Vought F4U-1A Corsair

Revell initiated their famous 1/32 warbird series in the '70s, and they were state of the art for the day... While it cannot compete with Tamiya's fantastic $150 Corsair, Revell's F4U holds up well, especially when considering its bargain basement price (a modeler can build a squadron of Revell kits for one Tamiya ;) ). The details reflect its 1970 release date, the kit has a bit of flash, but the fit is good, the engine is remarkable, and the shape is right. WIth some modeling skills and additional aftermarket parts and detailing, a stunning model can be the result... Several modeling websites have completed Revell Corsairs that are truly works of the modeler's art. Recommended as a challenge for experienced modelers to work their magic, or as a first big scale kit for newer hobbyists on a budget.

If you don't mind endless hours of scraping and filing, this kit is surely for you. There was SO much flash on everything I almost stopped halfway through and tossed the whole thing in the trash. The parts fitment even after careful trimming of parts is okay at best. The wings are supposed to be able to fold up or lay down with this strange hinge mechanism they cooked up, but good luck ever getting it to line up right when it's done. There's so much wing weight hanging on such a small hinge that it'll never quite sit right. Also, if you want the wings to be even when they fold up, you're on your own. The parts for this mechanism don't line up well at all and need to be trimmed here and there until they fit. If you plan on having moving wings, make sure you have plenty of medium C/A glue and a bottle of accelerator handy! Unfortunately, the cons far outweigh the pros on this one. The raised panel lines and insane number of rivets combined with all the flash and the horrible wing setup make this one a no-go for me. The only good thing I can say about this kit is that the cockpit has more detail than a typical Revell kit.

Not much flashing -parts fit well - instructions could use some improvement especially the build of the engine and the manifold in the rear - other than that it was a fun build. I glued the wings into the down and fixed position - too much hassle to try to have folding wings