Dec 20, 2009: Model Fighters

Retired dentist, Young C. Park, caught the model airplane bug as a boy, growing up in Hawaii. He continued to build and fly kits his whole life. But when he retired, he wanted to combine his fascination for aluminum, with his love of fighter planes. He decided to build models of the F-4U-D Corsair, and later the P-51 Mustang, out of aluminum the way they were built originally.



Using tweezers, which show the scale, the controls can be moved. All the controls work as designed, by cables, chains, linkages and levers, even the ones that work the wing control surfaces.

While the are not exact, they are as close as he could come without the original drawings and dimensions. More importantly they have the right look, and give the right vibe, to anyone familiar with these planes.:thumb:

There's the whole story and a ton of pictures here.

FRIGGEN AWSOME !!!

The builder's deep dark secret:

The 1/16th scale model pilot he keeps locked up in the basement! ;)

Adak;619311 wrote:

The builder's deep dark secret:

The 1/16th scale model pilot he keeps locked up in the basement! ;)

I'll bey he's got the whole ground crew down there too, the monster!

He's cool in my book, he has a what looks like a mint VW Thing in his garage.

A stroll through those pictures was fantastic. Thanks.

WOW amazing

We need M. Mangetout for this one.....

Retired dentist

Guess he pulled the money out by it's roots, for this hobby.
Great Bruce.

The expression, "The whole nine yards" comes from WW2 when American fighters, mainly the Corsair and/or the Hellcat/Wildcat series (I am pretty sure it was they), would load up on .50 BMG ammo. They would take up to nine yards of bullets on a belt, and when they returned from shooting down enemy planes (Google the Marianas Turkey Shoot, please), their ground crews would boast that they shot off the whole nine yards. I guess these plance would be using the whole nine inches? nine centimeters? heh

I KNEW something was strange about that Corsair model. Something about the wings. I did some digging and found this exploded view of the plane.



Look at the vertical canopy support. Follow the fuselage support rib down to where it meets the wing. It is #50 on the view. It meets the wing two full support ribs FORWARD of where the wing root impacts the fuselage. In the model made of aluminum, the wing is FAR forward of the canopy line.

Now look, I am not saying that the model isn't a masterpiece. It is. There.
It just looked off to me from the real plane, and now I am happy that I am not crazy. Not that crazy. Okay, not wrong about this.

Whooosh! . . . . . . >>>>>>>>>>>>

Maybe it is a difference between the F4U-1 Corsair and the F-4U-D Corsair? I don't know.

Saknussem;621028 wrote:

I KNEW something was strange about that Corsair model. Something about the wings. I did some digging and found this exploded view of the plane.

Look at the vertical canopy support. Follow the fuselage support rib down to where it meets the wing. It is #50 on the view. It meets the wing two full support ribs FORWARD of where the wing root impacts the fuselage. In the model made of aluminum, the wing is FAR forward of the canopy line.

Now look, I am not saying that the model isn't a masterpiece. It is. There.
It just looked off to me from the real plane, and now I am happy that I am not crazy. Not that crazy. Okay, not wrong about this.

They look pretty damn close to me.