Ultracast

1/48 F4U-1 Corsair Flaps and F4U-1 Corsair Exhausts For 1/48 Tamiya Kits

Stock Numbers: 48203 and 48204

Reviewed By  Perry Downen, IPMS# 44000

MSRP: Flaps: 9.95 CDN(Approx. $8 USD); Exhausts: 7.50 CDN (Approx. $6 USD) Website: www.ultracast.ca FLAPS (48203) Tamiya’s F4U-1A Corsair (kit number 61070) is a little unusual in that it comes with the flaps molded in the "down" position with no alternative step in the instructions to place them in the "up" position. To do this requires some delicate reworking of the inboard and outboard wings and the three sections of flap on each side. That is until now. Ultracast has issued a set of resin "up" flaps that replace the kit’s "down" flaps. The Corsair’s gull-wing configuration required that the flaps operate in 3 segments for each wing. In the kit, the flaps come as 12 pieces, a top and bottom for each segment on each side of the aircraft. The Ultracast replacements come as four very detailed pieces. For the outer wing, it is a one-for-one replacement. For the inner wing, two kit parts are replaced by one Ultracast part.

Neither inboard nor outboard flap replacements require any modification of the kit wing. The alignment is snug and they fit neatly in place. The one thing I noticed is that the replacement inboard flap on the starboard side does not have the step hole. This is shown in the above photographs. I could not find any information on this step hole in my reference material or online. It could very well be that this hole closes when the flap is in the up position. I can highly recommend this detail set to anyone building the F4U-1A and wanting the flaps in the up position. It is so easy to do and the detail and fit are excellent. EXHAUSTS (48204) Now on to the replacement exhaust ports for the F4U-1A..not much can be said for such tiny and simple parts. However, there is a significant difference between the two. The details of Ultracast’s exhaust ports are superior to the Tamiya kit’s parts. The replacement parts have the appearance of more depth than the kit parts. This, along with the much thinner walls of the stacks, lends a touch more realism.

The fit of the replacement part into the cutout provided behind the cowling is close to that seen on the actual aircraft. The kit parts do not completely fill this area causing the exhaust to look somewhat undersized. It’s obvious that this tiny accessory will add to the overall scale appearance of the aircraft. Therefore, I can easily recommend this to the modeler who is striving to achieve the look of the actual aircraft. I would like to thank Ultracast for furnishing these fine products to IPMS/USA for review and IPMS/USA for allowing me to do this review.

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