Curse the Riveter From Hell!
Spoiler alert: This is going to be something of a rant.
While I build a lot of Skyraiders I do make forays into other areas as well. Any iteration of the F4U Corsair is another of my other perennial favorites, and, like the AD/A-1 series is one I feel strongly has been handled not so pretty okay by the industry. (Subject, perhaps, of another day’s rant.)
There are, in fact, only a few Corsairs in my opinion worth the time and paint it takes to build them; all are Japanese products. The only dash ones are from Tamiya; their 1/32 magnum opus is one of the best kits ever produced, but their much earlier 1990’s 1/48 and 1/72 versions do have a few issues. Hasegawa gets a strong honorable for their -5/5N, -7 and AU-1 versions, but again, be armed with plentiful aftermarket and modeling moxie to get a really good miniature from any of them. We're still waiting for any -4/4B worth the glue in any scale from any manufacturer.
Having said this, I have built about a gazillion quarter inch scale bent wing birds in every guise from strictly OOB to months long super detailed self-imposed nightmares. I also have a pile waiting in the wings to be built; like I said, they have their issues, none insurmountable, but just irritating enough to wish for something more state of the art.
And, so, when I saw prerelease reviews of the (then) upcoming Magic Factory versions I took heart; in concept and CAD drawings it looked like a welcome answer to the ongoing wrestling match invariably waiting with The Land of the Rising Sun's dependable standbys.
Thus, I duly ordered the twin F4U-1/-1A boxing, received it with anticipatory joy, opened the box and promptly became almost physically ill and very nearly cast imprecations into the heavens. (I made a cup of hazelnut coffee instead; it did help) By the next day the foisted atrocity had been broken down into usable sub assemblies to upgrade my waiting Tamiya kits and the rest consigned to perdition never to be countenanced on my bench with anything less than unmitigated contempt.
Why? It’s all that verkochte dimply, acne inspired so called “rivet detail” is what. I positively LOATHE seeing that miserable abomination inflicted on perfectly good plastic. The worst part is this seems to be the ever present sine qua non of every otherwise possibly worthwhile kit particularly from China.
These manufacturer imposed blemishes have ZERO relevance to any full size prototype; they add NO POSSIBLE scale value whatever or supply even a hint of alleged “artistic” appeal. Many model builders actually go out of their way to add washes, highlights and such which actually accentuate the underlying atrocity the whole effect serving only to render the finished product looking utterly ridiculous to a viewer with any knowledge of or respect for scale fidelity to the full sized machine.
4-1-1 for Magic Factory and others: Do your research; IOW for heaven's sake, look at the real thing once in a while! Case in point: Chance Vought was the leading industry innovator in the use of spot welding components, a technology of which their F4U was certainly not the first beneficiary. Moreover, flush riveting had been a thing in high performance airplanes since Howard Hughes, and again, employed in the Corsair’s construction. Regardless of fastener style selected it is certain no Vought product was EVER riveted together like Jules Verne-esque steam punk boilerplate.
Ugh! I know some folks like these things, and they’re entitled to their opinion; but for my part I could do without them entirely. In some cases they may be restrained enough I can look past them in smaller scales, or if shallow enough may even pass for artifact of underlying flush riveting in which case some sandpaper and judicious priming can tame the effect. But in cases like this...this...thing from Magic Factory, or the Trumpeter P-47’s etc. when each of the 10 billion or so “details” represents a hole which would span an inch or even more on the real thing they simply cannot be taken the least seriously.
When I do build a model which has them, such as the otherwise excellent 1/32 Trumpeter TBF/M Avengers, SBD Dauntless series or the above mentioned P-47, I fill the divots with a water soluble putty (Perfect Plastic Putty is great for this) and overlay with a coat of Tamiya clear. If non countersunk rivets are called for on the particular machines then I apply 3D decals ala Archer, if not, then, I leave it alone. Certainly, it’s a much more involved process, but at least in the end it looks like a miniature of the prototype and not some pornographic AI generated outrage.
So, for the immediate future, then, my stash of 1/48” Tamiya and Hasegawa F4U’s is safe where they are. This will be at least until some designer looks up from his CAD program long enough to realize there is a full sized subject and consider Dr. Malcomb’s observation in Jurassic Park, “You spent so much time asking if you could do something, you never asked if you should.”
Here endeth the rant.
Build long and prosper.
