1:48 F2G Super Corsair

A Corsair with twenty-eight cylinders

Goodyear took the proven Corsair and built a four-row Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major into its nose. To give a view to the rear that matched its new role as an interceptor, the company cut down the fuselage spine and fitted a bubble canopy. The war ended before the machines got into combat, and precisely for that reason they became legends of the postwar air races in Cleveland, where Cook Cleland won the Thompson Trophy twice in an aircraft of this form.

The bubble canopy and its frames

The frameless canopy of this type has a narrow supporting arch and a windscreen with pronounced posts. Small areas like these are the hardest to cover with tape, because half a millimeter of shift is enough to make the frame look wider. The die-cut sheet carries shapes for the outer surface and for the inner side, where the structure visible with the cockpit open can be painted in.

The order of application

Lay the windscreen down first, only then the arch. Press the film down with a soft eraser rather than a fingernail, otherwise grooves will be imprinted in it. Lift it off as soon as possible after spraying; a damp room and wet paint make for very unpleasant edges together.

A note on the racing form

If you are building a machine in a loud racing finish, remember that saturated red and yellow need a white base underneath. In that case the frames are sprayed last so that they stay clean.

Storing the sheet

Return unused shapes to the wrapper and let them lie flat in a dry place. A wavy backing prints through into the film and the shape then will not settle along the whole length of the arch, which is the most sensitive spot on a bubble canopy.