[flyXwire]

I received my B11B403 F4U Corsair, Flotille Aeronavale, Suez Canal, Egypt, Suez Operation last night and here are my impressions of the model. Before I start, let me preface this review by stating that the FM/Armour French Navy Corsair depicts an 'F4U-5' variant as opposed to a 'F4U-7' which for accuracy's sake is the last production model and were used by the French Navy during the Suez, Algeria and Indochina (Vietnam) hostilities. See this link for more history and background of the F4U-7 Corsair built model at: Hasegawa 1/48 F4U-7 Corsair

The diecast model, to my pleasant surprise, is really a very nicely finished mold and a very well-proportioned bird when compared to an actual 3-view line drawings. The graphics are decals and not tampo pad printed, but were applied very clean and flawless. The black and yellow bands/stripes are pad printed, however.

Detail includes:

- 10 5" HVAR ( High Velocity Air Rockets )
- 2 standard 150 Gal center line tanks
- 4 20mm M-2 Cannons 2 per wing

The thing that really have it going for this model is the detailed P&W R-2800-32 double-supercharged engines, and are separately molded pieces which gives it 'depth' when you peer straight inside the engine cowling. Again, this being an 'F4U-5' variant which perfectly depicts a Korean War era bird used by both US Naval and Marine forces, the main external difference from the French 'F4U-7' cowling was it had the 2 air intake scoops located at the 4 & 8 O'clock positions. The 'F4U-7' uses a single chin scoop at the 6 O'clock position. See link above for pictures. The four-bladed propeller hub is very detailed down to it's nuts and bolts, and the undercarriages and tail wheel are treated with the same superb molding! The 'Elmer screws' are visible though inside the wheel well. I will eventually replace those with flat shape counter-sunk head screws and painted over. The one minor 'gotcha' that standouts for me is the wrong shape of the second aerial mast/antenna closest to the rudder fin which should be in "A" form. I will have to correct this on my model later on.

Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with this model and because it's a later variant Corsair ( though I would've prefered the exact variant used by the French Navy, instead ), and I really like the scheme/livery so much. I have the Corgi version in 1/72nd scale of the same scheme and will probably sell it later on. If someday a model of this bird is made by Carousel1 or Hobby Master (crossing my fingers), I would quickly snatched one or two up in a heartbeat, but for now the FM/Armour will do just fine for the collection.

[Ara1]

Congrats FlyX on what sounds like an awesome model. Can you post pictures?

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by Ara1

Congrats FlyX on what sounds like an awesome model. Can you post pictures?

I will snap some up this weekend.

[parsig9]

Nice grab FlyX! Thanks for the review. Glad to hear the Corsair is a good one.

[flyXwire]

Here it is as promised. Sorry guys, but photography ain't my forte so I apologize for the semi-decent snapshots. I forgot to mention that this bird has a pretty 'heft' to it - it
feels pretty heavy and I almost dropped this sucker during the photo session. The pictures doesn't quite do it justice, but you really have to see this model in the metal!

[STARMAN 352ND]

That looks very nice Fly.....Now all you need to do is send it to me
JP

[Ara1]

She looks very beautiful FlyX, thanks for posting the photos. The pictures came out very well. That -5 is the version I'd get if I were in the market.

[parsig9]

I've been finding some very good deals on these FM planes too. Like Pappy said, hard to pass up. This one was just $32 total.
Sure looks mean! This appears to be all painted markings too and the only flaw I can find is under where the fuselage touches the styrofoam part of the box. There is a rub mark and a few tiny chips. I don't normally stand under the plane so I don't mind.

[PappyB]

I'm not one for those markings but that Corsair certainly looks a lot better than the FM Pappy bird I sold off last summer... looks like a bit more cockpit detail, too.

[Cruver Collecter]

Interesting paint job on that Corsair, with a really nice price too. You definitely got a good deal on that one.