Engineer66 Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 (edited) Hello again, As I have a couple of weeks off work coming up I thought I'd start another 'quick build' to run alonside my Sabre build. I've decided to go for another cheapie from my stash. I say cheapie because i managed to pick it up for half price at a local clearance outlet, along with several other kits! It's the Aacdemy P-47D Thunderbolt 'Gabreski' Here are the obigatory sprue shots... This last sprue is duplicated, so only one of them shown here, A decent decal sheet courtesy of Cartograf... And finally, because I find it impossible to build something without using AM (I feel like I'm not putting enough effort in if I don't use any!) a little something from Eduard to improve the office. i know the etch is for a P-47N, but it's close enough for me for a quick and dirty build! Work in progress pics to follow as soon as I make some progress. Thanks for looking Al Edited September 18, 2015 by Engineer66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Hi Al You've picked a great kit for a quick build. It really falls together nicely. Good luck with the camo! I look forward to seeing the first instalment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 8, 2015 Author Share Posted September 8, 2015 Hi All, Just a quick update before my tea... So much for a 'quick and easy' build! Whilst prepping the fuselage sides for paint I noticed the oil cooler outlets and deflector plates, and thought "Hmm, they look a bit strange shaped" Next thing you know it's out with the files and drills, then a good half an hours work with plasticard and my new hole punch set... The before pic... Notice the strange shape of the oil cooler vent and deflector plate with their tapered sides, most definately not like the real deal! And after the hard work (this is version 2 as the first attempt was way too small) I'll post some 'this is the cockpit so far' pics a bit later on. Thanks for looking Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Hi All, I've finished the office for this one, a little later than planned! I thought I'd finished yesterday, but when I test fitted the complete pit into the fuselage half I discovered that the instrument panel stands back (towards the pilot) of the opening in the top of the cowl, meaning that you can see right down behind the panel! 'Oh dear well that is jolly unfortunate, looks like I may need to expend a bit more effort in this area' thought I (or similar words to that effect ). anyway I then set about making the rear of the instruments and wiring them up. Once the gunsight is in place you will probably only be able to see about 10% of what I've done, but hey ho, it was a bit of fun. I also managed to feed the carpet monster a few bits of PE as well, the small red handles are scratched form slivers of thin plastic strip, the originals took a dislike to my tweezers and made a bid for freedom, which I assume was successful as I didn't find them after a good half an hours worth of looking! Anyway, here's the pics so far... Next up will be to make a start on this and improve it a bit, At first I thought it would just be a case of adding the ignition wires, but no it also needs the bits on the front of the engine 'sorting out' Sorry I don't know what the parts are (magneto's possibly) but they are the two long oval shapes which should be round, and the square box between them should look a bit more interesting! Thanks for stopping by. Al 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Nice work on the vents - I had the Eduard boxing of this kit, and it came with some PE bits for the exterior, but I doubt anyone will notice the difference in thickness I like the Academy 47, and more so as it's pretty cheap to find If it's any use, you can find my RFI thread here, and there's a link to the build in the first post 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanks Mike, The main reason for replacing the vents was due to the strange shape of the kit ones with the sloping sides, I hadn't really thought about the thickness! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 The difference is minimal, so I wouldn't worry about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) Hello again, time for an update. I showed a pic earlier of the engine included in the kit and said that I planned to improve it a little by changing the shape of the 'magnetos', (at least that’s what I think they are). Well I started by removing the part of the ‘magneto’ lumps that were against and between the cylinders and re-shaped the remainder to make them circular. Well it looked better, but still wasn’t quite right so in the end I decided to remove them completely and re make them from a bit of rod etc. Well that worked quite well, but then when I tried them in place they looked good but the torque unit between them now looked not quite right. Yup you know where this is going … Out came the chisels and knives again and soon the offending square lump was no more and the front gearbox had been sanded nice and smooth and rounded, as it should be, with nice gaps between the cylinders. Out came the punch set and the evergreen again and another hour was spent squinting through the magnifier making the torque sensor thing. At this point I lost track of time and sense and decided to make the gubbins and pipework that sits below the gearbox on the wedge shaped ‘lump’ as well. That only left the ignition leads to make and fit, but wait! One end goes to the cylinder, but where does the other end go? Ah the HT lead manifold is missing; I’d better do something about that as well! Here are the results, I still have the HT leads to make and fit, there’s only 36 of them so that shouldn’t take long! but I’ll leave them until the engine’s been painted as it will probably be easier. I plan on painting a long length of wire, then cutting it into lengths and fitting them in place, easier I think than trying to paint the leads in situe. So much for a quick build over a week! Here are the pics of the wasp so far… Before: And after: Thanks for looking Al (Edited to put pic's in!) Edited September 18, 2015 by Engineer66 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 that's some serious detailing you are doing here! And the cockpit looks just great ! Have you been testing the general part fit for this kit? Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Thanks Giemme, I must admit I haven't been testing the parts fit. However the bits i've dry fitted so far, cockpit into fuselage and fuselage together have been quite good, although I may need to sand the pit ever so slightly to get the sides closed up without a gap in the top of the spine. (we are only talking about 0.2 mm here, so it will probably close up with glue and a clamp! Should have some picks of the painted engine in the next day or so. Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 I really like this build. Nice work. Thanks for posting. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 The scratch building on the engine is simply a masterpiece! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the comments chaps, I have the fuselage buttoned up now, and have almost finished the engine. I'll post some pics soon. Al Edited September 29, 2015 by Engineer66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm looking forward to the update. Bob H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Hi Folks, Here's my latest update on this not so much a quick build anymore! I've finally completed the engine and added the ignition leads after painting, which proved to be a challenge, 36 wires varying in length from 8mm to 15mm each one with a drop of cyano at each end, and then position onto the engine after pre-bending (before adding glue!) Naturally I ended up cutting more than the 36 required as the carpet monster was feeding well during the process! I used a length of copper wire unwound from an old Scalextric motor armature and stretched between two clips and painted Tamiya XF49 Khaki as that seemed a good match for a couple of photos I found on line. Here's the finished article, most of which will probably be out of sight once in the cowling! Whilst waiting for paint to dry on the engine, I've spent a bit of time on the fuselage, It's now together and just needs a bit of filling and sanding. I've also attended to the supercharger exhaust as well, The Academy kit has a square hole behind the outlet, which doesn't appear to be on any aircraft pictures or drawings I can find, so it was out with the plastic card and was soon filled in. Whilst I was at it I also built up some interior detail in the fairing and added an impression of the supercharger outlet from a piece of tubing. (sorry no photo's) And to finish off this area I thinned down the inter-cooler exhaust sides and fitted the divider in the middle. Just some filler and sanding required now. Another little detail I've completed is the landing light. I used a bit of wine bottle foil which I polished up first, then punched out a circle using an ordinary hole punch intended for punching holes in paper for filing, then using a plastic bead i molded it into a concave shape. Once i was happy with the result i stuck it on a bit of Blu-Tac (in true Blue peter style) before punching a hole with a needle. Then it was a simple matter of feeding a length of fibre optic (stolen from my father in laws Christmas tree when he wasn't looking ) through before securing with a spot of cyano. I also painted part of it black before threading it through to make it stand out a bit more. This was then glued behind the opening in the wing prior to gluing the wing halves together. At this point it went a bit wrong, as in my rush to get it fitted I used cyano to fix it in place, forgetting that I had previously glued the lens in as well Yup you've guessed it fogged over and now looks like it's full of cotton wool! Ah well, time to try and remove the lens and re-polish it before I go any further. That's going to be about it for updates for a few days as I'm back at work tomorrow for another four days. Thanks for looking. Al 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Here's my latest update on this not so much a quick build anymore! I kinda know what you mean ... Brilliant detailing, the landing light is just great! I hope you'll be able to fix the fogging issue Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Thanks Giemme I'm going to try and pry out the lens and polish it up, or replace it with a circle of clear plastic. Watch this space ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Thanks for the update. The R-2800 looks really good. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) Nice work on the engine Al. I am finishing the same kit off at the moment without the details added. You may have fun when it comes to the wings though. On my one, the gun covers did not fit at all well (the gun bay was horrendous anyhow) Also the fit of wings to fuselage is not that brilliant either, though that could just of been me LOL. Simon. Edited October 3, 2015 by Spookytooth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaker Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Could I make a small suggest? Tack the seat belts down the to the seat a bit more? They're floaty at the mo and it stood out to me. Really nice work on the new vents though, small little things like that make such a difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 thanks Simon, I have dry fitted the wings and I agree the fit is going to need a bit of work. I thought that the gun bays looked a bit naff as well, so have decided to fit the covers. Looking at the spruces though, there appears to be two sets of covers, so I'll fiddle around and use the ones that fit the best. Breaker, thanks for the input, I'll have a look at the belts, and do my best although the fuselage is all closed up so can't guarantee anything! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 thanks Simon, I have dry fitted the wings and I agree the fit is going to need a bit of work. I thought that the gun bays looked a bit naff as well, so have decided to fit the covers. Looking at the spruces though, there appears to be two sets of covers, so I'll fiddle around and use the ones that fit the best. Breaker, thanks for the input, I'll have a look at the belts, and do my best although the fuselage is all closed up so can't guarantee anything! Al Al , you may be better off fitting the gun bay covers first before joining the wings halves together. As for the wings? Good luck mate, I nearly binned at this stage. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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