Young C. Park Photos

Corsair Controls

Using a pair of tweezers, the controls can actually be manipulated. All of the cables and linkages are in place to work the wing control surfaces as well. Young also carved a pilot’s face and hands from solid aluminum, and built an articulated pilot to sit in the cockpit. (Photo courtesy of George F. Lee, Honolulu Star-Bulletin.)

Corsair Display

Mr. Park generously donated his first and second Corsair models to the Joe Martin Foundation, along with his P-51 model a few years later. They can be seen in person at the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA.

Young Park’s Shop

Young’s garage shop was packed full of tools and materials. His Sherline tools can be seen on the center bench, and some of the aircraft parts he was working on are in the lower left.

F4U-D Corsair

The covered side of Yung’s first Corsair model gives a better overall impression of the clean lines on the plane. (Photo courtesy of Augie Salbosa.)

Corsair Detail

A close-up inside of the wing reveals the .50 caliber machine gun nest in the structure, along with ammo boxes to feed them.

Corsair Detail

A peek into the cockpit control area.

Corsair Tail

In this view, the tail of the fuselage is removed with some access panels open.

Corsair Cockpit

A closer look at the cockpit controls.

Corsair Detail

The right wing and access panels to the .50 caliber machine gun loading area.

Corsair Engine Compartment

Corsair Cockpit

A close-up of the instrument panel. Instruments were not installed.

Corsair Pilot Seat

The pilot seat is attached to the front of the rear fuselage section.

Corsair Cockpit

Take-Apart Corsair

Young’s second Corsair, which was modeled as a take-apart. The plane can be broken into four sections.

Take-Apart Corsair

A shot of the Corsair with wings folded.

Take-Apart Corsair

Here the wing flaps are shown in the down position.

Take-Apart Corsair

A front view of the landing gear and underside of the plane.

Young’s Corsair Display

Mr. Park (left) is seen showing his models to the crowd at the 2002 NAMES Expo in Detroit. The Corsairs garnered a lot of attention, and Young’s display was one of the most memorable of the weekend. He crated the models and shipped them from Honolulu for the show. Young also accepted his award for Craftsman of the Year at this show.

Corsair Pilot

Showing the extent of his carving skills, Mr. Park sculpted a pilot’s head and hands out of solid aluminum. The miniature pilot is dressed in a custom made uniform, and can be moved inside the model.

P-51 Mustang

The Mustang with gears up is one of the sleekest planes ever designed. Young’s 1/16 scale model reproduces every detail, inside and out, down to the rivets.

P-51 Mustang

P-51 Mustang Nose

Although all parts are machined from solid aluminum, or made from sheet aluminum, Mr. Park was able to make the cast parts look real. He used a fine dental burr to put tiny pockets in the surface, making it look like a non-machined casting. Inside of the spinner, the “cast” propeller hub can be seen.

P-51 Mustang

The Mustang model with gears down sits in the middle of the frame, with Young’s first Corsair in the back right. Though built to the same scale, 1/16, the Mustang is a much smaller plane, adding to the difficulty of making everything fit inside.

P-51 Mustang

There is such a wealth of detail in the engine compartment and cockpit that you could stare at this model for hours, and still not catch everything.

P-51 Mustang Cockpit

A look inside the cockpit reveals every detail that the real pilot would have seen.

P-51 Mustang Cockpit

The right side of the cockpit its shown here, along with part of the bubble canopy. Mr. Park vacuum formed his own canopy for the model. Although the pictures won’t show this, when you slide the miniature canopy it moves perfectly straight and smooth. There is no wobbling, and the canopy meets the fixed windshield with virtually no gap.

P-51 Mustang Tail

Like his Corsair models, all of the control surfaces actually work, including the trim tabs. The tail gear mechanism has been lowered in this photo.

P-51 Mustang Detail

Inside of the left wing, you can see the .50 caliber ammo threaded into the three wing guns. Each round was machined in three parts. The rounds consist of a brass cartridge with copper bullet and primer, and are held together with a small copper feed jacket.

P-51 Mustang Detail

A close-up shows the ammunition belt threading into the open receiver of one of the machine guns.

P-51 Mustang Engine

Young took a number of photos during construction of the model. Here we see the partially completed engine before installation.

P-51 Mustang Detail

In this photo, control wires were still being threaded around their pulleys underneath the cockpit.

P-51 Mustang Detail

The radiator air intake sits below the fuselage ready for installation. Many details are hidden once the airplane is fully assembled.

P-51 Mustang

The Mustang was still in early construction here, with the fuselage and wing structure coming along.

P-51 Mustang Panel

Each panel was hand formed over a wooden shape. The metal was annealed to the proper softness, and then pounded and bent into shape. The plane consists of may individual panels, and the fits between panels are nearly perfect.

P-51 Mustang Panel

This photo shows the same panel from the previous image, this time in it’s final position on the model.

P-51 Mustang Air Intake

The finished air intake alongside the form that Young used to make it. As is often the case in machining and model making, fixtures can take a long time to make. The public will never see them with the finished model, even though they constitute a large part of the process.

Young’s Aircraft Display

Young Park’s model P-51 and both Corsairs are now on permanent display at the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum in Carlsbad, CA.

Sample Parts

Young Park had passed along some of his practice parts, spare machine gun cartridges, and miniature pilot to his nephew, Scott, when cleaning out his garage years ago. Scott was kind enough to donate them to the Craftsmanship Museum after his uncle passed away. The display offers some insight into how some of the parts—like hinges, wingtips, and cylinder heads—were made.

Young’s Aircraft Display

This photo shows Young’s niece, Claudia Kobayashi, and her family on a visit to the Craftsmanship Museum. They enjoyed seeing their uncle’s fine work on display as a featured exhibit.

Young Park and Gerald Wingrove

Another photo from Gerald Wingrove’s visit to Young Park’s workshop. Two recipients of the Craftsman of the Year Award, sharing knowledge and a passion for fine miniature craftsmanship.