GB-56 1/48 P-47D-30RA - Thunderbolts and Lightnings.

[Builder 2010]

Looks like a great build. Can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Airframes]

Thank you. I'm hoping to get it finished well within the deadline, hands allowing.

Below is a pic showing the Medium Blue wing tip against the decals and the printed leaflet. Although there is a difference in shade here, it's partly caused by the lighting angles and colour temperature, and the fact that the paint is matt and the decals gloss.
When viewed together with the naked eye, the shades are very close, and once given a semi-matt clear coat, they should look even closer.
Anyway, these areas have now been masked, and the OD ant-glare panels have been brush-painted. Once the paint has fully dried, the OD areas will be masked to the correct shape, and the NMF sprayed.
I'm hoping that I'll have enough freedom of movement in my hands and wrists to get the spraying done either tomorrow, or over the weekend.
Thanks again for the continued interest and encouraging comments.

 

[Jock Tamson]

Looking good Terry. Can't wait to see the NMF.

 

[Crimea_River]

Very strange effect with the colors. Reminds me of that meme a few years back about the blue vs. gold dress.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Greg, and yes Andy, it's rather strange.
Had this been a photographic film image, as opposed to an electronic digital image viewed on a monitor, it could be described as anomalous reflection, where the film emulsion "sees" the true colour. This was sometimes a problem in the days of professional film photography, particularly wedding pics, where the groom's suit might appear dark blue or bluish purple, rather than black, as the film emulsion recorded the actual colour, within the light spectrum, rather than what the human eye "thought" it saw.
I can only assume that the differences in hue are due to the monitor settings of those who saw the "purple" shade. On my monitor, all of the pics show the same shades of paint compared to the decals.

Anyway, all required areas of the model have now been masked, ready for spraying the NMF, which I thought I might get done tonight.
However, I've put this on temporary "hold", as the gun blast tubes need to be attended to.
I'd originally intended to fit the "Master" brass blast tubes after painting the model, but the holes for the kit guns needed to be enlarged. which resulted in the wing leading edge joints opening slightly, requiring them to be glued again and then lightly sanded.
Fitting, aligning and fixing the tubes, using CA adhesive, would be fiddly at the best of times, but with the current state of my stiff and tender wrists, hands and fingers, it's going to be extremely fiddly, so, rather than risk damaging the paintwork due to handling, I'll fit the gun tubes before spraying the NMF.
Test fitting so far suggests that the tubes should slot in OK, but setting the datum for each barrel, and getting the lengths of each blast tube correct will take some time, and a lot of messing about, which I can't manage at the moment, so I'll leave it until the weekend.
Given I get this sorted, I should be able to get the spraying done by Sunday, and I'll post another up-date when it's all done.

Thanks again for the continued interest, and I'll be back sometime soon(ish).

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Sounds like you've enogh to keep you occupied over the weekend me old mate, look forward to seeing the pics in due course.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Vic.

 

[Airframes]

Finally got the "Master" brass gun blast tubes fitted, although the outboard gun on each side protrudes slightly more than it should ( see pic of the Duxford P-47 below). This was due to the length of the brass part, partly fouling the inside of the wing surface. If the part had been forced further, it very probably would have fallen inside the wing. I'll live with this, but on the next build I may decide to use the kit parts for the outboard guns.
(NOTE:- For anyone deciding to use the "Master" barrels, they should be a direct "slot in" replacement on the Tamiya P-47 kits, but the Hasegawa kits need to have the holes in the wings enlarged. It's important to ensure that the bottom arc of each hole is enlarged slightly more, otherwise the guns will point upwards. There is a 1:1 diagram included with the "Master" parts, to aid in setting the length of each barrel.).

I've yet to make and fit a bomb / drop tank shackle for the underside of the fuselage, but the locating area for this has been masked, ready to fit the part after painting the model, and the kit parts for the sway braces will also be fitted at that time.
The model has now been masked, ready for spraying the NMF, which I'll do once I've grabbed a bite to eat. Hopefully, I'll have some pics later, but meanwhile, current progress is shown below.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Nice progress Terry and it is only Saturday your way, what you going to do for the rest of the weekend!

 

[Airframes]

Thanks, Wojtek and Vic, and Oh, there's still plenty to do !
However, the first stage of the NMF has been sprayed, again using Revell No.90 enamel, and it looks to have covered rather well.
The upper surfaces of the wings have yet to be sprayed, and probably another coat around the tail fin and rudder, to cover the overlap of mid blue, but I'll let this harden overnight and spray the remainder tomorrow.
Apologies for the pics - the lighting wasn't brilliant for photos, and I couldn't move the model to light it better until the paint hardened.
All being well, I'll be back tomorrow with another up-date.

 

[Airframes]

I've completed the spraying of the NMF, and all masking, has been removed. There are a couple of very small areas that will need retouching, on the rear OD ant-glare panel, the blue on one cowl flap, and a small area in the wheel bays, and once that's done, some very light panel line work will be done, on selected areas, and detail painting, carried out, along with some minor weathering.
Pics below show how things look so far.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Looking very smart.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Vic.

 

[le_steph40]

very nice Terry

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Steph.

 

[SaparotRob]

That looks sharp.

 

[Airframes]

Thank you.

 

[Wurger]

With all above.

 

[Crimea_River]

That's looking very sharp Terry.