dennismcc

Looking good Mike, I can see the point of the stripped down approach as I did not finish one project last year which is terrible given that modelling is my main hobby. Must try harder this year. Cheers Dennis

Wow that was fast, thank you for looking over it for me, it might not be the most accurate build ever but I like to get as much right as possible. Cheers Dennis

Looking in my display cabinets there is a distinct lack of US subjects so for my next build I will tackle the Trumpeter P47 Razorback. I am not a great expert on P47 Thunderbolts (or anything else) so before setting out on this build, I started looking at other people’s builds and gleaning information from these and other posts on modelling websites. Particular thanks go to Dana Bell, Modeldad, Juggernut and the epic Thunnus build thread on this site, though my build will not be in the same league as that one. So, if you spot anything really silly in my “Master Plan” please let me know. The Kit has an option for 42-75242 which is what I shall build it as, these are some notes which I have made: No DF loop on this aircraft. 42-75242 is an aircraft in the range 42-75215 to 75614 which makes it a Republic P-47D-11-RE Thunderbolt. Engine should be a R-2800-63 so the Trumpeter ignition system is wrong, flat teardrop shaped distributors are required and leave the centre mounted dual magneto on. The propellor was a Curtiss Electric type 12ft 2 inch in Diameter Shackles for a belly tank or a 500-pound bomb were added to P-47D-5-RE (D-11-RA) and later blocks. Kit subject had a Corrugated floor. Painting, The interior of the cowling was not painted. The aluminium was anodized however. The result is a light grey or a dark, dull aluminium colour. But Republic seems to have used yellow primer more often than not Cockpit colour, Dull Dark Green Interior surfaces of the wing, including landing gear doors, wheel wells and fairing were finished in zinc chromate primer (yellow). Wing flaps interior was the exterior finish (OD or NMF) Inside of cowl flaps. Same colour as the exterior OD or NMF. Gear legs Early OD 41 later Alum Lacquer. I found B&W photos of the aircraft with what appears to be a yellow cowl and rudder, aftermarket decals Illustrations also show this. However, I also found a photo that showed a red cowl and yellow rudder, so presumably the yellow cowl was either a short-lived or a later colour. Engine casing FS16081 The fuselage area under “glass” behind the cockpit was OD. Camouflaged aircraft: Top Surfaces - Dark Olive Drab 41 Lower Surfaces - Neutral Gray 43 All comments welcome Cheers Dennis

Looks superb to my Luftwaffe ignorant eyes, as other have said the ZM kits look ever so daunting but you have made a fine job of it. Must try one one day. Cheers Dennis

Motoring along now Mike, most impressive. Cheers Dennis

Likes it, very neat and very realistic. Cheers Dennis

That really is starting to look the part, nice one. Cheers Dennis

Fantastic footage, they should really have played this to Japanese and Germans spies, it would have frightened them to death. Thank you for posting it. Cheers Dennis

Looking great and you are so right, painted on markings are the way to go. Cheers Dennis

This is impressing me more and more, one day I will get round to building mine. Cheers Dennis

Phew, got away with that one, I was nearly pulling what's left of my hair out when I saw the mess I had made of the paint. Like the other thread on modelling says, I will sit at my desk and hours will pass away peacefully, and hopefully at the end I will have something that pleases me to look at. And these will help somewhat. Cheers Dennis

Looks good. Cheers Dennis

Thank you very kindly Troy, just got some domestic chores to do and will then start on the satin finish. I think that I still have the resin IP from mine if you need it. Cheers Dennis

That is really shaping up nicely, it will really come to life with the rest of the markings. Cheers Dennis

No, No and No again, rigging is not for me but yours looks great, well done. Cheers Dennis

It must have taken a lot of patience to get those decals to snuggle down like that, they look great. Cheers Dennis

Thanks Max, I do have a thing for PCM kits which is lucky as I have a few of them, this one is getting into the satin finish range now, so it could be time to start on the C200, but I will back that up with a Trumpeter P47 Razor as some kind of pressure relief ! Cheers Dennis

More finishing touches and another mistake. This is the exhausts all ready to go just a bit of graphite (pencil lead) to make them look more metalic. And of course I test fitted the exhausts to the boxes that I had installed in the fuselage halves to allow me to fit the exhausts after completing the build, but sadly I did this without fitting the side plates, so when I tried to fit them into the fuselage openings they would not fit. You can see the blanked off exhaust cut aways in the photo below. So I had to trim the fuselage openings, to allow me to fit the exhausts with the plates fitted. This went well but along the way there was some damage to the paintwork which needed repairing, most annoying. Here are the exhausts ready to fit. And fitted And more prep work on the undercarriage, I copied Alan's build and fitted pegs to the undercarriage doors to hopefully get a more positive fit. More soon Cheers Dennis

Thanks Kev Cheers Dennis

What a great subject to build, should look amazing. Cheers Dennis

Since a 5 to 6 year old Dennis saw an Airfix Lancaster and Spitfire at his uncle's house I have been fascinated by plastic models, having a Woolworths within a 5 minute walk from my junior school fed this fascination. I find that modelling for me falls into several catagories, the hunt for that elusive kit, decals, paints AM etc, the research into the history of a particular machine that is being modelled and the absolute satisfaction (or relief) of seeing the end result, no matter how sub standard it is. At least you learn from mistakes. As Chris has said I can also sit down at my modelling desk and hours will pass by without me noticing, unfortunatetly getting to sit at my desk these days is a rare event, must put my foot down and not try to do everything for everyone. Cheers Dennis

Thanks Michael, PCM kits are challenging but they made kits of some very interesting subjects, including this one. Cheers Dennis

Yes please Mike, I will be starting mine soon. Cheers Dennis

Looks very good to me, and subtle, as it should be. Cheers Dennis

Thanks Mike, I am getting to like it more and more, it's a fine looking subject and I can't wait to see it finished. Cheers Dennis