What are you getting at?

As a case study, many years ago I acquired (ie: was gifted) a 'previously started' short run kit, that the previous owner had butchered. The kit in question was the HPM Hawk 127LIF in 1/48 The instructions called for the low-pressure injection styrene parts to be prepared by sanding much the same way you would with a vacuform part - however they had failed to used a hard enough surface OR had allowed the edges of the sandpaper to curl up. Thus we were left with two fuselage sides who's mating surfaces were banana'd away from each other... Think "left )( right", with the brackets in place of what was supposed to be a "left || right" join. Enough plastic had been removed to render remediation...challenging. So out came the 25 and 50 thou sheet (no word of a lie, i estimated the nose tip and fuselage rear 'gap' to be about 2mm, while the centre of the halves were in contact) - these were cut into strips, and with some mitre'ing I built up an entirely new mating surface with 25 thou through the centre section and 50 thou for the end quarters. I did NOT try and trim the styrene at this point, simply coloured the mating surfaces with blue marker, flat-sanded until the blue was all gone, and the centre fuselage styrene was 'translucently thin'. At this point we had two parallel surfaces, and with some minor work (adding some internal strips to help with alignment of the cockpit and nose gear bay (my 'alignment reference items'), and taking a shade more off each side til the cockpit and nose gear bay were snug) we were ready to bond. If I remember right, I may have added a bead of CA on the inside flat of the styrene to reinforce it while working on the mating surfaces, but once the sides were together, everything was rigid. The lower fuselage where it was to be covered by wings, was opened and got a sprue spreader to ensure a really snug fit for the wing upper surfaces (which were also discovered to have been 'worked on' and needed maybe 10 thou at worst on each side), BUT it all came together, rescribed nicely and looked awesome under a coat of micro-filler primer. Admittedly then it spent a LONG time on the shelf of doom, likely because all that work to get the build to that state had just taken some of the excitement out of it (and i ended up building another one, this time starting with a pristine example) - but the repair job was admired a number of times at club meets and I was really happy that I all-but saved what was otherwise a basket case. It eventually was polished and painted and then before decaling, donated to a friend who wanted one of those kits to build into a jet his brother had flown solo ... so it got a minor repaint, different decals, and eventually found a good home.

oh and why did I give it away after so much work? well a) I had three or four more of these things in the stash, so was using the basket case as my 'prototype build', b) my friend was on a time frame re: the build and presentation, so it saved him weeks, and c) good karma... I'd had my fun with it... From what I could tell, when I got the kit, it was from its 'at least' second owner - he'd butchered it after having bought it from a guy who wasn't confident enough to take on a short run kit, once he saw it... So best case we have 1) person who said it was too hard, 2) person who butchered it, 3) person who saved it and refined his techniques on it, 4) person who finally finished it, and 5) person who solo'd in the 1:1 version of the jet. The kit and build has a pretty cool story. :)

I think you’ll end up in the same place. But you’ll have no issues with the mottling once you’ve had some practice

The 1/32 Tamiya Corsairs are very nice and because of these models there is no point to the Trumpeter -1D Corsair that is full of errors and build challenges. I have not built the Trumpeter -4 Corsair but it is the only one out there. To make a "good" -4 Corsair in 48th scale, you could graft the "front" of the hasegawa -4 with the Tamiya -1D and find a good after market engine and cockpit. It would still be a considerable amount of work.

​@@ModelAirplaneMaker David R Lentz, Columbus, Ohio, USA Thank you for your prompt response. Chance Vought replaced with sheet metal the fabric surfaces of the outer wings and the horizontal stabilisers of the early Corsairs, so even these parts would require replacement. In 1:48th-scale, CMK has a conversion set, though some have reported that some of the resin parts have shrunk; even if one were to find a set that had not, it seems likely that over the following years, this would occur anyway. I infer your greater wherewithal of the various advanced aspects of model building. I understand that improvements we already are seeing in 3D printing have begun to appear in aftermarket detail sets that are supplanting resin for 1) even better in quality, accuracy, etc., 2) no toxicity from the dust, 3) avoid having to hack off the pour stub(s), 4) will not shrink, 5) be easier to implement, and to incorporate into the build, and 6) may prove a better value. Would you be able to provide us a better F4U-4 WW2 Corsair conversion set? Or would you know any 3D wizards who could? Additionally, I would like some seated pilot figures in 1:32nd-, 1:48th-, and 1:72nd- scales for in-flight displays. (Does any kit maker offer 1:100th-scale or 1:144th-scale Corsair kits in any of these variants?) I would ask, please, that such sets also would include different heads, faces, hands, arms, etc., and to incorporate into the design of these a modicum of positional flexibility. (Otherwise, a squadron on patrol would take on an unintended “Attack of the Clones” vibe . . . .)

The dried wash is fairly durable and does not take long to dry in the panel lines. I'd seal it in after a few days

I agree with you on ammonia affecting the finish and maybe the seals on the airbrush if you let it linger in there. I use a small amount of ammonia, I mix the paint externally and then I shoot it as soon as it is ready. I immediately fill the cup in alcohol and swab everything down while I run the alcohol mixture through the brush.

very good point!!