Trumpeter P-47D Razorback

[crazypoet]

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

[Ryan]

Perfect, I’m ready!

Heads up on the clear IP panel, it’s not what is seems, here in primer.

Some of the dials have the needles and tick marks on the face of the lens

 

 

[crazypoet]

17 minutes ago, Ryan said:

Perfect, I’m ready!

Heads up on the clear IP panel, it’s not what is seems, here in primer.

Some of the dials have the needles and tick marks on the face of the lens

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.

[Ryan]

Good fix.

[CrankyCrafstman]

Be aware. There are two different types of rocker covers for the engine, one works the other one doesn't, by this I mean once assembled it doesn't fit inside of the cowl. I had to grind the heck out of mine to get the engine to fit, and it still doesn't fit well. I don't rember which one is correct one to use have to dig through my photos and notes to find out.

Ron G 

 

[crazypoet]

2 hours ago, CrankyCrafstman said:

Be aware. There are two different types of rocker covers for the engine, one works the other one doesn't, by this I mean once assembled it doesn't fit inside of the cowl. I had to grind the heck out of mine to get the engine to fit, and it still doesn't fit well. I don't rember which one is correct one to use have to dig through my photos and notes to find out.

Ron G 

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!

 

[GusMac]

The razorback at least avoids the awful spine inserts that the Trumpy bubbletops have. Still build into nice kits though. You can also happily leave out most of the supercharger assembly without any detriment to the build.

[GazzaS]

How has the mad-rivetter treated this kit?  I know in the 109 and p-40 kits I have, there are many oval rivet hoels because they weren't made perpendicular to the fuselage surface.

 

Gaz...  Love the Razorback.  Bubbletop...  not so much.

[crazypoet]

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! 

[crazypoet]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

How has the mad-rivetter treated this kit?  I know in the 109 and p-40 kits I have, there are many oval rivet hoels because they weren't made perpendicular to the fuselage surface.

 

Gaz...  Love the Razorback.  Bubbletop...  not so much.

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

[Ryan]

I’d build the supercharger assembly, it provides support.

i found you had to a some strip to align it with the waist shutters.

 

[crazypoet]

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!

[Ryan]

Yep

[1to1scale]

Nice! That’s a lot of tubing!

[Sturmbock]

Hi Crazypoet!

I will follow your build with much interest because I build the Razorback not long ago and now I have Trumpis Bubbletop on the bench!

You also must be aware when you fit the wings to the hull, there will be a huge gab on the underwing site, on the topsite there is none, I don't know why!? It is not a big deal because with some plasiticcard you can fix it but it's just time consuming!

 

 

 

Cheers

Lutz

 

[Clunkmeister]

This is shaping up into a righteous build. I’m watching as well. The kit calls out to me at times, but I banished it to the barn. 

For now. 

[CrankyCrafstman]

Hey crazypoet

 Check out my build of this kit as a 325 fighter group "Checkertail" I went for BigStud. Still have to finish it need to add the checkertail decals to the tail. I used HGW seatbelts, Eduard interior kit and Zots decals.

Ron G 

[crazypoet]

18 hours ago, CrankyCrafstman said:

Hey crazypoet

 Check out my build of this kit as a 325 fighter group "Checkertail" I went for BigStud. Still have to finish it need to add the checkertail decals to the tail. I used HGW seatbelts, Eduard interior kit and Zots decals.

Ron G 

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

[crazypoet]

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

 

[crazypoet]

So I'm still working through the cockpit details...  Mostly research and cross-indexing, which proved to be a bit more challenging than I'd anticipated (Achievement: FIRST DOUBLE SCOTCH AWARDED)

First, the gunsight...  The P-47D-6-RE came from the factory with the US N3 gunsight with a Republic-designed sight head.  Most of these were swapped out for the British MkII in short order.  Sadly, there's not a good photo of the cockpit interior of my bird, so I have to roll the dice and hope.  The decision was simplified a bit since neither the kit nor the Eduard Interior PE set has the N3/Republic sight - only the British MkII and (later) MkVIII sights.  So.... MkII it is.  Crossing my fingers and hoping that I don't find a new reference a week from now that shows the factory sight installation...

Next, rudder pedals.  I've seen two variants, both included in the Eduard PE, but no documentation as to which goes with which variant.  Soooooo…  I flipped a coin and went with the version that I like better.

There is at least one good reference that shows this ship with a field-modded rear-view mirror, so I know which one to use.

First pic:  US N3 w/Republic Head

Second:  British MkII

Third and fourth: rudder pedals galore! 

 

[Ryan]

The rudder pedals you used are at the least more interesting!

[Ryan]

Couple of fit observations I had on mine,

1.The IP panel may need to be lowered a smidge to clear the canopy. (Note mine is a Bubble top and this kits canopy fairing may not be the same.)

2. The pipework that cradles the pit is a little tight for the pit to fit into.

[crazypoet]

2 minutes ago, Ryan said:

The rudder pedals you used are at the least more interesting!

That's what tipped the scale for me! 

[Ryan]

Good man.

[crazypoet]

4 minutes ago, Ryan said:

Couple of fit observations I had on mine,

1.The IP panel may need to be lowered a smidge to clear the canopy. (Note mine is a Bubble top and this kit may not be the same.)

2. The pipework that cradles the pit is a little tight for the pit to fit into.

The Eduard instructions have me doing a bit of trimming on the IP - I suspect that's to account for your first point. 

On the second - thanks for the heads-up!  Worst case, I can cut a notch or three in the piping to make room