Trumpeter 1/32 P-47D Razorback "Eileen"

[Thunnus]

Another potential trouble spot that was pointed out to me was the tight fit of the landing gear legs into the wheel wells.  The fit is indeed super tight so I sanded the square pegs down to allow an easier fit.

 

 

The bottom wings also have some separate panels that need to be installed.  

 

 

Like the topside, I added a few shims and strips of stretched sprue to get the panel level with the wing surface and increase the glue area.

 

 

I went ahead and fused this one into place with Tamiya Extra Thin cement.  Fit, after the shim and sprue treatment was very good with a positive glue bond all around the circumference of the panel.

 

 

Jumping over to the engine briefly... I have a question for P-47 experts.  Here is the kit engine's gear reduction housing, magneto in the middle and two "turtleback" distributors on either side of the magneto.  Are the distributors correct for an early Razorback?  Sources say that Eileen was a P-47D-11-RE.

 

 

I've read a message board discussion about the Razorback and it was stated that the "teardrop" distributors were appropriate for P-47's prior to the D-20. If that is the case, I have a spare set of "teardrop" distributors from Vector that I could use.

 

[Juggernut]

Quote

Are the distributors correct for an early Razorback?  Sources say that Eileen was a P-47D-11-RE.

 

According to my "bible", the P-47D-11 (RE and RA) was equipped with the  R-2800-63 engine (White, p. 394).  This was a B series engine with a Scintilla magneto system (White, p. 280).  In short, you'll want to use the  teardrop shaped distributors and leave the center mounted dual magneto on.  The turtleback magnetos you will discard to the spares box (if you keep spares) belong on R-2800-59 engines used on bubbletop P-47D's (and certain razorbacks).  The bullet shaped prop reduction gearcase is correct for any B series R-2800 engine.

 

Here's a side photo of the R-2800-63 engine.  It's slightly out of focus on the left side because it's a scan from my "bible" (see reference below).  Notice it has a tubular ignition harness, not the cast one (in case the kit comes with both).

 

 

REFERENCE:

 

Graham,W. (2001). R-2800, pratt & whitney's dependable masterpiece, SAE Publishing, PA.  (pp. 280, 281, 394)

Edited November 23, 2022 by Juggernut
corrected spelling errors

[Thunnus]

Thank you very much! I'll use the tear drop distributors then!

 

There's lots of stuff to work on before I get to the cockpit so I'm just going to forge ahead instead of twiddling my thumbs and waiting for packages to arrive.  There are two additional panels that need to be installed on the wing bottoms. I've glued these in.  I'm holding off one the gun/ammo covers on the upper wings just in case I need to access that area to line up the gun barrels.

 

 

There are a couple of questions about this kit that I wanted to start investigating.  One of them is the internal supercharger ducting.  Trumpeter includes this even though it is very nearly invisible when complete with no provisions for open panel.

 

 

At a minimum, I think I need to install the two wing spar parts. These will ensure the correct dihedral for the wings and the rear spar acts as the rear wall for the landing gear wells.

 

 

There are tabs on the fuselage interior that appear to correspond to the cockpit bottom... I"ll verify that later.

 

 

The fuselage halves fit together pretty well with just the spars in place.

 

 

And the wings slide into place very well with support and alignment from the spars.

 

 

You can see that the overhang of the wing bottom over the wheel wells might make detailing/painting a challenge.

 

[Thunnus]

The other question I have is the engine.  The instructions show the engine to be connected to the bottom of the engine firewall via the exhaust ducting! Sounds very flimsy to me. The only way to explore this is to start assembling the engine, which I am ready to do.  The two cylinder head banks are glued together first.  The fronts are plain, missing the connection for the ignition wiring in the center of each cylinder head.

 

 

The backs have holes for the waste ducting.

 

 

A problem surfaced right away trying to fit the waste ducts onto the back of the rear cylinder... it would not seat all the way.

 

 

The locating tabs did not align with the open slots.

 

 

It would've been easier just to cut the tabs off but for whatever reason, I chose to enlarge the slots.

 

 

Problem solved, I assembled the two-part exhaust ducts and placed them onto the engine while the glue was still soft. Those two half-moon tabs at the ends are what is supposed to hold the engine in place!

 

 

I let the glue dry with the ducts in the correct position.  After the glue dries, the exhaust ducts can be removed to deal with the nasty seam.

 

[dennismcc]

Great insights into the kit which will be very handy for my build, I have read that a lot of the internel detail can be left out.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[John Stambaugh]

On my razorback build I elected to assemble all the ductwork. I did have trouble getting the fuselage to come together. It may very well been sloppy assembly on my part but forewarned is forearmed. Make sure everything goes together tightly. 

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys! The issues that are popping up are what I consider fairly minor and I actually enjoy fixing these little issues.  Nothing too tedious... yet.

 

Cobbling the engine components continues.  Since the cylinder heads need an ignition wire connection, I thought I'd use these 1/32 spark plug connections from ANYZ.

 

 

I'm only using these on the front row since the back row will be almost invisible from the front.  In fact, the little pieces of brass tubing that I placed onto the back row cylinders have since been pulled out because of interference from the central baffle plate that is located between the two rows.

 

 

Along with the tear drop distributors, I also have a spare ignition harness.  Notice the different spacing on the spare (left).

 

 

Here is a dry fit of most of the engine components.  The rear semi-circular frame was too flimsy to dry-fit.

 

 

This is back of the engine but it cannot be seen once mounted.

 

 

That front frame and encircles the engine fits flush into the front of the engine cowling.  Because of its shape, correct orientation of the engine is maintained, giving another positive mounting point for the engine. However, at least during this stage of dry-fitting, the only thing connecting the engine/cowling to the fuselage are those two exhaust duct tabs.

 

[Thunnus]

Thanks Maru!

 

Before I move over to the cockpit, I wanted to check those mid-fuselage vents to see how the supercharger assembly affects the view into the opening.  As you can see, the opening just drops off into the fuselage interior and ideally, should be blanked off to block this view.

 

 

The supercharger assembly includes ducting from those vents as separate pieces.

 

 

Installing these without the rest of the supercharger ducting looks like the best way to block this area off from view.

 

 

Ok, let's move to the cockpit for a looksee.  The Eduard PE interior set FINALLY came, along with some Airscale cockpit placards and stencils, which I hope will come in handy.

 

 

There are two frets supplied: one in color including the instrument panel, circuit panel and throttle quadrant faces. The unpainted fret has a host of other details including a seat, rear armor panel and overlays for the canopy cut-out section behind the headrest. As always, the components of the PE set will be analyzed before using.  Tiny fiddly details that will be hidden from view may not be used, like details at the base of the seat frame.  The instrument panel looks nice but I have a Yahu panel coming in.  I'll probably assemble the Eduard IP as a comparison to the Yahu.

 

 

I wanted to check to see if the cockpit would be held into place without the supercharger structure.  A good-fitting four-wall tub structure makes dry-fitting very easy.

 

 

Two pegs on each fuselage side supports the cockpit.  So the supercharger installation is not necessary to install the cockpit.

 

 

While I was at it, I added some of the other cockpit parts.  Overall, I judge the cockpit on this kit to be very good. Lots of nicely molded, 3D-relief in the form of boxes and panels.  For example, the large circuit panel on the port side has really nice knob and switch details.  The Eduard part adds color and fine markings that I could not achieve with paint but will lose the 3D effect.

 

 

The seat looks like a nice upgrade without any drawbacks.  It is thinner and has some added detail that the kit seat lacks.

 

[John Stambaugh]

Hey John, looking good. 

May I recommend replacing the dinner plate size gunsight with one from Quickboost? The P.E. set you have includes the frame to mount it. 

Also Master models guns supplies the ring and bead sight for the D-20.

 Happy modeling. 

[Thunnus]

On 11/27/2022 at 5:29 AM, John Stambaugh said:

Hey John, looking good. 

May I recommend replacing the dinner plate size gunsight with one from Quickboost? The P.E. set you have includes the frame to mount it. 

Also Master models guns supplies the ring and bead sight for the D-20.

 Happy modeling. 

 

Thanks John!  I have a spare Type II gun sight that I can use... see below!

 

A little more work on the P-47 to report.  In preparation of adding some of the Eduard photoetch, the raised details on the cockpit floor need to be cut off. The box, I believe, is the fuel selector and the other is some sort of lever with an actuating rod/wire running to the back of the cockpit.

 

 

The fuel selector looks like it is mounted on the side of the circuit panel.

 

 

So I scratched something up using brass sheet and a section of plastic tubing.

 

 

The cut areas are covered with PE pieces.  The lever is also from the PE set but I've not yet fabricated the actuating rod/wire.

 

 

I like the detail of Eduard's version of the rear cockpit bulkhead. But the headrest on a spacer arrangement doesn't seem to line up with the photos I've been looking at.

 

 

So I decided to use the Eduard bulkhead without the headrest portion.

 

 

Next, I folded up the gun sight mount.  It's actually upside down in the photo!

 

 

Instead of the kit part, I used a spare Type II RAF gunsight from Barracuda.

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by Thunnus

[Greif8]

Looking fantastic as always John.  I learn something from every one of your builds.

 

Ernest

[Woody V]

Outstanding work happening here with clear photos, something that I really appreciate.
I'm bookmarking this build for future reference.

[Troy Molitor]

Great start.   You're spoiling us once again.  

[D.B. Andrus]

5 hours ago, Woody V said:

Outstanding work happening here with clear photos, something that I really appreciate.
I'm bookmarking this build for future reference.

 

+1

[John Stambaugh]

Am really looking forward to this build. Must say that although happy with my rendition of this model, it will no doubt compare as sophomoric to what we will see here.