AU-1 129401, WS 24, VMA-323 USMC, Korea 1953
In my quest to have a complete set of Corsairs I picked up this Italeri kit. It was part of the batch build started 17 years ago and finished this summer.
The Subject
VMA-323 was commissioned in 1943 with the Corsair and worked up at secure Pacific bases. Eventually it saw combat at Okinawa, creating 10 aces with no losses. They continued to operate the Corsair until after the Korean conflict, their final mount being the AU-1.
The AU-1 was a purpose built attack variant of the Corsair, with additional armor and all the refinements of the F4U-5 series. Additionally, the engine had the single stage supercharger for operations predominantly at low altitudes.
At the end of the Korean War the squadron “stood down” and their aircraft were transported down to Southeast Asia where they were handed over to the French Aero Navale, who used these aircraft until they were no longer serviceable.
The Model
This is the same kit as the Italeri F4U-7 boxing, offered as a set of alternative decals and cowl ring. The major external difference between the F4U-7 and AU-1 is the cheek intakes on the cowling, which are removed for the AU-1.
All of the errors existant on the F4U-7 kit exist with this one as well. The main fault lies with the aft fuselage, which is noticably too short, making the aircraft appear squattish. At the time of the build I didn’t know this, nor did I have any plans to compare.
Detail is good and construction was straightforward. As a kit there are no vices. Decals went down well over a coat of Future (Klear) using the Microscale system of Sol then Set. The decals were sealed under a final coat of Future.
Summary
I’ve since purchased two copies of the much more accurate F4U-7 kit from High Planes. One will of course replace my French Aeronavale -7 while the other will replace this one. Since the High Planes kits have to be treated like a short run kit, but certainly build up nicely, I’ll delay replacing this one until I’ve more time; in the meantime, this one looks good on the shelf and fills a niche.
Thanks for looking…