Little Bunny - Italian Front Thunderbolt

[John1]

So, I've got the basic colors in place.  This is in record time (by my standards).   I have to admit, it's somewhat refreshing to build a kit that doesn't take the better part of a year to complete.   

 

I've added additional shading to the base OD, opting for some highlights using lighter / more yellowish shades.    Next up is the "Fresh OD".    In researching this aircraft, it appears that it was previously assigned to the Brazilian AF which did some truly amazing work in Italy.   For some reason, it was then transferred back to the USAAC.  First order of business would have been to paint out the Brazilian national and unit markings.   These include the national colors on the rudder, the national insignia that was added on the upper right wing (minus the "bars" that were part of the original, factory-applied US markings) and the large patches on the fuselage which I'm guess were the location of the unit codes some other large insignia.   

 

In picture below, you can easily see the over-painted rudder, right wing national insignia and the large fuselage patches.  You can also see some darkish color on other areas of both wings.   The Eagle-Cals decals instructions don't catch any of this, simply stating that the aircraft was RAF Green with fuselage overpainted in OD.  Nothing is mentioned about the rudder or wing.  Kinda surprised they missed this, since it's quite apparent in the pictures of this aircraft (for some reason, Little Bunny appeared in a good number of pictures). 

Also in the picture above, I think I see some "Light Fresh OD" (like how I'm making up names for these shades?) on the lower sides of the cowling and on the inboard section of the right wing.  

 

So anyway, I started by adding some additional brownish-yellow highlights to the base paintjob.  Just a few random, lightly applied areas on the upper surfaces to replicate additional weathering of the base OD paint.    Next up was the "Fresh OD", which was applied as referenced above.  This was a mix of Modelmasters OD with some dark brown added.   The pictures show the large patch on the fuselage to be a bit mottled, I did my best to replicate this look.   Note, in these pictures, the cowling is just press-fitted in place.  

 

 

 

 

Next up will be adding a bit of further shading to the rudder (just a couple of darker patches, which I think I can make out in the pics) and then on to the red cowling and yellow ID stripes.    Thanks for looking folks! 

[Jeff T]

Looking good John!

 

Jeff.

[Pete Fleischmann]

Looking great John-

a few years ago, I took the master patterns for my 1/16th scale AT-38 to a plastic fabricator in Kingston NY to have them vac form the fuselage shells for me. I spent a few hours talking to the owner of the shop, who had flown P-47’s in Italy. He told me an amazing story about one mission, where he was strafing a ground target. He got fixated on his target, then realized he was going to hit the ground. He buried the stick in his lap in an aggressive pull up to avoid smacking the dirt. He had one of those “holy sh1t I’m alive” moments, and then looked up- too late to avoid a church steeple! Bam! He hit the church steeple at about 250 knots. Thankfully the church steeple was wood, and he was in a jug. He obliterated the church steeple and flew through it. The amazing thing was his wingman caught the whole thing on his gun camera, and he had a still photo of him hitting the steeple from his wingmans camera hanging on his office wall. He clearly loved telling me that story.

Damn I love fighter pilots.

 

cheers

Pete

[MikeMaben]

13 hours ago, John1 said:

You are correct.   In retrospect, I should have taped up the separate bits and glued the windscreen in place and tack-glued the canopy.    Hopefully the windscreen fits and I don't have to do a lot of sanding / puttying on top of the new paint job. 

 I sorta figured , that was the only reason I could think of , but now you'll have to match the cammo on the framing.

Gonna have to mask it all eventually any way. 

Looking good by the way , 

[John1]

9 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

 I sorta figured , that was the only reason I could think of , but now you'll have to match the cammo on the framing.

Gonna have to mask it all eventually any way. 

Looking good by the way , 

Yep, file under "Seemed like a great idea at the time".    I'm going to test fit the separate windscreen and if it's not a perfect fit, I'll have to bite the bullet, install the windscreen, putty, sand, etc and then repaint.    So much for a time saver....

[John1]

So I popped the one piece canopy and after taping up the separate windscreen and canopy, glued the windscreen in place.   Not the best fit, not sure if it's a kit issue or the MDC resin 'pit is pushing the sides out slightly.  Anyway, took a bit of putty and sanding, followed by repainting.   After all that, it appears that some additional work is required.   That's what I get for not planning this build efficiently.    While I was at it, I shot the cowling nose red.    That's it for this weekend, thanks for looking folks!

 

 

 

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Looking good, John!

 

Kev

[John Stambaugh]

Very nice work so far. Especially like the grimed up wheel wells. As for the file "good idea at the time".. yep I have quite a few those myself. Will be following along. Thanks, John 

10 hours ago, John1 said:

Yep, file under "Seemed like a great idea at the time".    I'm going to test fit the separate windscreen and if it's not a perfect fit, I'll have to bite the bullet, install the windscreen, putty, sand, etc and then repaint.    So much for a time saver....

 

[John1]

23 hours ago, Pete Fleischmann said:

Looking great John-

a few years ago, I took the master patterns for my 1/16th scale AT-38 to a plastic fabricator in Kingston NY to have them vac form the fuselage shells for me. I spent a few hours talking to the owner of the shop, who had flown P-47’s in Italy. He told me an amazing story about one mission, where he was strafing a ground target. He got fixated on his target, then realized he was going to hit the ground. He buried the stick in his lap in an aggressive pull up to avoid smacking the dirt. He had one of those “holy sh1t I’m alive” moments, and then looked up- too late to avoid a church steeple! Bam! He hit the church steeple at about 250 knots. Thankfully the church steeple was wood, and he was in a jug. He obliterated the church steeple and flew through it. The amazing thing was his wingman caught the whole thing on his gun camera, and he had a still photo of him hitting the steeple from his wingmans camera hanging on his office wall. He clearly loved telling me that story.

Damn I love fighter pilots.

 

cheers

Pete

Wow....   I would love to see that picture.   Or at least a shot of his Jug after he landed.    

[MikeMaben]

15 hours ago, John1 said:

                     Yep, file under "Seemed like a great idea at the time".  

 

File ?  I could write a book on my 'great ideas' that turned out to be one step forward two steps back.

 

                                                        

 

Looks good from here John

 

[John1]

Thanks Mike!

 

Still plodding along, did a bit of touchup, added the area that would normally be under the canopy (had a question on the color, the consensus seemed to be it was painted OD for camouflaged Jugs), added the cowling and shot the yellow ID stripes.    Looks like I have a bit of overspray to fix but that won't be a major task. 

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now, thanks for checking in. 

[John1]

Work continues.  Next up is the main landing gear.   Kit parts were decent, not bad, not Tamiya level either.  At least the struts were a single piece so I don't have to deal with cleaning up a seam that runs the length of them.    To the kit landing gear, I added the brake lines, a clamp for them and drilled out the oleo scissor links.   I then shot the struts with AK Real Metal Dark Aluminum.  This stuff is great.  Sprays nice and easy, dries quick and is very tough.  Also has a very realistic matte finish.   

 

Next up were the wheels.   I went with Barracuda's resin ones.   For anyone out there building a P-51, Corsair, Spitfire, Bf-109 or T-Bolt, buy Barracuda wheels!!   Detail is amazing and they are truly a bargain.  So much better than anything in plastic.   Like the landing gear bays, the MLG struts and wheels would get filthy operating from dirt strips in all weather conditions.   The wheels would be coated in brake dust, grime and mud.   Pretty much same for the struts themselves and the insides of the doors.   Here's a great picture by LSP's own Thomaz that illustrates this nicely.   Also note how flattened the tires are from all that weight!   

 

I weathered all these bits with Flory washes and some thinned black.   Please note - I still have much to do here, all the weathering is very much a work in progress.  

 

Here are the wheels and struts:

 

The tire sidewalls aren't that shade of grey, must have been the lighting when I took the pics, it's much darker in real life. 

 

 

And I've got the wheels mounted and struts glued in place.  Once I'm done with the weathering, I'll post a couple more pictures.    

 

 

 

 

Thanks for checking in and for all the great feedback! 

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by John1

[Jeff T]

Looking good John!

 

Jeff.

[Javlin1]

On 8/28/2021 at 9:59 PM, Pete Fleischmann said:

The amazing thing was his wingman caught the whole thing on his gun camera, and he had a still photo of him hitting the steeple from his wingmans camera hanging on his office wall. He clearly loved telling me that story.

Damn I love fighter pilots.

[Javlin1]

Got to say John like your attention to details!