Thunderbolts, Old and New -- TRIPLE Build!

[billn53]

Having just completed my most recent build, Revell's 1/72 Razor Crest, to which I added internal & external lighting

 

 

 

(RFI link here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235114175-yet-another-razor-crest-this-one-with-lights/ )

 

it was time to tidy up my workbench and start my next project.

 

 

 

My favorite WW2 aircraft is Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt, and I have collected quite a few "Jug"-related items in my stash! Here is a sampling:

 

 

 

My main goal for this project is to build Tamiya's 1/48 P-47D "Razorback", representing ace Robert S. Johnson's aircraft "Lucky".

 

   

 

To complicate my task, I will be adding a motorized prop & sounds, using a kit from Magic Scale Modeling, plus lighting using leftover LEDs and fiber-optics from my Razor Crest build:

 

    

 

I still have a couple of items I'll need before I can start the Tamiya kit (believe it or not), so while waiting for those to arrive, I'll be building Monogram's venerable P-47 kit (originally issued in 1967):

 

 

 

I first built the Monogram Jug as a teenager, just a few years after it had been released. My recollection is that it was a great kit, exceptionally detailed (for its time) and without any major faults. Of course, back then I wasn't an experienced modeler and my standards now are higher. Let's see if this kit lives up to my memories!

 

Since I'm building the Tamiya razorback as "Lucky", I decided to build the Monogram bubbletop as the the aircraft of Johnson's squadron-mate, Francis Gabreski.

 

    

 

For markings, I'll be using decals from TechMod:

 

 

 

First thing I noticed on opening the box are the raised panel lines (not to mention the copyright notice and ejection marks under the horizontal stab!)

 

 

 

I sanded down and re-scribed the kit's panel lines -- not my favorite modeling task, by far!

 

A closer inspection revealed that the trailing edges of the wings, elevators, and rudder are much too thick:

 

   

 

Some sanding, and careful use of a scraper, greatly improved that situation.

 

The kit includes bomb pylons molded into the lower wing pieces. Photos show that these were not mounted on Gabreski's plane, so away they went!

 

 

 

I filled the resulting holes with scrap plastic, and back-filled with sprue gloop:

 

    

 

The underside of Gabreski's P-47 was natural metal, so the area where I filled in the wing will need to be flawless. I took this opportunity to try out a couple of (new to me) products. First up: dental acrylic repair material:

 

 

 

I mixed up a small amount and applied it to a scrap wing piece (stolen from the crappy, Testors/Hawk P-47 kit):

 

 

 

I found the dental filler, after drying, is very hard and difficult to sand. 

 

I had much better results with my second option, UV-activated resin:

 

 

 

The resin flowed easily into the gaps around my repair and was self-leveling. It was also easy to sand. After a couple of applications, the area felt totally smooth to my touch.

 

 

 

Continuing to work on the wings, I cut off the kit's molded-in gun barrels and drilled holes for a set of Model Master brass barrels. To facilitate adding the barrels later in my build, I added styrene backstops inside the wing. These were spaced to give the correct length of barrel forward of the wing leading edge:

 

    

 

That done, it was time to glue the wings together:

 

 

 

A bit of putty and sanding was needed along the join seam, followed by an airbrushed coat of Mr Surfacer 1000 (thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner):

 

 

 

My final wing-related task was to cut notches for the wingtip navigation lights:

 

 

 

That about wraps up my progress so far!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[opus999]

Lot's of progress pretty quickly!  I'm also a big fan of the Jug.  Strangely, I've only made one model of it in my life, and one of the few that is no longer around (in high school, I thought I'd re-build it and plunked it in paint thinner to remove the paint.  Paint didn't come off, but large chunks of plastic sure did!).

 

I've recently experimented with UV activated resin, and found that it doesn't adhere. I was able to sand the resin on my test piece to a beautiful finish, but when I tried to scribe a line across it with a razor saw, the teeth caught the cured resin and pulled it right out of the panel line.  I fear masking could present a similar result, but I haven't tested it yet.  A coat of primer might  help prevent this, but maybe not entirely, so be careful!

[billn53]

37 minutes ago, opus999 said:

 

I've recently experimented with UV activated resin, and found that it doesn't adhere. I was able to sand the resin on my test piece to a beautiful finish, but when I tried to scribe a line across it with a razor saw, the teeth caught the cured resin and pulled it right out of the panel line.  I fear masking could present a similar result, but I haven't tested it yet.  A coat of primer might  help prevent this, but maybe not entirely, so be careful!

Hmmm…. I was able to scribe over mine, no problem. 🤔

[opus999]

1 minute ago, billn53 said:

Hmmm…. I was able to scribe over mine, no problem. 🤔

I'm just lucky I guess.  Guess I should do some more experimenting.

[Marklo]

Great build. I just finished a build of the Monogram kit for the GB and I have to say I’ve warmed to the type considerably. I can’t put my finger in it but there’s a certain look to it that very few other fighters have. Might even consider adding a razorback to the collection to keep it company.

[billn53]

1 minute ago, Marklo said:

Great build. I just finished a build of the Monogram kit for the GB and I have to say I’ve warmed to the type considerably. I can’t put my finger in it but there’s a certain look to it that very few other fighters have. Might even consider adding a razorback to the collection to keep it company.

 

I checked out your GB build when I first decided to build my Monogram jug. Very nice! 

 

Long ago, I read Robert Johnson's book "Thunderbolt" and became hooked on the type (especially the razorback).

[billn53]

It's a rainy Saturday here in Wisconsin -- perfect weather for modeling!

 

I got the wingtip navigation lights done in just an hour of work. For those of you who haven't seen the technique before, here's a quick tutorial:

 

First, I cut pieces of clear acrylic to fit the notches I previously made in the wingtips. I then drilled shallow holes in one face of the acrylic, where the light bulbs would be. I filled the holes with transparent paint of the appropriate color (red for the left wing, blue for the other -- Yes, I know the starboard light is supposed to be green, but that refers to the color of the emitted light. Oftentimes, you will see that the bulb is actually blue when the light is off). I glued the acrylic pieces into the notches with medium, gap-filling CA:

 

 

Using course and medium sanding sticks, I sanded the acrylic roughly into shape:

 

 

I refined the shape with a fine sanding stick, then polished the acrylic with Tamiya polishing paste:

 

 

And Bob's your uncle!

[jackroadkill]

I love jugs, and will be watching on to see these ones progressing.  I'm intrigued by the UV resin - do you just shine a UV torch at it and then you're off to the races or is it a more protracted affair?

[billn53]

Just shine & go!

But the stuff is pretty thin, so good for small cracks & seams only

 

Although (on second thought), you might be able to mix it with a binder, such as the dental repair acrylic I tried earlier, to create a thicker paste.

[billn53]

A bit more work done on the Monogram jug's wing lights . . .

 

The P-47 had an 8-inch retractable landing light just aft of the port-side landing gear (this was moved outboard, near the wingtip, in later variants). Also, near the starboard wingtip, there were three smaller, colored recognition lights:

 

Landing light:

 

 

Recognition lights:

 

(Note that in the above photo, the recognition lights are in the wrong order. It should be Red-Green-Amber, not Green-Red-Amber as shown.  A good example of how photos of museum and restoration aircraft are not always authoritative sources for scale modeling!)

 

On the Monogram kit, the above lights are represented by raised circles at the appropriate locations. Let's see if we can do better than that!

 

First, I drilled out holes for the landing light and recognition lights. (My holes for the recognition lights were more like deep depressions, than actual holes. But, my hole for the landing light went clear through the lower wing.)

 

 

 

Instead of holes, what I really wanted were dish-shaped depressions. My recognition lights were close as-is, but the landing light needed a solution. First, I cut a length of aluminum tubing to fit in the landing light hole:

 

 

 

I filled the bottom part of the tube with a piece of wood dowel. Next, I mixed up a small batch of Apoxie Sculpt (similar to Milliput), inserted it in the top of the tube, and formed a dish-shaped depression using a wetted nail dotter. I did the same for the recognition lights, 

 

 

 

Once the Apoxie Sculpt is fully set up, I'll gloss-coat the surface to get a smooth finish, then apply a chrome paint. For lenses, I plan to use UV-activated clear acrylic (painted with transparent red/green/amber colors for the recognition lights).

 

As an aside, the Tamiya kit provides a dish-shaped insert for the landing light, but its recognition lights are represented similarly to Monogram's. If I'm happy with how my lights work out for the Monogram jug, I'll do the same with the Tamiya kit.

[billn53]

Slight change of plan . . . instead of painting chrome in the lights, I glued punched-out disks of Bare Metal foil and formed them to shape with my nail dotter tool:

 

 

 

I then used clear, UV-activated acrylic to simulate the lenses for the lights, and (for the recognition lights) painted transparent red, green and orange (amber):

 

 

 

 

Right now, I'm thinking the red and green are a little too bright, and may try darkening them with Tamiya smoke.

 

Lasts item for now: Monogram molded trim tabs on both the left and right ailerons. The P-47 only had aileron trim on the left wing, so I filled-in the errant tab with thin styrene rod:

 

 

 

Once the glue is dry, I'll sand down the excess styrene rod and blend it in with a bit of Mr Surfacer 1000.

 

 

[mark.au]

Some nice detail work happening here Bill, good stuff.

[elger]

I loved that old Monogram P-47. Nice to see one built!

[billn53]

Fall semester at my university begins tomorrow, and I'm signed up for three classes, so progress is going to slow down from here on out (not to mention that I will be traveling for business next week). Here is what I've accomplished since my last update:

 

I extended the intercooler vents inside the fuselage, otherwise a gaping hole would be visible from outside:

 

 

And, because I had a spare set of PE, I added more internals to the vents:

 

 

Not that the photoetch will make much difference, because little is visible from outside:

 

 

 

I next opened up a few other vents on the fuselage. The kit only has flat surfaces where the vent openings should be. I recall painting these black to simulate the openings when I built this kit decades ago. Here are a pair of vents behind the cowling, associated with the oil cooler:

 

 

Another vent just ahead of the tail wheel:

 

 

The area under the housing for the turbosupercharger, and just behind it, is represented with just a flat surface, which has a nasty seam line that would be difficult to fill. I decided to cut away these areas and make a resin duplicate of the Tamiya kit's turbosupercharger:

 

   

 

Now, one can actually see something under the bulge should you actually look!

 

 

 

My second focus area since the last update has been the engine. Here is the kit part (on the right) and my QuickBoost resin replacement:

 

 

Notice in the above photo that the kit engine part includes the "scoops" at the bottom of the cowling. Once I confirmed the resin engine fits in the cowling (some fettling was required), I cut away the scoops and glued them in position. I also cut away the blank surfaces at the rear of the scoops and extended the scoop structure deeper into the cowling.

 

   

 

As an aside, although everything else on the Monogram kit has raised panel lines, the cowling has only scribed panel lines & details. Curious!

 

 

Here is how the replacement engine looks as test-fitted into the cowling. Can't see much beyond the first row of cylinders, right? With the big prop in place, even less of the engine is visible!

 

 

 

But, that didn't stop me from detailing the replacement engine with pushrods and electrical wiring!

 

 

I did draw a line, however, by not detailing the rear row of cylinders!

 

That's all for now. The next update will be posted when I have something more to show.

 

 

[stevehnz]

Nice going with this Bill, a couple of attractive subjects which I'm fully confident will look awesome when they're done. I'll hang around for I bit I think.

Steve.

[billn53]

5 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

I'll hang around for I bit I think.

 

Thanks, Steve! I’ve saved a table for you, away from the kitchen and with a good view. 

[stevehnz]

24 minutes ago, billn53 said:

away from the kitchen

Sounds like someones been telling tales on me.   

Steve.

[Markh-75]

Following this with interest! The mighty P-47 is one of my favourite aircraft! I have a Revell P-47N to build my self (in gentlemanly 1/72 though), and trying to figure out exactly wot colour will be interesting as it says its made from a percentage of two colours! Why not just make the right colours? (mumble mumble). I havent yet started it because I can't seem to find the correct colour; one day I'll suss it!

 

Great work so far!

[billn53]

A little more work accomplished today, focusing on the attachment for the centerline fuel tank. Here is how the actual attachment appears:

 

 

Monogram's designers were lazy -- their attachment consisted of two flat plates designed to create as much drag as possible. Imagine the space between the each pair of mounts in the above picture was filled in. That's what the kit looks like. I could have completely scratch built a new attachment mechanism, but I can be lazy, too! Here's what I did instead:

 

 

 

With a little cleanup, it should do the job (especially considering it is wedged between the fuel tank and the Jug's belly, not an easy place to see). I also had to fill in the center of the mounting slots on the fuel tank itself:

 

 

 

Now for the part of this build I've been delaying since the beginning: the cockpit. The Monogram cockpit is a simple, three piece affair consisting of the cockpit tub (including seat), instrument panel, and joystick. The detailing, although much better than its' contemporary kits, suffers by today's standards. Here are some examples:

 

Sidewall detailing is soft and not entirely accurate:

 

Port side:

 

 

Starboard side:

 

 

The seat is much too wide:

 

 

While the instrument panel is much too narrow:

 

If I had no other choice, I'd swallow my pride and go with the kit's cockpit. (Adding a pilot would help hide the cockpit's shortfalls). Fortunately, I found a replacement cockpit on eBay that, according to Detail & Scale, fits the Monogram P-47. The auction ended this evening, and I had won with my initial bid!

 

 

The replacement cockpit should arrive early next week. Unfortunately, I'll be in Arizona for business, so it won't be until the following weekend until I can make use of it ☹️

 

Today was the first day of my university's fall semester. I'm taking three classes (calculus, physics, and astronomy) so that will limit my available bench time. Not to mention occasional business trips! What does one do when personal commitments get in the way of modeling? Why, start another build, of course!

 

When my gf saw that I was building this kit:

 

 

 

she said, "Ohhh! A turtle! I love it!!! You're going to build it like that, right?"

 

I patiently explained that no, I'm building Francis Gabreski's aircraft and have already bought decals for it. She then put on that "pouty" look that only disappointed women can do. So, damned if I do and damned if I don't, I went to the web and purchased these:

 

 

 

 

 

So, this project has now officially become a Triple Build!

 

Wish me luck!

[stevehnz]

2 hours ago, billn53 said:

She then put on that "pouty" look that only disappointed women can do.

No Idea what you're talking about, Yeah right! 

Three for the price of two, its a bargain, from my end anyway.  

Steve.

[Markh-75]

Its a wonder they were able to take off at all with that big ole tank under there! 

Depending on the model, I have sometimes cut existing mounts off and found centre points to drill, I'd them fit the item with short lengths of metal pin instead

Fantastic work there! 

[billn53]

3 hours ago, Markh-75 said:

 

Depending on the model, I have sometimes cut existing mounts off and found centre points to drill, I'd them fit the item with short lengths of metal pin instead.
 

That was my “not lazy” plan. 😆

[Serkan Sen]

Very impressive project with an incredible build speed Bill. I have learned here some new techniques as well. Thanks!

Serkan

[billn53]

3 minutes ago, Serkan Sen said:

Very impressive project with an incredible build speed Bill. I have learned here some new techniques as well. Thanks!

Serkan

My apologies, Serkan. I had promised to give you a heads up when I started a new build. 😉

[Serkan Sen]

1 hour ago, billn53 said:

My apologies, Serkan. I had promised to give you a heads up when I started a new build. 😉

Actually I have already enabled automatic notification for the new topic of the members I follow but it doesn't seem to work!..