Heavy Mod - 1/18 21st Century Toys P-47D Razorback

[Joel_W]

Simply outstanding. the ignition manifold dry fitted looks perfect.  Your R-2800 is a engineering marvel.  Can't wait to see it wired up and finished.

 

Joel

[JayW]

So to continue, as I mentioned before, I had to produce the 9 remaining inter-ear deflectors for the front row cylinders.  Months ago I did the ones for the aft row cylinders, now it was finally time for the front row.  They are pesky little parts made from thin plastic.  Here are a few of them:

 

 

The trained eye will see these little things on the completed engine, or nearly completed.  Good segway - here is the latest on the R-2800.  It now has all the spark plug wiring, which is a pretty big milestone, and a modelling feature on which radial builds are judged:

 

 

Note the inter-ear deflectors on top of each cylinder head, with spark plug wires protruding from holes in same.  Man - that is a whole lotta little hex nuts!  I cut them (and drilled them) from hex plastic stock; wish there was a better and easier way, but it's better than cutting 6 sides of a nut from sheet stock.

 

Here is a head-on shot:

 

 

Spark plug wires are made from 0.025 inch solder, painted gold.  There are 36 of them.  I am happy enough with the outcome, and they are seen easily when one looks inside the cowling.

 

Take a look at this part - some sort of oil tank for the scavenge oil pump.  Look for it between the lowermost cylinder head ears:

 

 

It occupies a space that normally an inter-ear deflector would.  Note the spark plug line was routed around the side of it.  This is accurate.  An oil line will connect this little tank to the scavenge oil pump on the chin of the nose case.  I am pretty sure you guys have seen this little signature part for the R-2800.  You'll see it on this one pretty soon.

 

OK - now finally I can tackle the turtleback magneto's.  Take care! 

Edited April 27, 2017 by JayW

[Citadelgrad]

The word i am looking for is "wow".

[Gerhard]

I'm going to run away. Fantastic work!!!

[Jim Barry]

Beautiful Jay, really. I still recall how you crafted the cylinders there and appreciate you continue to keep pushing it. I'm sure many of here agree. "IT LOOKS REAL!" 

[williamj]

  Wow!  Do I ever like that...You're certainly bringing this 1/18 to life.amazing.  

[Joel_W]

Jay,

  Absolutely amazing detail on that R-2800. Those deflectors look fantastic. Way better then the poor copies I made for my F4F-3 build.

 

Joel

[JayW]

Hi folks - last I reported, it was time to make the equipment that is mounted to the nose case of the engine, including the magnetos.  I want it to look like this:

 

 

Actually I want it to look exactly like that, as what you see there is an R-2800 equipped exactly like I want the model equipped, with the GE electrical ignition and prop controls, consistent with a D-30 Thunderbolt.  Some stuff isn't there (the governor, and the prop brush assembly).  That picture is of the "Dottie Mae" restoration.  After alot of good hard work, here is what I have:

 

 

 

 

Let's go over this - first the "turtleback" mag's:

 

 

These parts were simply dremmeled and filed and sanded out of thick plastic, with a bottom half, a top half, and a thin sheet in between.  The risers on either side were also carved from thick plastic.  The risers mount onto the ignition wire harness.  Each has a wiring conduit coming out of the bottom front, going back toward the front row of cylinders to a "4-way" fitting just barely visible in the picture.  

 

Then there is the prop governor, in between the mags: 

 

 

It was made from various pieces of plastic that were very small.  It has a wiring conduit that snakes behind one of the mags, and travels down to the prop control junction box mounted on the lower portion of the nose case.  Later it will receive a little crank arm and some linkage.  That junction box can be seen here:

 

 

 

That box has three wiring conduits.  One, the aforementioned conduit from the prop governor.  Two, a conduit that routes to the prop brush assembly housing which is on the prop shaft, and another hard-to-see conduit that drops into the cylinder area and in real life travels back to a junction box behind the firewall.  As a reminder, the electrically controlled prop governor, the prop control junction box, and the brush assembly plus their wiring are all specific to Curtis Electric propeller equipped aircraft.  The Hamilton Standard equipped aircraft get none of that stuff, and the prop governor is different. 

 

Also two oil lines are present under the nose case:

 

 

You can also see from all these pictures that I added 40 nuts to the periphery of the nose case.  These were cut from a set of nuts and bolt heads from "Meng".  They are not bad at all.

 

So now the engine is wired and plumbed, and the front section is complete.  Big milestone.  Now will be the aft part of the engine - motor mounts and the exhaust manifold.  Stay tuned!  

Edited May 7, 2017 by JayW

[Shaka HI]

Holy smokes! Amazing detail!

 

A model in itself! Even, its "texture" looks just right!

[TorbenD]

Wow!

[Joel_W]

Jay,

 I've seen a lot of super detailed engines over the years, and a good many of them were R-2800s, but yours in a class by itself. Truly amazing detail work. You make it look easy, which is what a true master craftsman can do to us mortals.     

Looking forward to your next update with the rear of the engine completed.

 

Joel

[LSP_Kevin]

Simply amazing, Jay!

 

Kev

[JayW]

 "I've seen a lot of super detailed engines over the years, and a good many of them were R-2800s, but yours in a class by itself."  So says Joel.  Thanks Joel for a super complement.

 

But have those engines been 1/18 scale or nearly so?  It is just amazing what I can do at this scale and not be able to do at smaller scales.  It's like cheating.  I think anyone with basic scratch building skills, ability to study up on the correct configuration, and with some patience can do at least this well.  The scale is the key!  The people that really impress me are the ones who can super detail at small scales.

[brahman104]

It's like cheating. 

 

 

Um no it isn't! I would argue that smaller scales allow you to "creatively blend" a lot of details together, but you can't hide anything at 1/18th! Marvellous work there Jay... I think anyone can build something once, but when you have to do it twice (your mags) or 18 times (cylinders), that's what makes a master truely stand out....

 

Just my opinion..... but go and prove me wrong!

 

Craig

[dodgem37]

That is one hellovan engine.  Great show.

 

'. . . from hex plastic stock; wish there was a better and easier way'

There may be:

http://www.hiroboy.com/Rivets_Nuts_Connectors_etc_--category--149.html

 

https://www.prime-miniatures.co.uk/

 

https://model-motorcars.myshopify.com/collections/small-parts-hardware

 

Sincerely,

Mark

Edited May 8, 2017 by dodgem37