Gern's 1/24 P47

[BarryW]

nice one Gern. Lokking forward to seeing how this looks when finished

[tr1ckey66]

Hey Dave

The Thunderbolt looks excellent so far, magnificent work on the cockpit.

Really looking forward to the rest of the build and seeing this large scale 'Jug' come to gather.

Cheers

Paul

[Gern]

I was hoping to be able to say 'onwards and upwards' with this but I'm still lurching from one problem to another.


I got the underwing stores ready to install (I need to check if there are any decals first)


[ATTACH]105318.IPB[/ATTACH]



The fuselage halves have gone together nicely but there are a few spots where I'll need some filler


[ATTACH]105316.IPB[/ATTACH]



... and the cockpit looks OK. I've still got to fit the gunsight but I didn't want to break it off while fitting the cockpit. I've got my patented LRPC ready to protect it when the fuselage glue has dried.


[ATTACH]105314.IPB[/ATTACH]



Whatever you do, don't follow the instructions for assembling the engine. They say you should fix these pipes to the manifold before attaching it to the engine - WRONG! If you do that, you'll never get them to fit at the cylinder end as there are no locating points on the manifold. I removed the locating lug on the manifold so I could rotate it relative to the cylinders to get them lined up correctly. Then I added the exhausts.


[ATTACH]105315.IPB[/ATTACH]



I fitted the gun bays to the wings a couple of weeks ago. I tacked the gun ports into the wings to check the gun alignment and it's a good job I did! If you line up the gun bays to fit the locating bars, they don't sit square or line up with the gun ports! I had to remove the bays and re-fit them so they lined up properly. Of course, with the gun ports in place, you can't fit the assembled guns as they won't tilt far enough to clear the gun bay walls. The guns themselves have just a single locating pin which fits in a hole in the gun bay. This means they are free to swivel from side to side and vertically. I'm going to have fun trying to get them all lined up when I re-fit the barrels!


[ATTACH]105317.IPB[/ATTACH]



Notice how the bay doesn't line up with the locating bar.


The wheels are decidedly odd. They have vinyl tyres which I like because they usually make painting so much simpler. However, these are moulded complete with the inner hub where it attaches to the axles! The outer hub is fitted inside the tyre as usual but the locating blocks are HUGE. I suspect I'll have to re-paint everything as the paint is likely to crack and be rubbed off while I try to get the hubs inside the tyres. I'll let you know. Consolation is of course, if they don't look good enough, I'll have to do it with the wheels closed up so I won't have to worry about fixing the u/c legs!


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[yak face]

Its certainly giving you a workout Dave, Its not a shake and bake thats for sure!! The great thing is that youve done the right thing by test fitting and altering the sequences and methods of construction ,thus saving yourself any future grief. If you had just blindly followed the instructions you would be throwing it at the wall by now! Keep on fighting the good fight mate , I cant wait to see this one done . cheers tony

[Gern]

Tony - I should have picked summat easier but brain surgery wasn't one of the GB options!

[Gern]

I was right. I had to use one of my needle files as a tyre lever so all the paint got b******d up. There's also some damage to the wheel rim but I think I'll be able to get away with that. I'll see when they've been re-painted.


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[ATTACH]105363.IPB[/ATTACH]

[papa 695]

You seem to be slowly beating this one into shape Dave