Jump to content

Over-paid & over here - 453rd Museum P-38 Lightning; a build for recovery


Recommended Posts

Incredible patience on those rivet matrices Crisp, but then I remember similar quality back  on your Sea King. A particular pleasure of course to watch somebody excelling so at a disciplined technique that I just know I'd be rubbish at myself.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Started work on the superchargers - 5 shades of Alclad so far:

51142843003_379bc8a183_b.jpg


And this is all now glued, including the rudders:

51142843038_bc23501fd9_b.jpg


You might just be able to see the two housings for the superchargers, by the port tail.  I have diverged slightly from Tamiya instructions to allow me to use Brassin ‘chargers, which are gorgeous.  Tamiya’s engineering is such that if you don’t remove a couple of tabs the chargers themselves have to go in early, which presents a masking challenge I’m not prepared to take on!

 

 

  • Like 16
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another picture of a supercharger; the last one didn’t really show the shades of Alclad very well.

51142903791_6c69f3714b_b.jpg


(Actually, I think strictly these should be called turbochargers, though I am somewhat hazy about the difference!)

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bravo on the rivets. I used HGW on my Lanc build, just the lines. You can see them, just. I much preferred the look of the ones I used on the hind. These look like a mix between the two. Brilliant stuff . 👏👏👏👏

 

Johnny

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

10 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Actually, I think strictly these should be called turbochargers, though I am somewhat hazy about the difference!

 

I thought about displaying some recently (as in circa. 30 seconds ago) acquired wikipedia knowledge.......but then realised that to do so would be to fall into a cunningly set Crispin trap. 

 

So my official position is that I am somewhat hazy about the difference too :D

 

But whatever they are, they are splendid in their Alcladness.

 

 

Edited by Fritag
  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The "chargers" look great!

Technically the difference is that turbo chargers run off exhaust gasses and superchargers are run direct from the engine crankshaft. (allegedly, since we have a legal eagle here!)

 

But I'm sure there are exceptions out there!

 

Ian

  • Like 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, let's call them turbosuperchargers and be done with it :D - at any rate, Crisp paint job made them stand out :clap: And I do appreciate the change of background for the last pic, to better show the various shades :thumbsup:

 

Ciao

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice, er…

I was, like Ian, going to 'show my knowledge*' but then our legal eagle warned of a trap…

So I'll follow Stew.

 

Nice superturbocharger Crisp! :)

 

* Gleaned from being aged and having cars with bits on.

Superchargers are better I think as they're driven from the crankshaft and there's no lag when you put your toe down. Jaguar 'S' models have this and they're maniacal.

Turbos get hot and there's a lag while they spool up.

When I had my meno-porsche, actually an Alpine A510, the mechanic warned me not to put my hand under the sill in front of the nearside rear wheel. That's where the McPherson turbo vented (or was it a Garret?) and, he said, it would cook your fingers off!

He also told me to sit in the car for a couple of minutes before turning off to allow the turbo to cool down.

Those were the days…

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As someone who recently acquired an Audi S1 (we reckoned we still had one more fun car in us while the price / range of the electric jobs evolves to realistic levels...), I can relate to the heat thing.  Definitely turbo in our beast.  
 

To be honest, I’d say I can live with the lag.  I’m a 61-year-old school bursar, not Ayrton Senna.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

To be honest, I’d say I can live with the lag.  I’m a 61-year-old school bursar, not Ayrton Senna

 

I think the lag might help my not-far-off 60 year old brain compose itself a little before lift-off.  Even when I was young and had a decent reaction time I managed to roll my 205GTI into a ditch.  I think I’d be all-for a bit of turbo-lag in an Audi S1.

  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry for continuing on the thread drift, Crisp - I remember driving for a short trip a Lancia Thema Turbo 16V back then (early 90's, I believe). That was  some turbo lag (there was an interesting statistic at the time about how many collisions were caused by the abrupt and unexpected thrust of the turbo making his job, causing the Thema to bump in the rear of the preceding car!) Modern turbo are for babies, compared to that (well, some of them :D )

 

OT off, back to build :) 

 

Ciao

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think (heading above warnings) 'turbosupercharger' was the WWII USAAF term for a supercharger driven by an exhaust fed turbine (today 'turbo' or 'turbocharger' is the term), while a 'supercharger' was driven directly from the engine (as Ced has said, uh explained). A supercharger is more responsive but not as efficient, as it's a parasite on the engine. Turbosuperchargers (or turbochargers in modern parlance) are fed by engine exhaust so the energy they impart is 'free' (well, not going to be of use anyway). Turbochargers also have the advantage of still providing the same power at high altitude, while a supercharger drops off as its engine loses power due to the thinner air. Seeing as how providing power at higher altitudes was one of the main objectives of supercharging (turbo or otherwise), the advantage up high was a point in favor of turbos, and helps explain why the P-47 was an elephant at low altitudes and puma at high altitudes - all that heavy turbo equipment paid for itself more and more as the air got thinner and thinner.

Although I could almost swear I've seen a diagram showing the first stage compressor driven by the engine and the second stage driven by an exhaust turbine, thus being an actual Turbosupercharger!

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Cookenbacher said:

I think

 

Well, if that isn’t wholly, absolutely and entirely correct, then it jolly well deserves to be - and I immediately adopt and endorse it as my truth! 

  • Haha 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aha, here is a discussion about it that gives a clearer answer than I did above (it even includes the term "in modern parlance", ha!):

 

https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/what-of-the-republic-p-47-turbo-supercharger.54078/

 

Here is a nice diagram:

 

https://forums.mudspike.com/t/p-47-thunderbolt/10174/102

 

I got it mixed up, the first stage compressor is driven by the turbo, and the second stage (called the "internal blower" in the above diagram) is driven by the engine, so the P-47 does indeed have a turbosupercharger - utilizing both forms of compressor driver (turbo and engine). And, just to make it more relevant to this thread, apparently, according to the discussion in the first link, the P-38 had the same arrangement.

 

Sorry for the drift Crisp!

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Minor but important upgrade; I wanted the parts of the wing root that will be exposed (some of...) because of erosion from feet to look more polished, so a swift squirt of Tamiya LP-48 Sparkling Silver.  Hard to tell from this, but it’s much shinier than the Aluminium that surrounds it.

 

I am growing to love these Tamiya lacquers.  Chipping fluid next, & then the fun begins!

51151438294_ce5bb68083_b.jpg

 

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...