Hi guys, I'm new to the forum. I recently got back into scale modeling after receiving a Tamiya 1/48th Chance Vought F4U-1/2 Bird Cage Corsair as a gift. After beginning to build the model, I re-caught the bug and have decided to model as a permanent replacement for numbing out in front of the xbox. After reading up on the Corsair, I found that it was the US answer to the Japanese Zero fighters, and so I picked up a Tamiya 1/48thMitsubishi A6M5/5A Zero Fighter as a companion.
While building the corsair, I was looking at the machine guns built into the wings and wondered if there wasn't a way to scratch some realistic-looking machine gun fire. I remembered having toys with end-glow fiber optic filaments, and I realized that I could run the fiber through the barrels and cut the end of the cable at an angle so that the glow seemed to trail. With an orange or yellow LED, the cable might look alot like a glowing bullet and trail! I will also try to integrate some side-glow filament into the cockpit, but I think it may be a very tall order to integrate the lights into the instrument panels without a microscope. I may just run a length down near the pedals so there is a soft glow inside the cockpit.
I have since drawn out plans for a diorama, and I would like to have the zero firing on the corsair with an oceanic, foreshortened background. I will post in the aircraft forums to see if anyone can advise me on positioning of the aircraft, as I really am clueless as to aerial maneuvers used in battle.
As this project moves along, I'll keep this post updated with pictures. Hopefully it's well worth the effort!
While building the corsair, I was looking at the machine guns built into the wings and wondered if there wasn't a way to scratch some realistic-looking machine gun fire. I remembered having toys with end-glow fiber optic filaments, and I realized that I could run the fiber through the barrels and cut the end of the cable at an angle so that the glow seemed to trail. With an orange or yellow LED, the cable might look alot like a glowing bullet and trail! I will also try to integrate some side-glow filament into the cockpit, but I think it may be a very tall order to integrate the lights into the instrument panels without a microscope. I may just run a length down near the pedals so there is a soft glow inside the cockpit.
I have since drawn out plans for a diorama, and I would like to have the zero firing on the corsair with an oceanic, foreshortened background. I will post in the aircraft forums to see if anyone can advise me on positioning of the aircraft, as I really am clueless as to aerial maneuvers used in battle.
As this project moves along, I'll keep this post updated with pictures. Hopefully it's well worth the effort!
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