INTERMEDIATE BUILD
In a double first, Chris Jones builds a brace of freshly tooled Corsairs from newcomer firm Magic Factory.
Vought’s Corsair is easily one of the most recognisable fighters of World War Two. Its exploits during the island-hopping campaign in the Pacific are legendary. Although it initially failed to find favour with the US Navy, pioneering work by the British Fleet Air Arm demonstrated that the rugged and powerful Corsair could be operated successfully from aircraft carrier decks. In the meantime, the US Marines had been putting the F4U to sterling use, earning Vought’s so-called ‘bent wing bird’ a fearsome reputation among its Japanese opponents. Arguably, the F4U-1A with its bulged canopy is one of the most iconic of all Corsair variants. The F4U-2 is perhaps less well known, but this radar-equipped night-fighter variant is certainly an interesting modelling subject.
One of the joys of modelling these days is that new companies and fresh toolings appear regularly. Magic Factory is one such recent brand and this dual Corsair boxing represents something of a flagship release for the firm. Two kits are included in the box; a standard F4U-1A and a radar- equipped F4U-2. However, just one set of each wing option…
