crazypoet

I've had a lifelong love of the P-47 - looking forward to this!

It's taken a bit of back and forth but once again, progress is happening. In each step of this build I'm finding incomplete or conflicting documentation so I feel my way along, a bit at a time. Two specific, current examples of this are in placement of the waterline and in the placement and number of masts. The waterline is not specified in the kit as the designer assumed an all-over-black paint job and a museum-type display. Trouble is that I'm doing a point-in-time build showing the boat as it actually existed on a specific date (or as close as I can get). So off to the references I go... yes? Well, actually, no... the references available are all after-the-fact drawings of boats "similar to" Picket Boat One. Ok, I can work with that. The drawings don't say much about the color scheme, but do give guidance on the waterline location. And straightaway we run into a snag... to put the waterline where it *should* be would leave the kit propeller partially out of the water. The kit version puts the prop and shaft a bit over 1/8" - 3 scale inches - too high. Re-engineering this would involve major re-engineering of the kit. So bugger that, I'll change the waterline instead... Two different near-contemporary drawings show the general layout: So I split the difference and put the waterline even with the highest point of the prop arc. I'll be able to "fuzz" this a bit when I do the hull weathering, so it works. The upper hull follows the kit design in black, while the lower hull is dark gray. This aligns well with period descriptions. I'll also need to fiddle a bit with the fittings between hull and prop shaft as well as the spacing between the hull, prop and rudder. And, yes, I'm completely ignoring the difference in rudder design between the drawings and the kit. Artistic license is at play here, since both rudder types were known to be in use at the time. Problem solved! Next, as I'm ready to flip the thing over and work on the top-side fittings, I need to face a detail I've simply put off because I didn't want to deal with it. Masts. The kit provides for a single mast near mid-ships, which handily covers some construction seams. It also matches a depiction of the boat from a later illustration: Unfortunately, this layout doesn't match the earlier, near-contemporary views, which show masts at the fore and aft extremities - much more in keeping with period practice. I've avoided this particular detail until now, but I can no longer put it off... so I'll go with the fore and aft masts as shown in the earlier drawings, and come up with a plausible way to cover the construction joint where the kit mast would otherwise be located: I left that joint untouched early on in the build as I assumed that the mast in the kit was accurate. I didn't discover the discrepancy until much later, well past the point where I could fix it easily. Live and learn! Now I have to get creative. This is the fun stuff with models of this sort - interpreting and incorporating details that expand on what the kit has to offer. Next head-scratcher... Hawse holes at the bow for running anchor ropes. One drawing shows with and the second shows without. At this point I think I'll add them in, since they just make sense. The engineering is pretty straightforward, as it requires just a bit of drilling and some brass fabrication. It's kind of a fun extension of the kit design.

I've used that approach on openings up to about 1/8" and it seems to work well. I've read (somewhere - I can't remember where just now... Age is not for the weak!) that clear epoxy can handle larger openings up to 1/4"

I've seen a couple of posts here and there where the builder used clear epoxy for smaller windows. I'm interested in learning more about this - is there a good primer y'all can point me to? I have a number of upcoming projects where this approach could pay dividends, if it works like I think it might Help!!! Enquiring minds and all that....

Watching with interest!

I'm checking with Signifer to see if they still have the Goose conversion kit for the Portuguese Navy version, with the beaching trolley. That would put the kit past 50% resin - everything but the main fuselage and wings

I have a boatload of Eduard resin for some of my kits, and their Mig-21 Bunny Fighter (yippee!), so depending on the threshold for "significant" I have multiple options. For kits that are closer to "pure" resin, it's the Signifer Goose JRF-5 as my first choice

Dang! Now why can't someone do this with a B-52, FFS? I look forward to seeing this coming along!

Nice trick, that! I'm taking notes like mad...

Just...wow

Very cool! It's fun to see different subjects such as this. And nicely built as well

Working on the hull coloring, building up the color in thin layers, adding a bit more black each layer. It will ultimately be not-quite completely black with dull patches from wear and weather, and algae below the waterline. The rub rails will be battered, chipped and water-darkened, as will parts of the stem and keel. I'm mindful that the original was painted by hand, mostly with 3" and 6" brushes - so no airbrushing on my part for the base paint. I'll spray or airbrush the algae and suchlike below the waterline and probably a dullcoat overall when it's done, but I'm doing the painted bits with a brush. It gives me a bit of perspective - it's a *lot* of work to paint a boat by hand! Once the main hull is done, I'll get to work on the topside decking and details. Those will be a mix of wood and medium gray paint

I somehow missed this... Surely there's a way I can tie this into a diorama... :)

nice!!! I look forward to watching

Great subject - I look forward to this build!

This kit will be my birthday or Christmas gift to myself sometime soon - it may be years before I actually get to it, but I want to snag it before it's no longer available. Nicely nicely done!

I am in awe. Your attention to detail gives me both a challenge and inspiration when I get to my own B-17 build

I have a pair of resin kits, but neither in 1:32. 1:48 Grumman Goose and a 1:144 Confederate Ironclad (the Albemarle, to go with the Picket Boat after it's done, some year...) I'll see what else I can dig up - this would be fun!

Success... sort of... There's documentation that the "honeycomb" rack for parafrag bombs used for the B-25 was adapted from a similar system first developed for the A-20. The photo I posted above of the 72 vertically suspended parafrags in a B-25 is the only photographic documentation I've found for that mounting in a B-25, but I was finally able to find at least its linear ancestor in the very excellent A-20 book by William Wolf. In the A20 mount, two separate packs of 20 were carried in a fore/aft arrangement; the B25 version was two packs of 36, loaded side by side. This is the only photo I've found so far of the actual rack used in either aircraft. I'll use this as a basis for building something for the B-25. It's at least a step in the right direction...

Thanks, Ralph! While I'm continuing with the first layers of paint, I gave a bit of attention to the prop and shaft. The prop was cast in Britannia Metal, a soft pewter. I cleaned this up a bit last year and put a first light layer of copper electroplate on the casting. Today, I added the shaft and a scale bolt, then hit the whole assembly with a few more layers of copper to bring them together. The shaft and bolt are brass, and needed a bit of drilling and tapping to get them fit properly to the prop After snugging things up, I plated the finished assembly with two layers of copper, which gives a nice bronze finish over the brass shaft/bolt and pewter prop I'm also adding a bit of extra detail where the prop shaft passes through the hull. There's a bit more head-scratching to do here, but I started by adding sleeves for the shaft. These will both support the prop shaft and give me the foundation for adding some bearing detail after I paint the hull.

I love this! Making things look "right" both from a distance as well as right up-close is a gift and a talent. I can put myself into the cockpit you're building and the instuments all seem to be ready for my hands to reach out and use. Adequate. Quite adequate.

The first coat of heavily-thinned primer pointed out a couple small spots that need some more attention with the sanding sticks, but I'm very happy so far. A bit of touch up, light overall sanding then the second primer coat. Meanwhile, I'm calculating the waterline, as it's not specified anywhere in the docs. There won't be *much* of a difference above/below the waterline, but enough to make it obvious that it's been in the water for a while

Beautiful weathering!!! I learn something new every time you post, so many thanks for allowing us to watch over your shoulder

Welcome!!!

These arrived over the weekend, and I'm delighted! I ordered six sets of two parafrag clusters, among a bunch of other goodies, from Resin2Detail The detail is superb, right down to the arming wires. There were minor casting issues on two of the twelve clusters - the central support rod did not completely fill in the molds. This is a minor issue in that I can repair the defect easily. I let the folk at Resin2Detail know about the defects and they're resolving them. They are *also* preparing to release individual parafrag bombs... I will be fist in line when these come out, as they'll help me to build exactly the bird I want. Color me happy!!! Now the next challenge - finding a photo or drawing of either the honeycomb or the squirrel cage rack that Pappy Gunn designed for these things... I've read about it in every reference I've been able to find on the B25 in the PTO, but not a single photo or drawing have I seen! It's truly frustrating... The closest I've found is a very oblique view into a loaded bomb bay, that shows 72 parafrag bombs loaded vertically. Two 3x12 "honeycomb" racks are described for that particular load-out, but nary a picture to be seen... The Squirrel Cage rack is a bit different - it held 40 parafrags stacked horizontally, 10 rows of four stacks, with each stack of four loaded nose-to-tail. I could use either of these for the bird I want - I just have to find a picture first...