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Sgt.Squarehead's struggles with a Jug!


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MeetBubba

 

Howdy folks!  :coolio:

 

Bubba's the name.....Just got my wings and itching to see my new steed.  :yahoo: 

 

Apparently it's a super long range high altitude escort, so I'm counting on it being one of those P-51 Mustangs.....

 

 

BubbasRide

 

Aww shoot!  :doh:

 

 

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I didn't order this one specially Cliff, I 'know' about this kit now.....The damned thing's been skulking in my stash for ages, not less than a decade.  As I said earlier I've got several better Thunderbolt kits in the stash, but those I could (& probably will) eventually sell on, they are good kits.  Not this one though.  :rolleyes:

 

So I might as well build it.  ;) 

 

The schemes offered in the kit are truly lovely and the decals look pretty good, if I can get it stuck together it should look kinda pretty when it's done.  The kit also comes with loads of rather nice ordnance, almost none of which seems even slightly suitable for a long range escort fighter.  :unsure:

 

Once I've finished sanding the Ford TfC, I'll make a start on painting fuselage & cockpit.....'Bubba' will receive some attention too of course.  :coolio:

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For all this is supposed to be a dog of a kit, it sure does look lovely on the sprues, especially compared to the Italeri Mitchell that I'm still struggling with (various Mitchell flightcrew and a few Spetsnaz are likely to occasionally appear alongside Bubba as he progresses).  ;)

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I do Steve, I do indeed.....I've always liked the Thunderbolt, it's just so American.  I can only imagine the expression on the faces of the Eagle Squadron guys who (IIRC) transferred to the type from the Spitfire!  :o

 

Been messing around with the bits for Bubba's office:

 

BubbasOffice-1

 

It's looking very promising, Bubba should get to keep his legs and the joystick fits him beautifully, I just need to check if he can see out of the cockpit OK.....If he can I'll be joining Bubba permanently to his seat and the joystick and painting them as one assembly.  The tub itself is plenty detailed enough for my purposes, Bubba should serve to hide any major inadequacies.  B)

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Bubba settles in:

 

BubbasOffice-2

 

But he really didn't want to.....It took a surprising amount of faffing about to get the seat flat, Bubba in position and the joystick in contact with both him and the tub floor.  I had to revise my plans and glue the seat to the floor, this meant removing the aft bulkhead (Which I'd glued in place in an attempt to determine the relative position of Bubba et al.  :wall: ) and unsurprisingly I managed to damage the floor in the process.  Not something that will ever be seen once the model's closed up of course, but irritating nevertheless.  :confused:

 

I'm starting to see why people have so many gripes with this kit.....The cockpit detail is lovely OOTB (at least compared to what I've been used to, at any rate), but it's festooned with tiny ejector pin marks in places that would be a nightmare to fill (I didn't bother, Bubba should hide them for me).  :rolleyes:

 

PS - Bubba may yet get a partial 'Bader' as I'm concerned that his feet and the rudder pedals will quarrel.....Hopefully a razor-saw cut at the front of the ankle followed by brute force and glue will be enough to fix the problem if there is one, if not young Bubba is in for the chop!  :unsure:

 

 

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Hi Sarge

 Welcome aboard enjoy your build (it looks like you are already having a lot of fun with it ..) ..

Cheers

Patrice

 

Edited by TEMPESTMK5
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14 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

PS - Bubba may yet get a partial 'Bader' as I'm concerned that his feet and the rudder pedals will quarrel.....Hopefully a razor-saw cut at the front of the ankle followed by brute force and glue will be enough to fix the problem if there is one, if not young Bubba is in for the chop

Are you sure you can see the rudder pedals ? I never use pilots in my builds and i rarely can see the pedals ? If you can then glue the pedals to Bubba’s feet instead of the floor. That way they are there and he doesn't became Douglas Bader Jr.. 

 

Dennis

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I don't want to mess with the the tub parts.....It literally is a little four sided tub and it's proper alignment within the fuselage is dependent on the assembly as a whole, rather than any one or two of its components.  :unsure:

 

Just settling down to some painting.....I've read countless times that Hu.226 is a good match for US Interior Green, but it seems too dark (Scale?) and also too blue to me:

 

P-47DThunderbolt21.jpg

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Grand job sarge, the color seems to have drained from young Bubbas face, how about just warming his legs a little (a la' Guinea pigs) and bending  so they won't quarrel with the controls,  he may end up a blue badge holder at this rate. 

Glynn 

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9 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

I don't want to mess with the the tub parts.....It literally is a little four sided tub and it's proper alignment within the fuselage is dependent on the assembly as a whole, rather than any one or two of its components.  :unsure:

 

Just settling down to some painting.....I've read countless times that Hu.226 is a good match for US Interior Green, but it seems too dark (Scale?) and also too blue to me:

 

P-47DThunderbolt21.jpg

Tinted zinc chromate was achieved by adding black to zinc chromate and varies quite a lot. In1943 they bought a standard in, calling it Interior Green, but there was still quite a bit of confusion. Even today you can find several very different shades on the same aircraft ( where part are produced by different vendors ). Though the poor consistency of Humbrol Enamels means some of there colour varies just as much!

 

Of course photo colour reproduction can vary quite a bit. This though is a photo of a recovered P-47D-4.

 

p47-lutes-cockpit-lower.jpg

 

Edited by Tbolt
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As it turns out Italeri drew the tub completely wrong in their instructions (There's a surprise, eh?).....The modification to Bubba's feet was unnecessary.  :wall:

 

To get all the cockpit parts together with him in situ is actually impossible without chopping something (the rudder pedals or about two thirds of Bubba's legs).....I'm not really feeling much love for this build, the bin beckons.  :chair:

 

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Sometimes macro photography, bright lighting and fresh Klear really do your confidence absolutely no favours whatsoever:

 

BubbaInColour

 

:shutup:

 

Hopefully the oils will restore some colour to his cheeks (his face is shaded, you just can't see it).....Trust me, he looks a lot better in person!  ;)

 

This hobby, sometimes.  :rolleyes:

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W&N aerosol mat varnish, then a couple of drops of Klear on Bubba's goggles and the various dials on the IP:

 

BubbaFinal

 

Still looks terrible in macro, but he's OK when you meet him in person.  ;)

 

Now to make him fit.....I suspect this may be where the serious swearing starts.  :unsure:

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Or not:

 

BubbaMovesIn

 

He sits a little lower than I'd like (he wouldn't if Italeri had drawn the IP/rudder pedal parts in the right place in the instructions), but I'm calling that particular hole filled.....Now for the rest of it.  ;)

 

Quick question if I may.....What aerosol paints would you guys most recommend for NMF:hmmm:  I'd like to use a couple of different metallics on various panels, but I don't want to use my airbrush if possible. 

 

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Cheers.....Turns out some swearing will be required, the instrument panel and Bubba are not cooperating despite my cutting the pedals off, some (fiddly) adjustment is required.....It's going to be a tedious night, I can tell.  :rolleyes:

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Goddam thing is really fighting me now.....I'm not convinced that tub and IP would fit into the fuselage unmodified even without Bubba!  :wall:

 

I've attempted to get a best average, removed it and glued it solid.....I'll take the coarse rasp to it later and make it bloody fit once and for all (either that or it's mallet time).  :fight:

 

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For better or for worse, he's in:

 

BubbaMovesInPermanently

 

The fit of this kit is.....Well, it doesn't really!  :fraidnot:

 

Note the not even slightly subtle tools of persuasion required to get the tub into the fuselage.....Using those around Bubba was somewhat nerve-wracking!  :unsure:

 

I'll fit his head armour and the gun-sight later.....Quick question, what colour should the area under the canopy be?  I'm guessing it would be olive drab, an extension of the anti-glare panel?  :shrug:

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