crazypoet

Looking sweet!

Figured it was at least worth asking...

These are beautiful shots! Quick question - do you have any pics looking up from behind/below? I'm thinking of the outlet for the supercharger here And any cockpit internals?

I didn’t get as much bench time as i’d hoped over the weekend, but I at least got started with cockpit surgery and the Eduard internal set

Thank ya - i’m always happy to learn from watching over someone else’s shoulders!

I am just now getting caught up on this build... Four words suffice to document the reaction: Holy. Mother. Of. God. This is a master class on scratchbuilding, taken to levels that us mere mortals can only hope to faintly echo...

I’m planning to do enough of the internal structures to provide proper fit, and to not leave any puzzling gaps (I may also take the opportunity to use it to practice up my mad NMF painting skilz) this is shaping up to be a fun build!

I agree here - for some reason the Bubbletop Jug never did look right to me.

I did a bit of checking and it seems that the spacing between the cylinder banks make be at least partially to blame for the fit issue. That is something that can be adjusted. The main thing for me is that I don’t want to mess with the spacing between the front of the engine and the front of the cowl. big book o’ measurements is ordered and enroute...! Meanwhile, I was able to at least determine the correct gunsight and rear-view mirror out of the options in the kit. I do wish that the good folk at Trumpeter would provide context when providing options... one of these times, I may just pick some of the options at random and see who notices!

That's unfortunate, since the correct rocker covers for the AC I'm building are the "taller" of the two (for the 2800-21 engine). I'm wondering if they have the engine sitting too far forward? If so, I can shorten it a bit back by the firewall as that area won't be visible when completed. Hmmm. Gotta love a good challenge!

That’s priceless!

Thanks! I have the Eduard interior set - I'll be cross-checking each part as I go to see which works best. I'm doing a bit of reading now to see if I can determine which version of the gunsight was installed, along with which rear-view mirror.

Ok, i’m hitting the go-button on this. the kit has some interesting quirks (a clear cowl? For Gawds sake why?!?!) and i’ve heard of some fit issues here and there, along with the whole internal-mechanics-that-will-never-be-seen thing. but ya know, I need a good excuse for a drink every now and then! so - box is open, and i’m digging through and making notes... Doog did a later version of the kit and i’ll lean heavily on his experiences and notes as i work through my own process. i’m building this as Wicked Wacker Weegie, as it existed the morning of May 12, 1944. On that day, Lt “Shorty” Rankin downed five ME-109 air-to-air in a single mission - the first ace-in-a-day with the P-47 Since the 12th is my birthday, the choice of topics was made very simple! i have a shitton of AM stuff - i’ll be fun to see how far I can take it

I'd heard that myself in the past. When I did a bit of digging, what I found was that they could get to about Mach 0.8, and then would go into a compressibility stall. There's an outside chance that some aircraft could have gotten closer than .8, but they'd have been killed in the process as they'd not have been able to pull out of their dives... In compressibility, they'd experience a loss of lift at the forward edge of the wing. This would cause the nose to pitch down, the angle of dive would steepen, the speed would increase, the dead portion of the wing would move further back, the nose would pitch even farther, etc. As this progressed, it became harder to pull out. Given that the P-47 was particularly rugged, you could make a case that the airframe would survive this - but only until it became one with Mother Earth and transformed into a large-ish crater

Sorry to have missed you there - some amazing work in all sorts of media was represented in the contest and display areas. i’d love to see your build! Post some pics - there’s always something to learn from someone else’s approach and it’s fun just to be able to compare notes, triumphs and tragedies!

That is gorgeous, and a perfect approach to this unique bird

Yes. just...yes

I agree! The P-47 got a bad early rap strictly because of size. But she was indeed elegant and surprisingly light on her feet. With a simple change in propeller, she could suddenly out*climb* as well as out dive pretty much anything in the ETO - until the Merlin-engined P-51 came along in 1944

Good gawd! I *know* how big that Lanc is.... is there any special dispensation for a “small scale” aircraft that is larger than my first apartment?

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Jug, particularly the early versions when it seemed something of a clumsy party crasher compared to its somewhat more svelte competitors in the ETO. so when I found the kit a few years back, I promptly gobbled up ever bit of aftermarket stuff I could find. i’ve heard less-than-glowing reviews of the kit engineering, but I like a good excuse for a double Scotch on occasion...

So... now that I’m back from an IT conference in San Diego, i’m ready for a new project. I’ve had this sitting on my shelf for a bit, and it feels like it’s time to dust it off and get it done. I’m building her as “Wicked Wacker Weegie”, flown by “Shorty” Rankin. I was looking for a good story to tell, and I found one that is just...fun. Seems that, on May 12, 1944, then Lt Rankin downed five ME-109, air to air, in a single mission. And since May 12 is my birthday... bingo!

Nicely done!

I feel that *EXACT* same sort of "WTF was I thinking?!?!?!?" as I look at my USS Arizona - and it's at 1/200! I can't imagine trying to do it at 1/350 But I expect it to be a good long-term project sometime, and I wanted to get it while there was still good availability of AM parts and such. I agree on small scales - not worth the loss of eyesight and my fingers are too fat regardless!

Can I get an amen on this? Some of the topics I most want to address are simply not available (currently) in 1/32. I have hope that an A-20 will come available (HpH has been working on it for a while). Ditto a B-25C, for which there are a ton of interesting possibilities that simply don't exist for the later models. Likewise a Betty - I would love to do one dressed up as "Battan-2", as flown by the Japanese surrender delegation at the end of WWII... Or let me add to the DC-3/C-47 bandwagon - I'd **LOVE** to do an AC-47 conversion on one of those,,, Or a C-119 that could be converted to a SPECTRE Gunship... There are so many possibilities, which have so many potential branches... I suspect that some of these would become *very* popular, once they're out of the gates.

On Trumpeter P-40s... Any ding lists on their older P-40B kit?