Pappy's Bird " LucyBelle"

[Chris S]

Hi folks

Got another one to start on .... Im taking part in a Pacific Theatre group build over on the Modelers Social Club and after thinking about what to build ,I thought I'd build an aircraft flown by one of the most well known American Aces .

Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington ......



Im sure most of you have heard of Pappy and the Black Sheep squadron ,but if you havent here's a little insight to the man .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pappy_Boyington#Medal_of_Honor_citation

This is Pappy's aircraft 'Lucybelle' which I shall be building ....

I'll be using the Academy kit which I've had for a while ,nice kit although it does have a couple of faults .



This one will be slow to start untill I tidy up a few other builds ,but hopefully get some done in the next few days .

I love this painting ...one of my favs .



Thanks for looking.

Chris.

 

[Fruit]

SWEET! The Corsair is one of my favorite WW2 Fighter aircraft - I can't wait to see what you do with this one. Say, will you be weathering it heavily such as in your last picture? I think it'd be really cool! ;D

 

[Chris S]

Hi Fruit .....Yes ;D ,I planning on setting it on a planked runway too ...all being well

Chris.

 

[fumblethumbs]

Gotta love a plane with "F" and "U" in the moniker!

One of my fave planes. Really looking forward to seeing this one go together Chris! It'll be great to get your take on the Academy kit too.

Booky Markeed.

 

[JohnSimmons]

Nice one mate, love the design of these. I'll be watchin on both sites

 

[Glorfindel]

Love the Corsair! One of these is on the queue down the line as well. I got shot gun on this Chris....with ya every step of the way.

 

[JMac]

Cool, another wingy thing from Chris. Your're like a model making factory, I'm envious. I'll be checking in and following along also.

BTW - I like the three tone better than the overall gloss sea blue. Nice. Choice.

Jason

 

[Holden]

Looking forward to see how it builds up. Black Sheep Squadron was one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid. While a fictitious account of Pappy's exploits, when your a 11 year old kids nuts about model planes it's high entertainment. Also an aircraft I want to build for my shelf one day.

 

[ShutterAce]

Nice choice Chris! Looking forward to it. I have a couple of Corsairs that will be incorporated into a Black Sheep dio.

As far as weathering this particular aircraft goes don't be too hard on it if you want something accurate. Boyington never flew this aircraft. It didn't even belong to the squadron. It was marked up for this photo shoot which was done in a rear area. USMC Pilots did not have assigned aircraft. Apparently Boyington flew most of his missions in "883" as shown here.



All that said, do it like you want to Chris. It's sure to be a gem no matter what? 8)

 

[fumblethumbs]

Interesting facts Jim. Cool pic too.

 

[joeym]

I look forward to seeing this build.

 

[Chris S]

Thanks for thr interest gents

Jim ...Yeah ,I know what you're saying no worries She will be getting weathered ,but not overdone ...it is a Corsair ...it has to be weathered ;D

So ,with the weather still nasty here ,I thought I may as well keep putting some plastic bits together ,and hopefully we will get a dry day or two soon so I can get a lot of painting done :/

Anyhoo ,I assembled the engine ,tail wheel & arrestor hook ,and made a start at the interior .One big fault with this kit is Academy have put a floor in the cockpit ,but there is no floor in the 1D's Floors didnt appear until the '4's I think ? , But I shall just leave it a darker colour so it wont really be noticable ,I will be adding some nice Fabric & etch belts to the seat once its painted



I thought I would get the fuselage and wings out for a dry fit mock up just to make sure



The wings are not a great fit and will require some filling around the joins ,mostly on the belly of the aircraft .



And a little around the Root ....



Need to get some cockpit parts painted now

Thanks for looking.

Chris.

 

[Junkie]

Love that design. Looking great.

What do you use for filler?

 

[Chris S]

Hi Scott ,I have three prefered fillers . Milliput , Squadron green (mixed with plastic cement ) and correction Fuild (Tippex) the tippex is only really for light filling ,seams etc .but sands really easy .

Chris.

 

[Mike T.C.S.M]

which of the many varieties of miliput do you use ?

 

[Chris S]

DB ...Just the standard Yellow/grey Milliput .I find it the best you can also shape it with a wet brush to cut down on the sanding

Chris.

 

[rookie]

Got this kit sitting on the shelf, cant wait to see what you do with it.

 

[Quaralane]

Run with it how you see fit.
I did this one for last year's contest, and was actually very happy with the results

 

[Chris S]

Thanks Rookie ,we'll see how it goes

Q ,thanks ,yeah Im thinking it needs some weathering ,Im thinking of doing it as it would of looked had it been used in missions

Hi chaps

I couldnt wait any more !!!! I needed to get some painting done ,the weather improved a little today ,so I made the most of it and got the interior parts all shot for the Corsair
Everything was based with black including the engine and the tail wheel /arrestor hook . Then the cockpit parts got hit with Interior Green ,followed by a bit of a highlight using a drop of white in the Green . All the parts have also been sealed up with Klear ready for detailing

Here da pics .......









While that lot dries off ,Im going to have a go at assembling some seat belts ....These ones !



These belts are Microfibre Textile Canvas instead of etch ,they come pre coloured and should sit a bit more realistic than Etch

Speaking of etch ....the metal parts for the belts are made by Eduard .....



Im looking forward to having a go at these . HGW do a lot of different belts ,including WW1 era ,and a lot of other stuff too ,check out their site ....

www.hgw.webgarden.cz

More soon , Thanks for looking.

Chris.

 

[JMac]

Nice start Chris. Thanks for posting the link for the belts; I know I'll have to check them out. I have a love/hate relationship with PE belts.

Looking forward to the updates.

Jason