**** DONE: 1/48 Bell YP-59 Aircomet - Jet/Recon/Transport GB (1 Viewer)

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Canopy installed and masks on. Fit was pretty good, it needs just a touch of filler and it will be ready for paint.

P4229621.JPG
 
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Had a little scare last night, couldn't find the sprue with all the landing gear parts in it. After an exhaustive search through all my crap I found it in a box of sprue's of unused parts from previously completed models. I had cleaned up my bench a week ago and I must have put it in there by accident. Serves me right for cleaning.

The canopy didn't need any filling at all, just a little filing and sanding, not worth a picture, but wile doing it I noticed some differences between the XP-59 canopy and this canopy which is molded as a YP-59 and I don't know if I can make it work. I'll have to look at it closer, but I think I might end up changing the description of this build to YP-59.
 
Thanks Darryl


Here's whats going on with the canopy:

Pictures 1 & 2 are of the XP-59. The red arrow points to a panel line that angles up starting just aft of the sliding hood of the canopy. Also note that the top of the canopy is flush with the top of the rear fuselage. No bulge.
Bell_XP-59%20(5).jpg

bell-p-59-airacomet-fighter-01-.png


Pictures 3 & 4
are of a YP-59. Note that the angled panel line starts further aft, at the rear of the quarter windows (red arrow). Note also that the canopy is no longer flush with the fuselage but bulged. If you look close at picture 4 you can see how the canopy works and why the HobbyCraft canopy doesn't fit in the open position, The panels which have the quarter windows fold in at the bottom to allow the canopy to slide back (blue arrow).
Bell_P-59_Airacomet_060913-F-1234P-009.jpg

Navy P-59 and F4U.jpg


Picture 5
shows a P-59A which has the same canopy of the YP-59. Red arrow+panel line and blue arrow=side panel
p-59a_airacomet_32_of_32.jpg

Here's the problem. Picture 6 shows the model molded like the YP-59 as it is supposed to be. I could re-scribe the panel line to match the XP-59, but there's not much to be done with the bulged canopy which I've already installed so I guess this one will be a YP-59 even though I wanted to do America's very first jet.
P4229621.JPG


On a side note even though the model is called out as a YP-59, and the model itself is clearly a YP-59, the box art in picture 8 is clearly of the XP-59 with the flush canopy and more forward slanting panel line.
P2109305.JPG


Now that you know more than you ever wanted to know about the subtle differences between the "X" and "Y" P-59s I'll change the title of this thread and return you to your regularly scheduled program
:lol:
 

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