Thunderbolt Mk II in Burma (Hasegawa 1:32) - FINISHED

[MikeC]

I spent a couple of sessions assembling and fitting the HGW seat harness.  The rear of the kit seat isn't quite as HGW have drawn it, but nevertheless the shoulder strap attachment at the back of the seat looks at least plausible - not that it will be seen in great detail when the fuselage is closed up.  The HGW belts are very fiddly, but I think it's worth it, because being fabric they are so much easier than PE belts to drape realistically over the seat.

 

 

But something doesn't look quite right.  I know: fetch the pastel chalks.  A couple of minutes later, this looks more like it.

 

 

Next job will be getting the fuselage together.

[LSP_Kevin]

Nice progress, Mike.

 

Kev

[Alex]

20 hours ago, MikeC said:

 

But something doesn't look quite right.  I know: fetch the pastel chalks.  A couple of minutes later, this looks more like it.

Pastels are an under appreciated resource.  I use them all the time.  Your build is looking great so far (and it’s nice to see a PTO subject)!

[MikeC]

Sorry, a bit slack on updates.  I've made a bit of progress since the last post.  The fuselage went together with no dramas at all, I am really quite impressed with the engineering in this kit.

Then I came to the wings.  The alternative wing panel is only supported part of the way round: call me Mr Cautious, but I added a little bit of thin plastic card to support it internally, checking first that it would not compromise closing the wing halves.

 

 

After a suitable interval to let the wings set, they fitted to the fuselage.  This took a little bit of work to get them to fit, but nothing too drastic.  The main problem was avoiding a "step" at the wing-fuselage joint: a couple of clamps to align the parts did the job.  (And yes, that's Lego, a very handy tool for building custom jigs.)

 

 

In the meantime, the first stage of assembling the engine and its cowlings.

 

 

After this lot dried I refitted the engine mount, added a little bit of filler which was needed at the wing root joints, and made a start on dealing with any seams still needing treatment. 

 

The next job to tackle was masking the canopy.  The HGW seat harness I used also included a canopy mask, which is nice thin vinyl, similar to Oramask 810 or Artool Ultra Mask (in fact may even be one of those two products, I know not).  The set provides internal and external masks, and fitted extremely well.

 

 

 

 

As you see, outlines only are provided for the hood: HGW suggest using liquid mask to fill in, but I used Tamiya tape instead.

 

And here's the interior framing painted:

 

 

Edit: that large drip towards the rear of the canopy is liquid mask, not paint, in case you were wondering (it made me do a "double-take" when I just spotted it).

 

That's it for now, I'll try and remember to take more frequent pics, honest ...

Edited June 12, 2022 by MikeC

[MikeC]

Next job: add the ID and landing lights and mask them ready for painting with the masks provided in the HGW set.  The ID lights are coloured, and ideally are represented by painting with clear paint: however, I find that if I have the right colours, my trusty Sharpies do the job just as well.

 

 

Remember the wheels are an Eduard Brassin set?  The foam that comes in these sets as part of the packaging is ideal for some masking applications such as wheel wells:

 

 

 

 

There's some more tidying-up to do, then it's off to the paint shop.

Edited June 14, 2022 by MikeC

[dodgem37]

Burma Shave!

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[MikeC]

1 hour ago, dodgem37 said:

Burma Shave!

 

Sincerely,

Mark

Had to look that up, being a Brit.  Interesting and amusing.

[John1]

Looking real good!

[MikeC]

I'm afraid updates are going to be a bit sparse over the foreseeable future: real life is getting in the way, and right now I have priorities somewhat higher than this.  I'll post updates as and when I can, but they may be few and far between. 

 

Thanks for all the support and encouragement to date.

[LSP_Kevin]

7 minutes ago, MikeC said:

I'm afraid updates are going to be a bit sparse over the foreseeable future: real life is getting in the way, and right now I have priorities somewhat higher than this.  I'll post updates as and when I can, but they may be few and far between. 

 

Thanks for all the support and encouragement to date.

 

I hope everything's OK, Mike!

 

Kev

[Ayovan]

4 hours ago, MikeC said:

I'm afraid updates are going to be a bit sparse over the foreseeable future: real life is getting in the way, and right now I have priorities somewhat higher than this.  I'll post updates as and when I can, but they may be few and far between. 

 

Thanks for all the support and encouragement to date.

Yeah, i hate when life gets in the way of doing things you like to do..

[MikeC]

Hello again.

 

Real life is still taking priority at the moment, but I have still managed to fit some modelling in.  However, this jumps a bit here and there as I've frankly not been too bothered about taking pics, I just wanted to make some progress.

 

I got the prop done, complete with the decals from the kit: these are probably going to be the only decals on this model.

 

 

I also made a decision on the load.  I still haven't got around to ordering any RAF-type bombs.  However, these aircraft were not used solely for ground support missions: they also carried out bomber escort sorties and long-range interdiction, and for these profiles the fit was a pair of drop tanks.  These were definitely the type supplied in the kit, which saved me a few pennies and allowed me a bit of artistic licence: a few photos I have seen show the tanks fitted, and they are a distinctly different shade from the aircraft undersides.  My interpretation of the photos was that that they may have been natural metal, so to add a little interest, that is what I've done: the fuel filler overflow effect (they flew some long missions) is thinned Tamiya Smoke.

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by MikeC

[MikeC]

Now for the main paint scheme.

 

In an attempt to get the faded look I started with an overall coat of grey (Tamiya XF19), over which I preshaded with a random mottle of XF63 German Grey.

 

 

 

I'm afraid we jump a bit here, so sorry no photos for a while.  First I had to deal with a pesky "ghost seam" that's appeared; then I started with the white ID bands round the wings, tail surfaces (but not elevators and rudder) and cowling leading edge.  The main scheme is Medium Sea Grey underneath, with Dark Earth and Dark Green above, and I used the Mr Hobby Aqueous colours for these.  After applying each one, and trying to let just a little of the pre-shading effect work its magic, I post-shaded each with a lightened (with white) mix of each colour.  Each colour was allowed to dry thoroughly before starting on the next; the division between upper and lower surfaces was masked, the Earth/Green divisions were free-handed.

 

Now for the markings: I started off by applying all the masks: the letters and numbers were white, and I decided to back the roundels and fin flashes with white as well.  Having done the white, I masked off the codes and serials as required and sprayed the lighter blue colour of the national markings: Mr Hobby H25 Sky Blue mixed with white uilr* sufficed for this.

 

 

 

And that's where we are.  Next job is the darker blue.  There will be more to come, but when, I couldn't say.

 

* "uilr" is a paint-mixing formula I frequently use: "Until It Looks Right".

 

[GMK]

Lovely work, Mike. The most attractive scheme carried by the P-47D bubble top, imo. Great job doing it justice. 

[Nighthawk Calling 1]

Looks great in those SEAC colours.