. An approximation will be enough for me, but I still look forward to the detail/weathering work once she's had a few successful sorties under her belt.

[bill34207]

If it will give you some ambition, one of the guys in our club did a Top-Flite GS ARF with. Rimfire 50 cc electric 200 amp ESC and running 12s 50000's He's still getting the feel for it but flight times are decent He says he's flying at half throttle and hasn't had it to full throttle yet.Seems to handle pretty well for a 26 pound model.

https://youtu.be/14q08qywrv8

[Grossman56]

That's right, it's Lucybelle, not Lulubelle, I stand corrected

Grossman56

[downwindleg]

Thought seriously about getting the LX a couple years ago but it was just too damn small!! I was hoping they would come up with a sister bird for the 2 meter LX P-40. Have I mentioned a 2 meter Corsair before? Wrong thread I guess. This is where the big dogs hang out............YEAH!!!!!!! Brad

[TiredIronGRB]

I rebuilt a LX Corsair and did it up as Lucybelle...