Tips and techniques for

creating better models

HOW TO BUILD
BETTER
AIRCRAFT

[Link]
RESEARCH DATA

UNEXPECTED
1 Deep inside this F-16's Pratt & Whitney
F1 00-PW-200 are plenty of contrasting
metal finishes . Try combining washes and
drybrushing to create these effects .

2 Not all aircraft exhausts look the same.

Note the contrast between this blackened
F-4 exhaust and the whitish F-16 "can." It
would take a bit of masking , but this
Phantom's scalloped patchwork effect on
the different metal panels is easily attain-
able. Try masking Metalizer paints with
paper low-tack memo notes, then vary the
shades to create the multi-panel effect.

3 Jet engine exhausts have several details

to offer. Labeled with "no step" and "no
push" markings, they' re multi-toned ,
weathered titanium on the outside. Also,
note the dirty panel lines on this F-16
Falcon; dirt also collects in the rivet depres-
sions . A dark wash will add these details to
your models .

60 [Link] Modelel' O ctober 2000

 Using references to
add detail
By Chris Appoldt Photos by Terry Thompson

ust because the box top of an aircraft Photo references are a great help in finding these
model you're considering shows an overall details, and such reference sources for your mod-
gray or natural metal paint job, it doesn't eling project can be found at a local library or
mean there isn't color and detail for you to bookstore, and even at a nearby airstrip's gift
add. Even aircraft with single-color shop. But whatever you do, don't miss the
schemes usually have their colorful areas. chance to snap a few pictures at air shows, where
military and civilian aircraft frequently show
The subtle differences between the bare metal their true colors for the public to see.
panels on this F-86 are easily seen once you take The 1999 AirVenture show at Oshkosh,
time to look. Reference photos such as these pro- Wisconsin, was a perfect opportunity for just
vide the modeler with accurate guides to such an expedition. Look closely at the follow-
realistically portraying the real deal, showing ing photos; you might find a few unexpected
where the hidden colors are on those seemingly and colorful details that will give your models
monochromatic aircraft. that extra touch of realism. FSM

COLORS
4 LANTIRN pods, as on this F-16, are fre-
quently inspected and maintained - see
how the crew's work keeps the bolts
stripped of paint? Also note the bare metal
tube and the pronounced panel lines.

5 As seen on this P-51, opening a wing

immediately adds detail and color to a
model project. Within the gun bays, you
should see contrasts of gunmetal, alu-
minum, brass, and copper.

6 Inside the engine cowling of this T-28

are cylinders and other colorful details a
meticulous modeler could highlight with a
light drybrushing of steel or aluminum
paint.

October 2000 FineScale Modele.. 61

 7 This Lockheed Constellation
shows another example of con-
trasting bare metal finishes and
exhaust stains. Note also the
many ripples in the aircraft's
"skin," a rarely modeled effect.

8 Skyraiders had very distinc-

tive deposits on their fuselages.
To make a feathery smear like
this, rub pastel chalks on
coarse sand paper, creating a
powdery dust, then lightly
streak it along your model with
a small brush or padded make-
up applicator.

9 This photo of an F4U-l

Corsair's exhaust is a perfect
example of how you could take
a small detail and turn it into a
great highlight. The, varying
color-of the exhaust pipes and
the stains on the fuselage are
found on most similar aircraft
types.

1 0 Prop-driven aircraft from

World War II, like this Spitfire,
had exhausts whose colors var-
ied under the hot temperatures
- they also frequently rusted
from exposure to the elements.
The engines were constantly
being maintained, so screws
and bolts are often stripped
down to bare metal.

11 Fluids don't
always stay where
they belong on air-
craft. When they do
leak, air currents will
usually spread them
in peculiar patterns
along the fuselage.

12 Joints and hinges

collect residue on this
otherwise immaculate
F-4F. Lubricant and
fluid stains are usual-
ly kept at a minimum
on modern aircraft
by maintenance
crews.

62 FiDeScale Modele.. October 2000

13 Older U.S. military aircraft, like this F8F, were painted with
green or yellow zinc chromate inside the access panels and wheel
wells; the hydraulics created even more eye-catching contrast
against these colors .

14 Wheel wells don't need to be bland, as this Mustang shows.

Rivets, brake lines, and even tires add color and variety for the
modeler.

15 Tires are almost never truly black since they're picking up dust
and dirt from the runways, as on this F-16 . The brake lines create
another contrasting detail.

16 The inside of most service panels are gloss white so that tech-
nicians can easily spot leaks. Note the detail you can create to an
F-86 by painting your model's hydraulic lines.

17 Modern aircraft, like this F-4F, are usu-

ally meticulously maintained . Certain
areas, though, do undergo a high degree
of wear and tear - and it shows . Modeling
to reflect an accurate finish can really
make your kit an exceptional showpiece.
Experiment to find some techniques that
yield satisfactory results, and enjoy the art
of detailing!

18 Panel lines on this F8F became promi-

nent when they lost their paint to
maintenance functions . A silver artist's pen-
cil , found in most arts and crafts stores,
can be sharpened to draw these on your
project.

19 While models needn't have exaggerat-

ed, filthy panels, note on this He 111 that
even "modern" classic airframes will collect
dirt where panels meet.

October 2000 nneScale Modeler 63

 7 Tips on Building
Resin Aircr
There’s good news, and then there’s . . .
By Pat Hawkey

30 FineScale Modeler September 2004

 Aircraft | How-to

aft O
ne reality of modeling is that some subjects are
not popular enough to warrant expensive plastic
injection-molded kits. Fortunately, that special model
you’ve always wanted is probably out there, in resin.
There are many cottage-industry manufacturers who
make kits from polyurethane resin cast in silicone “rub-
ber” molds. That’s the good news.
The other news is that resin kits can be expensive
(compared with most plastic kits), and they present their
own building challenges.
I’ve built nearly 30 resin kits or major conversions,
produced by seven different manufacturers. Some have
been easier than others – all have been adventures.
Some resin kits are excellent, with great detail, fit, and
accuracy, but others (even from the same manufacturer)
may be poorly cast, with uneven fit and wildly inaccurate
shapes.

What is “resin”?
Polyurethane resin is a pourable plastic material.
Cottage-industry manufacturers like it because it can make
thin, detailed pieces and cures quickly at room temperature.
It’s workable and relatively inexpensive.
The material is supplied in two parts: liquid resin (iso-
cyanate) and liquid hardener (polylol). They are labeled Part
A and Part B, usually mixed in equal amounts; a chemical
reaction starts, and the liquid hardens into a solid plastic-
like material within minutes.
While polyurethane resin is not a particularly potent
How can you find a 1/48 scale photo- toxic material, it may cause respiratory irritation. Work on it
Crusader other than in resin? Pat’s while wearing a particle mask, safety goggles, and gloves.
Monogram kit was converted with C&H’s – Pat Hawkey
resin parts.

September 2004 [Link] 31

 1 2

This Fireball wing has lots of tiny bubbles and irregularities. A few coats of primer and careful sanding show how the primer can fill the
bubbles.

5 6

After scribing in control surfaces, the new wing looks as good as . . . new! Shrinkage of resin material can cause some drastic mismatches, such as this
one on a 1/48 scale F8U-1P Crusader.

9 10

Sheet-styrene shim

The resin intake scoop suffered from air bubbles, so Pat simply replaced it To fit the canopy, Pat had to wedge the resin fuselage halves apart with
with the Monogram scoop. strip styrene.

Some resin-kit manufacturers try to engineer pieces similar resin cured. This is trouble if you’re faced with a glossy or natu-
to their plastic counterparts, but in my experience the fewer the ral-metal paint job. If this were plastic, a simple sanding would
parts, the more enjoyable the build. Further complicating things likely fix it, but sanding down bubbles on the resin wing will
are the tricky vacuum-formed clear parts, and some cast white- likely uncover more bubbles lurking under the surface.
metal details such as landing gear struts. One solution is to apply several heavy coats of primer and
Here are a few problems you may encounter, and my solutions. sand the primer smooth. However, a coat of primer can fill up
Some of them may seem impractical, but they all worked for me! recessed panel detail.
Photo 2 shows the kit’s opposite wing after I primed and
1 Bubble trouble sanded. The dark spots show the bubbles and low spots filled
Air bubbles are probably the number one problem with cast resin with primer. Note the trailing edge of the wing also suffers from
parts. Air can be “swallowed” in the resin when the two-part air bubbles. I carefully filled them with gap-filling super glue and
liquid materials are mixed, or gasses can form in the liquid dur- sanded them smooth.
ing the curing process. In either case, air sometimes can’t escape The bubble holes you see are only the tops of bigger and
before the resin sets, resulting in bubbles trapped on or just deeper bubbles, 3. Smearing putty over them doesn’t fill them
underneath the surface. as the air pocket underneath prevents the putty from anchoring.
Photo 1 shows a badly pockmarked wing for a 1/48 scale They have to be treated like cavities in teeth; you need to open
FR-1 Fireball, the result of air bubbles on the surface when the them up before you can properly fill them.

32  FineScale Modeler  September 2004

 3 4

Larger surface bubbles must be “drilled out” like a cavity in a tooth in order Pat used the X-2 kit wing as a template to cut a new piece from a spare
for them to hold filler material. F-111 wing.

7 8

Pat separated the front of each Crusader fuselage half with a razor saw in Most of the mismatch problem was solved by marrying the front end of the
a miter box. resin conversion to the original Monogram fuselage.

11 12

Warpage can be a problem with resin castings such as these F-86H fuselage More trouble in the mismatched nose of the F-86H.
halves.

The resin wings for this 1/72 scale X-2 were so badly pocked intake scoop had a lot of bubbles, so I cut it away and used the
that I chose to make new ones. I used the kit wing to trace the plastic kit’s intake instead, 9. A bit of epoxy putty filled in rough
shape on a set of wings from a spare F-111 kit, 4. The new wings edges and restored contours.
were shaped with sandpaper, and the flap and aileron hinge lines While dry-fitting the fuselage halves, I found that the plastic
were scribed using the original kit’s wings as guides, 5. kit’s canopy was wider than the conversion fuselage. There was
no way to cut down the canopy, so I had to shim the fuselage
2 There’s shrinkage! with strip styrene, 10.
Shrinkage and warpage are a fact of life in the resin curing pro-
cess. For example, one half of this 1/48 scale RF-8 Crusader 3 Warp factor
conversion fuselage is shorter than the other, 6, or is one longer Check out the fuselage of this 1/48 scale F-86H Banana – er,
than the other? Fortunately, the conversion was based on an Sabre, 11. Fortunately, you can soften most resin parts in hot
existing plastic kit, and I only needed the front half of each piece. water and carefully straighten them. However, without a jig or a
However, throwing away the unused portions makes you think guide, it is possible to bend the part into another incorrect shape.
about the price you’ve paid for the conversion! This is the front view of the same model, 12. In this case, the
I was able to fit the fuselage halves in an X-Acto miter box left and right halves should match, and they both have to match
and made perfectly aligned cuts with a razor saw, 7. Here’s how a separate nosepiece. Since the nosepiece would be difficult to
the merged fuselages look after assembly, 8. The conversion’s adjust, I determined the left fuselage half fit it best, then adjusted

September 2004  [Link] 33

13 14

To get all the nose parts to fit and look right, Pat broke off the nose from The broken-off part was reinstalled. Seams will be filled with epoxy putty.
the right fuselage half.

17 Strut mount
18
undrilled

Styrene-strip shim

Drilled partially
through

Hold the resin parts to a bright light to gauge progress when drilling mount- Pat filled gaps around the Fireball canopy with styrene strips.
ing holes.

the other half. I felt that a surgical approach would work, so I master used to make the canopy may have fit properly with the
broke and cut away the offending nose piece, 13, then super fuselage master, but after the resin parts were cast, they may have
glued it into a more-or-less correct position, 14, filled with epoxy shrunk or warped.
putty, and got busy with sandpaper. That was the case with the Fireball canopy. I test-fitted it and
Oh yeah – there was a wheel-well piece to work into the mix, found it joined at the front and back but left a significant gap
15. Might be time to buy more epoxy putty. along the sides. This was easy to fix with strips of styrene glued
and faired into the fuselage, 18.
4 Struttin’ your stuff
Your resin kit will probably come with white-metal landing gear 6 Fine is not so fine
struts. Due to the weight of the finished model, a secure fit of the While big chunky objects translate well in poured resin, small,
struts into the gear wells is important. For me, strength wins over thin and detailed parts may not. They look great, but are fragile
accuracy. In the case of this F-86H, I super glued short sections and easily warped. The selection of fine parts for the Fireball
of brass tube to provide stronger sockets for the gear struts, 16. included the gear bay doors, control stick, flap hinges, and the fin
Sometimes I use a drill bit to deepen strut mounts, but I have fillet. I found it best to replace the fillet with sheet styrene, using
to be sure not to drill right through the upper wing surface. By the original piece as a cutting template, 19.
holding the resin parts up to a light, I can gauge my progress.
Here, the strut mount on one wing hasn’t been drilled, but the 7 Paint adhesion
other has, 17. You can see a little light coming through the thin- One more advisory on resin kits: Paint does not adhere to resin
ner resin. as well as it does to styrene. Resin parts tend to be slightly oily.
Most resin landing-gear struts are too weak to hold the According to Bill Cleary at Cass Polymers, the oiliness is caused
weight of the model, and even metal struts sometimes aren’t by additives that leach to the surface of the cured polyurethane.
strong enough. You can reinforce struts by drilling them out and He says, wiping the parts with acetone or alcohol helps.
super gluing in pieces of strong piano wire. If all else fails, you Since paint doesn’t stick well, be careful masking, otherwise
may have to hollow out solid-resin fuselage halves to decrease the removing the mask may pull up the paint. Use low-tack tape and
weight of the model. when you can, “paint” trim colors with solid-color decal material.
Resin kits can be made into beautiful models, but they may
5 Clear problem come at a high price in time and effort. I hope this article will
Usually, resin kits come with vacuum-formed canopies and trans- help you save on both. There’s a lot of nifty planes to be built!
parencies. Sometimes, they fit fine, but sometimes they don’t. The FSM

34  FineScale Modeler  September 2004

15 16

The inclusion of the nose-wheel well complicated matters. Pat inserted short sections of brass tubing to provide more stable mounts
for the main gear.

19 New fillet from sheet styrene

This hybrid (reciprocating and jet engines) FR-1 Fireball was made from the Pat had to make new wings for this Alliance 1/72 scale Bell X-2.
out-of-production 1/48 scale Nero kit.

After some “rhinoplastic” surgery, Pat came up with a beautiful 1/48 scale F-86H Sabre from the Collect-Aire kit.

September 2004  [Link] 35

 Technique

How to finish your plane

with aluminum foil
Story and photos by Bucky Sheftall

l
ike other incurable perfectionists in our hobby, I was discouraged
by modeling natural-metal finishes. Metallic paints never seemed
convincing on anything much larger than a 1/48 scale landing
gear strut.
About a year ago, I saw pictures of an aluminum-foil covered B-58
Hustler, and I was enthralled. I just had to try aluminum foil.
There are two ways to apply an aluminum foil finish. The easier
method is to use a commercial adhesive foil product, such as Bare-
Metal Foil (see sidebar on page 29) . The more difficult way is to use
household aluminum foil and apply adhesive yourself. This not only
takes more time, but it creates more problems: applying the right
amount of glue, keeping dust and dirt out of the glue,
and so forth.

.....
In either case, the application of foil is a
challenging task, but the effect is worth
the effort.
I use household aluminum foil
and apply Microscale's Micro
Metal Foil Adhesive with a
brush. I will concentrate on basic
foiling techniques in this article,
especially the foiling of com-

..... pound curved surfaces - a

surface curving in more than one

.....
direction (a sphere is a perfect
compound curve). The P-38 has
plenty of compound curves .

.... Bucky Sheftall's 1/48 scale Hasegawa

P-38J Lightning is covered with aluminum
foil. The markings for "Si Si Senor" came
from AeroMaster sheet No. 48-350.
 1/48 Scale
Getting around it. The harsh real- Ready •.• set ••• foil! The first step
ity of foiling is that you are trying to is to sand away all imperfections from the Material list
apply a two-dimensional material to a parts. Foil is not going to cover seams or
three-dimensional object. Household irregularities - it's only going to make • either Bare-Metal Foil (regular
foil has almost no "stretchiness," and can them look worse! "chrome" is best) or the thinnest
be torn or wrinkled if forced around a Once you have smoothed the item, aluminum foil you can find
sharp compound curve. Bare-Metal Foil wash it with soapy water so oils don't • Microscale Metal Foil Adhesive
stretches better over curves. reduce adhesion of the foil. Remove any • a couple of flat artist's brushes,
While it is desirable to minimize lint or sanding dust anywhere that could maybe 1.5cm (about W') wide
joints by using large pieces of foil on be conspicuously trapped by the foil. • glass, Plexiglas, or coated, lint-
large, flat areas, such as wings or control If you are using Bare-Metal Foil, you free cardboard work surface
surfaces, small curved items should be can skip this next step. When using • scissors
covered in small pieces to avoid wrinkles. household foil, cut a suitably sized piece • sharp hobby knife blades or
For my example, I'm going to foil over and lay it on a clean work surface with the razor blades
the teardrop-shaped P-38 150-gallon fuel foil's matte side facing up. The fluid • fine steel wool (0000)
tank first. There are plenty of curves here; adhesive spreads better on the matte side. • cotton swabs
it has a round cross-section, a blunt nose, Don't worry about the overly shiny side of • round toothpicks
and a radically tapered tail. Sweat beads the foil; you'll be taking care of that later. • rubbing alcohol
begin to form on my brow just looking at Fold 1/4" of one end over on itself to serve • facial tissues
the tank! as a handle.

July 2002 27
 Apply Micro Metal Foil Adhesive
with a flat brush. Keep brush strokes
roughly parallel, pushing away from the
handle to spread the liquid in a thin, even
layer, 1 . Be careful not to let any dust get
on the foil, especially while the adhesive is
drying. When the milky liquid dries to an
even Scotch-tape-like clear matte appear-
ance, the pressure-activated adhesive is
ready, and the foil can be applied to the
model.
One piece at a time. Cut a strip of
foil slightly longer than the tank and a
width (varying with the shape of the tank)
maybe one-sixth of the circumference.
The fraction is not important, just try to
keep the edges straight along the axis of
the tank. Lightly press the strip onto the
tank at the midpoint, and adjust the posi-
tion, 2. As you can see in the photo,
wrinkles are already evident and will like-
ly get worse as you work the foil down.
Burnish the strip onto the tank with a
Nothing looks more like aluminum than aluminum. Adhesive-backed aluminum foil is cotton swab, 3. Increasing the pressure
available in many hobby shops, or you can add adhesive to household foil. will activate the adhesive. The wrinkles
on my tank weren't as bad as I thought
they would be, and they were easy to rub
out with toothpicks and steel wool.
Lightly sand the edges of the strip
with 1,000-grit sandpaper or an ultra-
fine sanding stick. Sand perpendicular to
the edge and push away from the edge of
the foil strip. This will feather the edge,
reducing the "cliff " and allowing the
overlap of the next foil segment to
become nearly invisible.
Continue laying strips, 4, until the
entire tank is covered, 5. Thin (lfa''-wide)
strips can be burnished over the promi-
nent raised fuel tank seams.
Reducing the shine. A rub down
(front to back) with 0000 steel wool gives
a "grain" or patina to the too-shiny foil
1 If you aren't using Bare-Metal Foil, you'll need to brush Micro Metal Foil Adhesive and makes it look more like real aircraft
on the matte side of household aluminum foil. The folded-over edge on the foil sheet skin. The steel wool also helps obscure
serves as a handle. the fine edges of the foil segments, 6.
Mter the tank and its pylon are com-
pletely foiled, wash it with warm soapy
water to remove finger oils (which can
oxidize on the foil and leave dark gray
fingerprints) and remove the grains of
aluminum dust generated by the sandpa-
per and steel wool. It is essential to
remove this dust before the next step.
That's the basic technique for foiling,
which is repeated over and over, with
slight variations according to the shapes
of the parts, 7 through 10. Larger or flat-
ter parts are easier to cover.
2 Applying foil to compound curves, such as those of this P-38 drop tank, is the most Tips for better foiling. When foil-
difficult part of the process. Here's how to start: Cut a thin strip of foil and lightly press ing a wing or stabilizer, wrap the
it onto the tank along the middle. top-surface foil over the leading edge, 11 ,

28 FineScale Modeler July 2002

so the seam is on the under-surface where
it is less conspicuous, 12.
Burnish foil over raised or recessed
panel lines, and use those lines as trim
points between pieces of foil. Use only a
sharp blade to cut the foil along the panel
lines. The adjacent piece of foil overlaps
the panel line and should be trimmed in
the same manner.
To cover small intake scoops such as
the one on the side of the P-38 engine
cowl, make a slit along the leading edge of
the scoop before burnishing the foil. This
will allow the foil to conform. Cover any 3 Burnish the strip onto the part with a cotton swab, then go over the edges with an
"bald spots" with little "toupee strips" of ultra-fine sanding stick.
foil, then burnish and polish with steel
wool as usual, 13.
If you find small unfoiled spots, cover
them with small patches of foil, or touch
up with slightly thinned aluminum paint
after the model is finished .
Bursting bubbles. If you find an air
bubble under the foil, slit it with a sharp
blade, then burnish it with a toothpick
Be careful not to snag the edge of the slit
with the toothpick, causing the foil to rip.
Rub steel wool over the area, and the
bubble and the slit will disappear.
It's usually a good idea to foil sub-
assemblies before attaching them to the
model. Keep in mind, though, that the 4 The next piece of foil overlaps the first and then is burnished in place.

Bare-Metal Foil
If you don't want the hassle of
applying adhesive to foil, you can
obtain ultra-thin aluminum foil
with a pressure-sensitive adhesive
already on it. Bare-Metal Foil was
one of the original foils for model-
ers, developed in the early 1970s.
Other brands of self-stick foils
have come and gone, but Bare- 5 Lightly sanding the edges of the foil helps the next piece hide the overlap.
Metal Foil is still around.
Bare-Metal Foil is an alu-
minum alloy that has more
malleability than standard house-
hold foil, and it's thinner, too. It
comes in 6" x 12" sheets, mounted
on a waxy paper. You remove it by
scoring through the foil with a
sharp blade, peeling the foil from
the paper with tweezers, and
transferring it to the model.
In addition to the regular
chrome finish, BMF is also avail-
able in ultra-bright chrome, matte
aluminum, black-chrome, real
copper, and gold-colored versions. 6 Once the covered tank is scoured with 0000 steel wool, the seams between the
pieces of foil practically disappear.

July 2002 29
 areas to be bonded must be free of foil.
You can touch up the glue joints with bits
of foil after final assembly.
Sealing the foil. Mter you "grain''
the foil with steel wool, wipe away excess
adhesive with a tissue dampened in rub-
bing alcohol. Next, wash the entire model
with warm, soapy water, wipe away excess
water, and let the model air-dry.
Apply several coats of Future acrylic
floor polish with a flat, carefully cleaned
brush or with an airbrush. Future seals
the foil, protects it from oxidation, and
forms a primer coat that is needed under
any additional painting or weathering.
7 The rear of the Lightning's central pod is another curved area. The foil is lightly (Enamels, artist's oils, lacquers, or acrylic
tacked in place. paints don't adhere well to bare foil.)
Future also adds to the luster of the metal,
and forms a perfect surface for the appli-
cation of decals.
Try it, you'll like it! To me, foil is
the most realistic natural-metal finish.
Well, outside of scratchbuilding from
sheets of aluminum, that is. FSM

Meet Bucky Sheftall

8 Burnishing begins with a cotton swab ...

Bucky Sheftall (seen here pass-

ing the torch to his son, Levi Riku)
cut his modeling teeth in the late
'60s and early '70s on Aurora,
Monogram, and Lindberg plane
and armor kits. Bucky watched his
father make spectacularly detailed
Napoleonic figures . Mter a ten-
year hiatus, Bucky returned to
modeling in the late '80s.
9 ... and ends with a round toothpick that pushes the foil into and over surface detail. When he isn't modeling, Bucky
is a professor of English atTokoha
Gakuen Tanki Daigaku, a private
women's junior college in Shizuoka,
Japan, where he has lived and
worked since 1987. He is also a
published English textbook author
and a Japanese/English translator
for Hasegawa Seisakusho Co. Ltd.
His work has appeared in Scale
Aviation, Model Art, Tamiya N ews,
and other print and on-line publi-
cations.
10 With the foil burnished in place, the edges can be trimmed with a sharp blape.

30 FiDeScale Modeler July 2002

 REFERENCES
Aero Detail 28: Lockheed P-38
Lightning Nohara Shigeru and
O samu Sato (E nglish text by Scott T.
H ards), D ainippon Kaiga, Ltd. ,
Tokyo, Japan, 2000
Famous Airplanes of the World
No. 30: Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Mitsui Ichiro (ed.), Bunrin-do,
Tokyo, Japan, 1993
Fighter Command Jeffrey L. Ethell
and Robert T. Sand, Motorbooks 11 Large, flat areas are a little easier to 12 Now the foil has been burnished
International, O sceola, WI, 1991 foil. Here a strip has been gently laid onto down, but it has yet to be scoured w ith
P-38 Lightning in Action Larry the horizontal stabilizer. Excess foil will steel wool.
D avis, Squadron/Signal Publications, wrap around at the leading edge.
Carrollton, Texas, 1990
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning
W arren M. Bodie, Widewing
Publications, H iawassee, Georgia,
1991
P-38 Lightning in Detail & Scale
(Vols. 57 and 58) Bert Kinzey,
Squadron/Signal Publications,
Carrollton, Texas, 1998

SOURCES
Self-adhesive foil Bare-Metal Foil &
Hobby Co., P.O. Box 82,
Farmington, MI 48332, 248-476-
4366, [Link]
Adhesive Microscale Industries, 18435
Bandilier Circle, Fountain Valley, CA
92708, [Link] 13 Foiling over small scoops can be done with small strips of foil. Slicing through the
foil at scoop openings allows the foil to work around the holes.

Bucky's foil -finished fighter looks like it is made of aluminum . But the metal is only skin deep.

July 2002 31
 AIRCRAFT HOW-TO

Improving the
•
Super Cors 1r
Correcting and detailing Aviation Usk's F2G By foe Hegedus

eing a diehard Corsair fanatic, I Wings. The kit wings are incorrect,

B was thrilled when Aviation Usk

announced a 1/72 scale injection
molded kit of the Goodyear F2G.
representing the metal-skinned outer
panels on F4U-5 and later models, but
with the correct six-machine gun arma- The "Super Corsair," had it gone into
Though only a small number were built, ment for the F2G-2. F2Gs used wings production, would have been the U.S.
it's my favorite version of the "U-Bird". that had fabric-covered outer wing pan- Navy's fastest climber. It was designed to
Out of the box, the Aviation Usk kit els, just like all Corsairs through the combat the new Japanese threat, the
builds into a model that is identifiable as F4U-4. You can either add the fabric Kamikaze. The end of the war brought
an F2G, but there are several errors. I'll detail or use wings from another kit that about the cancellation of the F2G after
show you how I fixed them, and highlight has the fabric detail. I kitbashed my F2G seven pre-production examples and only
the visible detail differences between the with the wings from a Hasegawa 10 production machines were built.
land-based F2G-1 and the carrier- F4U-1D kit. (The wings from the new
capable F2G-2. These corrections are for Academy kit could be used, too.) tion the oil cooler/intercooler detail-
the Navy aircraft and won't necessarily To modify the Hasegawa wings, first you'll need the clearance later. Carve the
apply to the modified civilian racers. cut away the area in front of the leading upper wing oil cooler intake lip slightly
The areas that need work are the edge, and ftle off the bulges under the larger, 3 .
engine, cockpit, wings, and fuselage. I inner wing panels for the oil coolers, 1 Trim the root ends of the upper wing
know, that's just about the whole airplane. and 2. Also remove the tabs inside the panels, 4. Take care not to cut all the way
Well, let's get to it. upper and lower wing surfaces that posi- through the trailing-edge flap so you can

30 FiDeScale Modelelt' January 2000

 1/72 Scale
keep the bottom surface. Fill the step hole
in the right flap; the F2G had a spring-
loaded cover over the step. (The open step
is a feature unique to the F4U-4 series.)
Also, sand the fabric detail off the outer
wing flaps. On the F2G, these were
metal-skinned just like the inner two.
The F2G used a different oil cooler
configuration than the F4U; the coolers
were located in the wing root rather than
in the wing inner sections. Also, the
F2G's R-4360 had no intercooler. The
wing root intakes of the F2G were there- The underside of the Hasegawa wing showing the areas to be removed or cut down.
fore smaller and shaped differently than
those of standard Corsairs. I used '/s"-
long sections of5!3z" brass tube for the
intakes, cleaned up the edges, and flat-
tened them to '/s" high, 5.
Install 5/32 " x 7/16 11 sheet styrene backs
for the intakes, then assemble the wings.
Slide the new intakes into the oversize
openings in the wings with the inboard
end 'lz'' from the fuselage centerline. Use
gap-filling super glue to both secure the
brass intakes to the wing and to fill the
area around the intakes. When it sets up,
file and sand the wing root smooth to
match the rest of the wing, 6 and 7. Use Holes for rocket stubs and fuel vents are drilled in the wing.
thin sheet styrene to add two vertical
vanes in each intake, dividing the opening
into thirds. These should have their for-
ward edge about 1/32" back from the
intake leading edge. Bevel the forward
edge of the center wing section to make Leave lower half of flap
room for the lower exhaust pipes.
If you want underwing rocket stubs on
your F2G, mark the locations (and per-
haps drill mounting holes) according to
drawing 8 . There are no stubs in the kit,
so you'll either have to scratchbuild them
or find some in your spares box as I did.
Several F2Gs had fuel tanks installed
inside the outer-wing leading edges, and The oil cooler intake lip has been Before and after views of the Hasegawa
had an underwing vent, 9 . Add rocket opened up to fit new cooler ducts. The left upper wing panels showing modifi-
stubs and fuel vents during final assembly. upper wing root has also been trimmed. cations made to the wing root.
One of the big differences between the
ground-based F2G-1 and the carrier-
capable F2G-2 is the armament. The
F2G-1 carried only four guns, the out-
board guns deleted. The underwing
shell-ejection ports for the missing guns
may still have been there, so I didn't elim-
inate them. The F2G-2 carried six guns,
just like standard F4U Corsairs.
Wing pylons must be scratchbuilt, as
there are no correct ones available. I lami-
nated two pieces of .040" sheet styrene,
then cut the pylons to shape, 10. These
will be added later in construction. Pylons
were fitted to F2G-2s, but the prototypes Sheet styrene backs the new brass-tube cooler ducts.

January 2000 FineScale Modeler 31

 and at least the first F2G-1 had none.
When pylons were added to the F2G-1
(and at least one of the XF2G-1's), the
designation became F2G-1D.
Engine and p.,opelle... The
main purpose of the F2G was to take
advantage of the new 28-cylinder Pratt &
Whitney R-3460 Wasp Major engine.
Aviation Usk's engine represents the Pratt
& Whitney 18-cylinder R-2800. The
easiest way to correct this is to install a
resin Engines and Things R-4360 (No.
72-003, available from Aviation Usk).
This engine had to have the tops of the
cylinders shaved off so it would fit in the
cowl, 11 . The square-shaped protrusion
The wing underside after the intakes have been faired in with gap-filling super glue. on the front row of cylinders should point
down when the engine is installed.
The kit propeller is usable after
cleanup. The F2G-1 prop was 14' in
diameter, and the kit prop is close. The
F2G-2 used a smaller 13' 7" diameter
prop. I used a white metal prop taken
from the High Planes 1/72 F4U-5N kit
for the F2G-2, rather than trim the kit
prop.
Cockpit. The F2G cockpit was
almost identical to that of the F4U-4. I
chose the cleaner Hasegawa cockpit for
both my F2Gs. Begin by removing the
rudder pedals from the floor. The stock
F2G seat was just a pan with an armored
backrest, 12. Make a new backrest from
Front view of F2G-2 showing the modified oil cooler ducts. Note six-gun armament of .010" sheet, '// x 5/16 11 • A pair of styrene
F2G-2. The F2G-1 has two guns per wing. strips represent the hinges that allow the
armor plate to be moved for access to the
aft fuselage.
Cut a new rear bulkhead/armored
2 guns per Fuselage headrest from .020" styrene, and add that
Location of wing wing on F2G-1 / centerline to the cockpit tub. The kit's armor head-
tank fuel vent
1\ 1
rest is undersize and positions the
cushion too low relative to the seat. Carve
a new cushion from sprue, or cut off the

t kit cushion and mount it on the new

bulkhead.
Attach the rear bulkhead to the floor
and the rear ends of the consoles. Mter
painting the cockpit tub, add the console
decals, the seat to the floor, then add the
armored backrest to the seat and bulk-
Bomb pylon head. I added belts and harnesses from
added lead foil, but the kit photoetched harness-
'/a" es could be used. The Hasegawa stick was
installed.
The kit's photoetched instrument
panel looks great, but the layout isn't cor-
rect for the F2G. I used it as a template
RIGHT WING BOTTOM SHOWN, LEFT WING SIMILAR
to cut a new panel from sheet styrene.
The gauges came from ProModeler's
F2G LOWER WING SURFACE This shows the location of pylons, rocket stubs, and fuel 1/72 scale U.S. Navy WWII fighter
vents. Check text to see which versions carried these features. instrument panel decal sheet (No.
32 FineScale Modele.. January 2000
88101100200) for the F4U-4. I attached
the photoetched rudder pedals to the
back of the instrument panel. The cockpit 1/72 scale
was painted interior green below the con- j_ t-___l_
soles, black above, 13. k-Approx.1 "
D 'f,."
Fuselage. The fuselage work is
pretty straightforward. Carefully open the
exhaust troughs under the cowl flaps with
Approx. 6"
actual
tj actual
Cross section '/e"-1 1
- r-'j,.-, T
a sharp knife and files, and grind away Tsideview Left bomb pylon front and side view.
the mold stubs from inside the cowling. Right pylon is mirror image.
You'll also need to extend the cockpit
opening about 1/12 " at the rear to allow the
new armored headrest to fit. FUEL VENT: Dimensions are for the real BOMB PYLON: These can carry fuel tanks
Assemble the fuselage with the engine, item. Make from stretched sprue. or bombs under the inner wing sections.
cockpit, and tailwheel-well roof installed.
Make sure the engine is centered in the
cowl and the cylinders are aligned proper-
Before After
ly. I secured the engine with super glue
around the aft cylinder bank, being care- This square should point
ful not to use too much. You don't want straight down in cowl
to plug the exhaust troughs.
On the underside of the fuselage,
remove the outer cowl flap from each side
and fill the scribed lines between the
remaining cowl flaps. The F2G had only Rocker-arm housings had
to be trimmed to fit
three cowl flaps underneath rather than engine in cowl
the four that remain after you've removed
the outer ones. Scribe new cowl-flap divi-
sions, so that you have three, equal-size
flaps on the bottom.
The tailwheel-well roof will need
trimming at its aft end to fit between the
fuselage halves. Also, to model the It's easy to see why the Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major engine was nicknamed
F2G-2, you'll need to enlarge the rear of the "corncob:' Joe had to shave the tops of the Engines and Things resin engines so
the opening to allow clearance for the they would fit inside the cowl.
hook.
The F2G-1 did not have a tailhook, so
the rear of the opening was faired over.
1/72 scale
The kit fairing is too short, but can be
used with modifications. Place a strip of
.010" sheet styrene under the kit part and Styrene
--15;,.'
f-Dll
'
fill the hook cutout with gap-filling super for [__J 'j.''
glue so that the aft fuselage is solid, 14.
Seat side view
hmges T
The F2G-2 tailwheel well is the same as
that of an F4U-1D. not to scale. Armored seat back
Cut along template, rear view
If you want to pose the canopy open, dashed line.
remove the point from the rear of the kit
canopy. This is actually part of the fuse-
lage, and the canopy opens over it. You 1/72 scale

(J
can either add the canopy point to the
Rollbar location,
fuselage or carve a new fairing from plas- rear face of armor
tic, 15.
The rollover bars go from the fuselage
just in front of this fairing to either side
Cockpit rear bulkhead ""dte.l
of the armor headrest (see 12), forming a and headrest armor (__jlocation
V with the point to the rear. I made new template
bars from brass tube, but the kit rollover
bars could be used. Separate the wind-
screen from the canopy, and add those to
the appropriate positions during final COCKPIT DETAILS: A new rear bulkhead, armor plate, and seat need to be made for
assembly. the cockpit.

January 2000 FineScale Modele.- 33

 New instrument panel Headrest Main asseanbly. Join the fuse- shown in diagram 8.
lage and wings, and fill and sand any Landing gear. I used
wingroot gaps. Add the horizontal stabi- Hasegawa's landing gear with True
lizers from the Hasegawa kit, after Details resin wheels, both improvements
scribing five circular access panels on the over the Aviation Usk parts. I extended
upper left and lower right surfaces. I the tail wheel strut 'Is" by replacing the
sharpened the end of a piece of '1,6" brass kit portion with a piece of stainless steel
tube and pressed and twisted it into the tubing. If modeling the F2G-1, clip off
surface to produce the circles. the tailhook.
Align two .040" strip dividers with the Paint and anarkings. My
scribed lines dividing the bottom cowl models represent an F2G-1 and an
Fore and aft views of the completed flaps, 16. Now add the wing pylons as F2G-2 that were assigned to the Tactical
cockpit tubs. Test Division of the Naval Air Test
Center in 1946. Both are overall Glossy
Sea Blue, but the F2G-2 has a yellow and
blue checkerboard pattern on the cowl. I
used Testor Model Master enamels, with
Chrome Yellow and Blue Angels Blue on
the cowl. I painted the cowl yellow first,
and after it was dry, I cut tiny squares and
wedges (for the front of the cowl) from
masking tape, laid out the checkerboard
pattern, and sprayed the blue. The land-
ing gear struts for these particular F2G's
were aluminum, and the instrument
coamings flat black.
Mter painting, I applied two coats of
Future floor polish, then applied the
decals. The white letters and numbers are
dry transfers applied to clear decal film
The F2G-1 (left) has the aft part of the well faired over. The F2G-2 (right) had a tail and coated with Microscale Liquid Decal
hook with the full bay. Film, then applied as a normal decal.
The national insignia are from
AeroMaster, but the kit decals could be
used instead. A coat of Future over the
decals sealed them and gave a uniform
gloss to the airplanes.
Final asseanbly. Add the small
parts - rocket stubs, fuel vents, and stores
of your choice. I hung a drop tank from a
1/72 Monogram F8F Bearcat on the
F2G-2, and Tiny Tim rockets made from
1/ 32 Hasegawa F6F Hellcat rockets on
the F2G-1. They needed to be shortened
The aft fuselage of the F2G-2 shows the 'Is" just in front of the fins to be the cor-
canopy end fairing, rollover bars, and rect length for a 1/72 Tiny Tim.
whip antennas. Make a set of exhaust pipes from 1132"
brass tube, rod, or stretched sprue. A pair
Meet Joe Hegedus of pipes go in each side and bottom
trough, totaling 14 pipes.
Joe lives in California, Maryland, I added a scrap plastic gunsight and
with his wife Lisa: He's been modeling gun switch boxes to the top of each
seriously since 1987, mostly Naval air- instrument coaming. The forward anten-
craft from WWII on, but he dabbles na masts came from the Hasegawa kits,
in other modeling areas for variety. and whip antennas from stretched sprue
When not modeling, Joe is a flight test (see 16). Add the antenna wire from
engineer for the U.S. Navy and enjoys stretched sprue or monofiliment, then set
flying light airplanes. your F2G on the shelf and admire it!
This underside view shows the three FSM
cowl flaps and dividers for lower
exhaust troughs.

34 FineScale Modeler January 2000

 SOURCES
F2G kit Aviation Usk, 602 Front
St., P.O. Box 97, Usk, WA 99180,
([)509-445-1236
True Details wheels (No.
72025), Squadron Mail Order, P.O.
Box 115010, Carrollton, TX 75011-
5010,([)972-242-8663
Engines and Things R-4360
(No. 72-003), Available from Aviation
Usk.
Propeller Aeroclub four-blade
Hamilton Standard prop (#AP045) or
High Planes F4U-5N prop for F2G-2
Aeroclub available from Precision
The first production F2G-1 at the Naval Enterprises Unlimited, P.O. Box 97,
The Goodyear FlG Air Test Center at Patuxent River, Springfield, VT 05156, ([)802-885-
Maryland, in 1947. U.S. Navy photo via 3094; High Planes prop available from
In the late years ofWorld War II, National Museum of Naval Aviation Aviation Usk.
the Japanese developed their Kamikaze and Bert Kinzey.
corps, a group of dedicated pilots who REFERENCES
would guide their bomb-laden aircraft F4U Corsair in Detail and
direcdy into a target. Corsair" be ready for production in the Scale Parts 1 and 2, Bert Kinzey,
It turned out that the Kamikazes spring of 1945, and an order was placed Squadron/Signal Publications,
didn't make much difference in the for the production of 418 F2Gs. After Carrollton, Texas, 1998
course of the war, but their actions led solving a few teething troubles with the F4U Corsair In Action
the U.S. to attempt several efforts to seven XF2Gs, the Goodyear was ready Numbers 29 and 145;Jim Sullivan,
eliminate the suicide planes before they for mass production. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1977
could damage critical fleet assets. One The impending defeat of the and 1994
of the efforts involved a fighter that Japanese and the advent of jet fighters F4U Corsair Warbird
could climb to combat altitude quickly, spelled doom for the Super Corsair, History Nicholas A. Veronico,
overtake the suicide planes with speed, however. When the order was cancelled John M. Campbell, and Donna
and overwhelm them with firepower. on May 8, 1945, only the ten aircraft Campbell, Motorbooks International,
The U.S. Navy saw potential for just that were on the production line at the Osceola, Wisconsin, 1994
such an aircraft in the F4U Corsair. time were finished. Five were set up as The Official US
Powered by the new 28-cylinder ground-based F2G-1s, and five as carri- Navy & Marine Corps
R-4360 "Wasp Major" engine and fea- er-capable F2G-2s. A couple of the Aircraft Color Guide, Vol. 2
turing a cut-down fuselage spine and aircraft were sold to air racers, and the John M. Elliott, Monogram Aviation
bubble canopy, the radically redisigned first production F2G-1 was preserved Publications, Sturbridge,
F2G Corsair proved to be just the right and restored for display at the Massachusetts, 1989
aircraft for the job. But the job changed Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, I Flew Thein First Armstrong,
before it could enter service. Arizona.- Paul Boyer Champlin Fighter Museum Press,
The Navy had asked that the "Super Mesa, Arizona, 1994

Both the carrier-capable F2G-2 (left) and the ground-based F2G-1 can be built from modified Aviation Usk kits.

January 2000 FiDeScale Modele.. 35