1/48 Academy Corsair F4U-1

Ken Walsh - First Corsair Ace

by Konley Kelley

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I revisited Aces in 1:48 scale recently by building Ken Walsh's F4U-1 "Birdcage" Corsair.  This is the Academy kit which comes with decals for Walsh.

Kenneth Ambrose Walsh, USMC, was the first U.S. pilot to become an ace in the Corsair.  In early 1943, 1st Lt. Walsh and VMF-124 arrived in The Slot to provide much needed escort duty for B-24's.  Walsh completed three combat tours flying the Corsair and received the Medal of Honor.  After stateside duty as an instructor, Walsh returned to action in April, 1945.  He shot down a Kamikaze in June and ended the war with a total of 21 aerial victories.

Ken Walsh flew missions in Korea and retired in 1962 with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

In this image, a Zero has fallen to Walsh's guns above a flight of "Betty" bombers.  I used my 1:48 Tamiya Zero and Photoshop to paint some camo on a die-cast Betty bomber which I cloned several times. 

For more "Aces in 1:48 Scale" and "Famous Bombers in 1:72 Scale" see
www.shortfuse3d.com.


Konley 

Photos and text © by Konley Kelley