Goodyear FG-1D Corsair

Kit:	Hasegawa (F4U-1D), 1/72; bought for $12.99 in 2022. Model finished on 2022-12-28.
Aircraft:	Bu.No. 67087, "FAS-201", Escuadrilla 2, Escuadron Caza Bombardeo, Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña (Salvadoran Air Force), San Miguel, late 1960s

Several former US military aircraft were sold to Latin American countries after World War II. El Salvador acquired 20 FG-1Ds and operated them from 1957 until well into the 1970s (these were essentially Vought-Sikorsky Model V-166B Corsairs, US military designation F4U-1D, licence built by Goodyear Aircraft Corporation). The aircraft were used in combat during the so-called "La guerra del fútbol". The "Soccer War" was a brief conflict between El Savador and Honduras that was the culmination of years of tension between the two countries; it gets its name from rioting that ensued after qualifying games for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, ostensibly sparking the all-out fighting in July 1969.

"FAS-201", Bu.No. 67087 was one of the 20 FG-1s acquired by El Salvador in the 1950s. It later returned to the US and - as of 2022 - is registered as N11Y. It was probably not operational anymore when the aforementioned hostilities broke out.

Construction Notes

This is exactly the same kit I used for my previous Corsair, so there is no need to repeat what was done to improve the kit. Oddly, this is the first Hasegawa kit I have seen that had considerable amounts of "flash" on the parts.

This aircraft seems to only have had two machine guns in the wings, so the innermost two holes on both sides were filled. That, and a new antenna on the rear dorsal fuselage were the only modifications in comparison to my earlier Corsair.

Whell wells were cut out...

...and a new bottom (well, top) was made from 5 thou card.

Wheel wells completed.

Aircraft ready for the initial overall gull gray color. Note the Eduard photo-etch seat belts, the only enhancement for the cockpit.

Painting and Markings

I painted the model with Mr.Color enamels. The color I chose for the light gull gray was #325 (ostensibly FS26440). The blue is a mixture of #322 with white added. I sprayed the whole model first in gray, then masked it to leave all those areas exposed that are either white, blue, or yellow in the finished model: those areas were first painted white, and after additional masking the blue and yellow were added. The coroguards on the wings were masked using the decal (which only provided the border) as a template. Final finish was first Alclad II Gloss Klear Kote, then decals, then some more gloss, and finally a semigloss mixture of Testors Dullcote and Glosscote.

Decals for the kit came from the PrintScale sheet 72-351 which gives options for several Salvadoran Corsairs.

Initial masking for white on top of the gull gray. All other color (blue and yellow) was masked on top of white.

Initial paint work completed.

The coroguards on wings painted, awaiting for the border decals.

References Used

I will not repeat the reference material I used for my earlier Corsair, but here is some material specific to the 1969 Soccer War:

Air Enthusiast No.118 (July/August 2005)
Air Magazine Juin/Juillet 2003
International Air Power Review Volume 14