*COMPLETED* Trumpeter 1:32 P-47 Thunderbolt ‘Bubble-top’

[Shoggz]

Cheers Michael!

[Shoggz]

Some good progress tonight. Got the 'tub' pretty much finished.

 

First without control panel:

 

 

Looking at these photos, I'm not entirely satisfied with how I've superglued the 'lap' belts on, so I may fiddle with that...

 

Having never tackled a Trumpeter kit before (though I have build one Hobbyboss Spitfire), it's not been too bad so far. Though that may be in contrast to the Revell P-51 I built previously, which was a beast!

[mozart]

On 1/27/2024 at 10:19 PM, Shoggz said:

That’s a damn shame Max..

Well it is, and it isn’t Rich. Fortunately the MDC IP is crisply cast (I’ve seen one or two that needed a lot of clean up) so using the Airscale dials, placards etc I should be able to produce a reasonably credible cockpit…..and it’s all black anyway! 
 

Your T’bolt is coming along beautifully…..like the Typhoon another example of “heavy metal”! 

[Shoggz]

At last, we have an engine!

 

It's taken quite a few hours to get to this point - not because of difficulty (well apart from one snag I'll come back to), but because there's just a plethora of tiny parts to remove and clean.. and unfortunately I couldn't find my electron microscope, so my optiviser had to do.. 

 

 

 

 

There's still some painting to do, but we're about there.

 

I did hit one snag where the initial two pieces just would not line up - but after consulting my 'Building the Trumpeter P-47D' by our very own John Kim aka @Thunnus and seeing that he had hit the same snag, I was somewhat mollified it wasn't me and I persevered!

 

There were so many fiddly bits to sort on this, that I began to think the June 6th deadline would be upon us before I'd even turned the pages of the instructions again!

 

c'est la vie! 

[mozart]

Impressive looking engine Rich, and reassuring when you discover that there’s a fault with the kit, not your modelling skills! Funnily enough I had the same experience yesterday with my Typhoon; cleaning up the cockpit frames etc and doing a quick trial assembly only to find the forward frame location pegs don’t line up with the firewall holes! Checked another chap’s build that I’m using as a reference and saw that his didn’t either. 

[dennismcc]

Looking good, nice of you to find some glitches for me.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Shoggz]

We’ll, I’m thinking some of you are going to place me on the modelling ‘naughty step’ after this update.

 

Yes, I know most of this will never be seen, and the recent builds I’ve seen of this kit have omitted it all..

 

 

But, never having built a large scale Jug, I just fancied going the whole hog and building everything!

 

Next is the ‘cradle’ that fits to the firewall (as in the instructions above) and goodness knows how it holds together!

 

I’ll no doubt find out in my next bench-opportunity.

[John Stambaugh]

I do hope that your fuselage halves come together nicely. I to included all the plumbing on my razorback build and wound up removing much material. 

 If yours goes together well then I will know it was just me. 

Looking forward to your next posts.

John

[Shoggz]

We’ll, there sure is a lot of stuff to squeeze into the fuselage, so I hope it fits OK!

[DugyB]

10 hours ago, Shoggz said:

We’ll, there sure is a lot of stuff to squeeze into the fuselage, so I hope it fits OK!

I’ve got one lined up too, perhaps for the What If GB down the road, so your build has been a learning experience for me also. 

[LSP_Kevin]

Those photos of the cockpit assembly look vaguely like an old 1930s racing car!

 

Kev

[MikeMaben]

18 hours ago, Shoggz said:

              ... I just fancied going the whole hog and building everything!

Even tho I didn't use the guts, it was kinda fun to build anyway.

Looking good Rich

[mozart]

Perhaps “looney bin” might be the place rather than “naughty step” Rich…..only time will tell…..keep taking the pills! 

[Shoggz]

The 'guts' are all in position

 

 

 

And then, the big moment - two halves become one!

 

 

It wasn't a perfect fit, but I managed to wrestle it into position with just a few gaps here and there where the old filler will be required.

 

Now, onto the wings.

[MikeC]

Just catching up with this one.  Looking good.