[pkrasna]

Here is my entry to this interesting GB. I am working on a bubletop P-47 flown by Major G.T.Eaglestone. His aircraft had a prominent nose mark depicting winged skull with crossed bones underneath. I intend to build the 1/72 scale Hasegawa kit OOB with minor corrections. The content of the box looks like this:



This is all so far in next few days I'll start with the cockpit.

Primož

This post has been edited by pkrasna: 03 May 2012 - 07:53 PM

[pkrasna]

Who Am I kidding building the model OOB. I can't help myself of adding some details. Especially in notoriously minimalistic Hasegawa's cockpit. So we start.

Minimalistic grey floor and backplate needed some atention.All white parts were made out od styrene sheets and strips.







The control panel out of box looks really sad so I'll replace it with an spare Revell P-47D control panel.



Next step are the side walls of the cockpit.

Primož

[pkrasna]

So here we go. The sidewalls are finished. I used two strips of tape to help myself visualize the position of the floor and backplate.





To fit the backplate into the sidewalls I had to cut square shape of each half of the fuselage.





Dryfit looks OK...



Primož

This post has been edited by pkrasna: 20 March 2012 - 08:45 AM

[pkrasna]

I noticed that the headrest is positioned to low so correction must be made.

[pkrasna]

First I corrected the headrest. Next step was to add some details to the motor...





The cowling was modified with a little help of an airwawes saw...



Next post will be dedicated to interior painting and weathering .

Primož

[pkrasna]

The interior is now painted and weathered.



















This is all for now!

Primož

[Bigasshammm]

Holy wow. Having just built this kit about a year ago the level of detail you've added is astounding. I almost wonder why guys with your ability even bother with the kits. You could make an entire P-47 from scratch!

[phantom]

Excellent additions!

[pkrasna]

Thank you both!

Here we go on! The motor was mounted inside the cowling.



To fill the gap between the fuselage halves I used a small styren strip.



Wheel compartments were plain and unrealistic so I added side walls to cover the gap betven the lower and upper part of the wing. They still need some detailing to look as they should.



Wigs and cowling fits nicely on to the fuselage. The jug is finaly getting it's shape.





Regards!

Primož

[bdt13]

Nice work with an older kit. Shows it's not the kit, it's the modeler!

[pkrasna]

Thanks bdt13!

So here is some preogress on this project. As I allready said the wheel wells are as cocpit minimalistic out of box. So to upgrade them firs i needed to get rid of the seam in the middle of the compartment. Some tamiya filler was up to the job.



Further I added some styrene strips on the inside top panel. Ther are still to thick so I'm going to sand them down prior to further detailing.





As seen here, the rear leg compartment also needed some atention.



To simulate a canvas barrier I use a Tamiya epoxy putty. Great stuff!



It looks a litlle bit crude but when painted and weathered It will be a great little detail.

Regards!

Primož

[Sentry30]

Nice job you did on those wheelwells! I think the extra work really is going to pay off! I like all the scratch work you did in the pit too!!

Daniël

[pkrasna]

Thanks sentry30!

First as I promised here are final details in wheel wells...





...cowered with paint and dirt.







Next post will be about upgrading armament!

Primož

This post has been edited by pkrasna: 15 April 2012 - 07:00 PM

[pkrasna]

Wing machine guns were not realistcly moulded for my taste so of they go. In most projects changing inbox armament is a must, but not necessary using an aftermarket piece. Considering the simple shape of the p-47 machine guns hypodermic needles will do the job just fine. First I had to get rid of mouldeg machine guns.



Most P-47 kits mount machine guns in line with the edge of the wing but this is incorrect. The real plane had mounted arms horizontal or in line with the ground. The corrected line drawn on a piece of tape is clearly visible on photo.



The holes are ready. I'll mount the guns at the end when the model will be allready painted.



Thats all for now!

Primož

[pkrasna]

So the colors are in the game. Here are all the colors used to paint the exterior of the aircraft:



First step was to prime and paint both major parts of airceaft.



Next the antiglare surface on the top of the fuselage.





The final step was to paint black and white stripes on the belly of the aircraft and black stripe around the cowling



Next step Decalville!

Primož

[pkrasna]

When building an old kit you must face many traps and difficulties. One of them are decals. In this kit the decals are old and matted. Also some corretion should be made to make a model more authentic. So I used USAAF insignia roundels from an spare Revell P-47D kit.







See you soon with some progress.

Primož

This post has been edited by pkrasna: 16 April 2012 - 06:36 PM

[Bigasshammm]

Holy crap that's unbelievable. Hard to believe thats a little 72nd kit.

outstanding.

[phantom]

Thats looking GREAT!

[pkrasna]

Thank you both!

The main parts were painted and now we must prepare all tiny stuff that goes on the model next. First task was to replace the inbox prop with some spare parts. With a litle help from my coleague scale modeller I recieved a small package with two used props to choose from. Left on the photo is Hamilton standard four blade prop and on the right is the Curtiss electric prop. For this project I'll use the last one.




Next little problem were wheels which needed some edtails. Left is original and right the upgraded version.



A must was to add some details on the wheel bay cowers. Finaly the legs got its brake wires and all the dirty work was done.



Now comes my favorite part: painting and weathering.

Primož

[rustywelder]

Stunning work Primoz!