Tamiya 1/32 F4U-1A Corsair

By Woody Vondracek

Corsair tribute model, Lt. James Wilkins, VMF 225

When I lived in Miami I met and befriended a gentleman who flew Corsairs during WWII and Korea. Lt. James Wilkins was assigned to VMF 225 and this is my tribute to his service. Incidentally, he flew Corsairs with VMF 312 in Korea where he unwittingly participated in another aviator being awarded the Medal of Honor. Google his name for the whole story.

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Of course, this is built out of the box with the exception of HGW belts and Barracuda cockpit decals.

Paint is Gunze Mr. Color and AK Real Color lacquers. I used hairspray chipping, pastels, watercolor wash and oils for weathering. I also made my own data stencils (Tamiya got it wrong) and national insignia decals so I could fade the colors.

You check out all the construction details in my build thread in the Work in Progress forum.

I'll be 80 in December, '26 and I do intend to keep building, but simple things for fun. I started this back in 2022 but had a couple of health issues that put my life on hold for over a year and a half. Thanks to some great doctors I'm doing well, but age is playing havoc with my hands so I'll keep building as long as I can.

I love this hobby - I'm an addict!

© Woody Vondracek 2026

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This article was published on Saturday, June 06 2026; Last modified on Sunday, June 07 2026

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