1/72 Republic XP-47B Prototype Conversion

[TheRealMrEd]

Hello again.

 

Well, as often happens, real life once again interfered with modeling, so I'm sure a missed a few pictures here and there.  In any event, here's what I have now.

 

First up, here's how I install those pesky antenna wires:

 

 

Above, a hole is drilled into the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer ("A") and then a piece of Invisible Thread (available at sewing shops) is glued in, using CA.  At "B" above, the kit's antenna was shortened and shaped in accordance with photos of the XP-47B.  Then a tiny hole was drilled into the bottom of the antenna to receive a small bit of wire, and the antenna was glued to the fuselage with CA.  Oh, almost forgot -- before gluing in the antenna, a tiny groove was sawn into the upper tip of the antenna (fore-and-aft), with a sharp razor knife and a very thin razor saw, to help keep the thread (antenna wire) from slipping off the tip, during the next step;

 

When dry, a small clip was used to weight the Invisible Thread to stretch it a bit, and then a drop of CA was used to secure it to the antenna tip, under tension:

 

 

After that, I just needed to glue on the undercarriage, their doors, pitot tubes, prop and the canopy door... and she was done!

 

 

And a comparison with a later "D" model Jug:

 

 

There are a couple of things wrong with this model, for those of you who may have a go at one of these later on.  First, the area of the rear cockpit (under the turtle-deck) is not shaped exactly right, and the color should be bare metal, not the Interior Green I used -- my bad.  Next, overlooked by me, is that the Academy P-47D kits need the main landing gear legs shortened by around 1/8" or 3mm, and their upper gear doors must be shortened the same.  Again, my bad!  Lastly, there should be four cartouche-shaped vertical markings behind the cowl fins.  The later jugs had only three.  Even though I practiced on a spare fuselage and some correct scribing shapes, I could not get them correct, so left them alone.  I used Alclad II Alclad for this build, and I think if I were to do another, I would start with their Polished Aluminum, and tone it down a bit.  Also, I would this the undercarriage door a bit...

 

Finally, for those who may not know, there was never an XP-47 nor an XP-47A built, so this IS the prototype JUG. 

 

I hope that someone out there will use this thread as guidance, and build an even better one for us to see.  I kept waiting on all you guys, and no one did the dirty deed, so I done it myself!

 

A few more pics over on RFI       HERE

 

Ed

Edited October 11, 2020 by TheRealMrEd
added RFI link

[Planebuilder62]

Great build Mr Ed.

 

What shade of Alclad did you use before the clear kote went on?
 

regards Toby

[TheRealMrEd]

Thanks Toby,

 

It was Alclad II AC119 Airframe Aluminum.

 

Ed

[busnproplinerfan]

Just caught this now, she looks good and your dirty deed was dirt cheap. I may have missed it but why does it sit higher than the D model next to it?

[TheRealMrEd]

1 hour ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Just caught this now, she looks good and your dirty deed was dirt cheap. I may have missed it but why does it sit higher than the D model next to it?

Because I should have shortened the main gear legs and the doors about 1/8" (3mm)...

 

Ed

[busnproplinerfan]

Ok, was just reading that. I have the revell kits so I should be ok. Thanks.

[TheRealMrEd]

Just in case anyone else tries to build this, I added a note to the post earlier about how to make the window area behind the cockpit, to hopefully make the process more accessible to everyone, than my casting process was...

 

Ed