Running the Gauntlet (1/144th Diorama)

[Warbird Kid]

Just got it done for the local IPMS contest / show on Sunday. Somebody from a nearby IPMS snapped this shot of it. Once I have the availability of a good camera I'll try and get more shots of it.



And another that I've put up here before.

[The Inspector]

What did you use for the smoke trails?

[Warbird Kid]

Cant say Im afraid. Family recipe. But its super light weight and if i recall has no visible means of support.

[The Inspector]

So, it must be some sort of carved or shaped expandable foam insulating material

[Warbird Kid]

Perhaps..... A man has to keep at least one secret... and this one Im proud of.

[Cherrybomber13]

[Jerry O'Neill]

Nice work Chris!
Is that a tiny Boone Guyton in the Cockpit of the XF4U?
Jerry

[Warbird Kid]

No Boone in the cockpit, but he is near the fence talking to some employees. In this picture its a little easier to see. The diorama is known as Hometown Hero.

[TAdan]

Very nice work on all three.

[Jerry O'Neill]

Was it difficult to mod the Prototype Corsair?

[the330thbg]

So, it must be some sort of carved or shaped expandable foam insulating material

yah.,. it looks like the wet super lite-weight foam that my kids mold into animals and snakes.., then drys.., it barely weighs more than the air around it. Cool application. I would imagine you could even run a thin wire down the middle of it for a little more rigidity.

Very nice job!!!!!!!

Guess, he does not want to tell us then the WHOLE WORLD would know the secret and everybody would be making millions selling under the trademark 'smoke for dioramas'.

Last edited by the330thbg on Mon Oct 17, 2011 10:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

[The Inspector]

And better looking than the shocking bright red 'flame exhaust' you used to get with HAWKS Fi-103 or Me-163 kits (how's THAT for showing my age?)

If you can find a mid 1974 issue of AIR CLASSICS that contains a series of 5 view plates of the XF-4U, a conversion is pretty easy as they are well detailed and in 1/48th, just don't use Tim Boyds article from FINE SCALE from a few years back for anything other than a very general reference, it's got detail and dimensional issues. I did one 30 years ago from the then brand new HASEGAWA birdcage 1/72 kit as a proof of concept mule (turned out so well I had it up until a few years ago before the attack of the young cat). then went to work converting a REVELL 1/32 F4U for a friend. It took some clever thinking because in those days you couldn't just go to www.usemycard and order whatever you needed (I ordered the resin plunger kit for the lav resin kit I put in the resin aft fuselage resin conversion I..), you actually had to...hide the children, cover your ears!! MAKE things you needed by being adapitve and clever and ...darn it!, creative. The finished kit sat in a display case @ AMERICAN EAGLES (now sadly gone) in Ballard for several years along with an AIRFIX AUSTER I'd converted to a T-craft. 'A little filler, a bit of sawing, some minor carving for a cowling and a coat of blue paint-

Like a sweatshirt I've got that proudly says 'anyone can restore a car, it takes a REAL MAN to cut one up'

[Warbird Kid]

Guess, he does not want to tell us then the WHOLE WORLD would know the secret and everybody would be making millions selling under the trademark 'smoke for dioramas'.

The millions you could make..... All I can say is that you guys are on the right track and I highly encourage you guys to give any of the above ideas a try.

Jerry: It wasn't as difficult as I thought it'd be. Working with the very first 1/144th scale Corsair (Mitsuwa Kit) I started by sanding down the inside of the fuselage. (Far too thick) Next I cut off the forward fuselage section (i.e. engine mount and part gas tank). I also cut the flaps out and made new dropped flaps to add realism. There was no engine detail so I cut out the solid interior to replace it with an aftermarket radial engine I found on Ebay. The canopy was vacuformed from the original so it could be open. Minimal cockpit detail was added. The landing gear came from the critically acclaimed Bandai F4U-1D Model. The prop came from the Johnny Lightening 1/144. Decals were aftermarket bashed together.

[the330thbg]

sure beats my spray painted "cotton ball" technique in the mid-70's.