With its distinctive inverted gullwings and gorgeous dark blue color scheme, the Vought F4U Corsair is easily my all-time favorite fighter plane. Produced throughout both World War II and the Korean War, the warplane also has the distinction of having the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter. While James Cherry may not be the most prolific LEGO builder — he shared his amazing 1/15-scale LEGO F-14A Tomcat jet fighter exactly two years ago — but each of his creations is well worth the wait. Built to the same scale as the Tomcat, James’s Corsair is deceptively huge; for a better sense of the scale, notice that the palm trees are built from stacked washtubs! We’ve estimated that this LEGO Corsair has a wingspan of over one hundred studs (over 32 inches or 82 cm), and it’s over 80 studs long from nose to tail (over 26″ / 67 cm).
James says that his Corsair has working control surfaces, such as flaps and ailerons.
The plane uses a custom canopy, as well as numerous custom decals that show the Corsair as it would have appeared as part of the VF-17 “Jolly Rogers” US Navy fighter squadron in February 1944 at Ondonga Airfield in the Solomon Islands, piloted by Lt. Daniel G. Cunningham.
One of the reasons I love the US Navy color scheme used during World War II is the way it includes several different colors to make the planes blend in better while dogfighting in the skies over an ocean. The rounded engine cowling shows how James has recreated the color scheme with dark blue, light blue, and white.
Let’s take one final look at this beautiful aircraft as it roars off into the sunset.
