Trumpeter P-47D Razorback

[crazypoet]

I also finished up the squared-off cowl flaps for the D-5, and I like the way they’re fitting.  Still need to be re-primed and may do a touch-up on the rivets, but I’m happy so far

 

[KevinM]

Nice looking work these Trumpter P-47's build up into a pretty good representation of the crate.

[crazypoet]

6 hours ago, KevinM said:

Nice looking work these Trumpter P-47's build up into a pretty good representation of the crate.

They do!  Add in a bit of aftermarket and it gets even better.

in this case I’m building a specific aircraft, which is why I had to “back-rev” the kit to a D-5

fortunately, it’s pretty straightforward to do this

[crazypoet]

So.  In today’s episode of “why the hell didn’t I think of this *before* glueing something in place…”

Each of the two hydraulic cylinders that raise and lower the main gear needs two fiddly little holes drilled to attach the hydraulic lines.

plus, I need to drill a hole in the side of each gear well to accept one of the lines (the other tucks neatly underneath and out of sight)

this would have been *so* much easier if I’d considered it either before gluing the cylinder in place or before joining the wing halves

7-P process in full display here 😂

at any rate, I’ve figured out the shapes and curves of the lines, I know where I have to drill, and just need to put a finish on the lines themselves.  After much head-scratching and testing of different materials, I decided to go with some brass wire I had laying about to form the lines.

with a small bending brake, I can set the correct angle for the connection to the cylinder, and the way it creates the bend gives me the look of a  proper hydraulic fitting at the point of the bend.  For the lines past the fitting, I’ll dip the wire in some black primer to give the proper OD for the hoses, then add a bit of texture to make them look like braided lines

(yah, I have two sizes of scale braided lines, but the .5mm is too small and the .8mm ended up being a bit large after stretching over the brass wire…)

wheeee!

[FullArmor]

1 hour ago, crazypoet said:

So.  In today’s episode of “why the hell didn’t I think of this *before* glueing something in place…”

Each of the two hydraulic cylinders that raise and lower the main gear needs two fiddly little holes drilled to attach the hydraulic lines.

plus, I need to drill a hole in the side of each gear well to accept one of the lines (the other tucks neatly underneath and out of sight)

this would have been *so* much easier if I’d considered it either before gluing the cylinder in place or before joining the wing halves

7-P process in full display here 😂

at any rate, I’ve figured out the shapes and curves of the lines, I know where I have to drill, and just need to put a finish on the lines themselves.  After much head-scratching and testing of different materials, I decided to go with some brass wire I had laying about to form the lines.

with a small bending brake, I can set the correct angle for the connection to the cylinder, and the way it creates the bend gives me the look of a  proper hydraulic fitting at the point of the bend.  For the lines past the fitting, I’ll dip the wire in some black primer to give the proper OD for the hoses, then add a bit of texture to make them look like braided lines

(yah, I have two sizes of scale braided lines, but the .5mm is too small and the .8mm ended up being a bit large after stretching over the brass wire…)

wheeee!

A little advance planning is always worth it😄

[crazypoet]

So with much cursing, a couple of drinks, and managing to break *both* of the tiny actuator arms for the inner landing gear doors (these things survived two years of storage and handling, only to fall prey to my using a bit of extra force with a pair of needle-nose pliers while fitting these lines.  Gawds 🤦‍♂️  Fortunately, I have the correct size wire stock and drill bits to replace them later)

the first set of lines are in and the glue is drying (micro crystal clear, since I needed it to dry slowly).  I have a bit of cleanup to do, but I’m happy with the results

My version, followed by a photo of a restored original (they used the same materials as the original, excepting the bright blue cap on the fittings 😂)

I stand ready for your ridicule 

[crazypoet]

Ok, both sides done and a bit of cleanup accomplished.  I need to do a light rub of Uschi’s iron powder to bring back the finish on the cylinder ends, and then dust things up to make it all look a bit lived-in

its not quite as nice as it would have been had I done this before joining the wing halves - I simply didn’t think ahead (I was thinking more about the gun bays, truth be told)

ah well, lesson learned for next time

 

[crazypoet]

On 9/5/2019 at 10:19 PM, crazypoet said:

Research is kinda fun!  I found documentation that the 56th Fighter Group switched from the factory props to paddle-bladed spinners in January ‘44 - life is good

 

a bit more on this topic, as I had time to do a bit more research this weekend
It took a bit of digging, since there were three different iterations of the Paddleblade prop for the P47 - two from Curtis Electric and one from Hamilton Standard.

the best info I’ve been able to find is that is was the Curtis Electric C542S-A114 wide-blade symmetrical prop which was first distributed in the field and retrofitted to earlier versions of the Jug, starting in Spring of ‘43

the Hamilton Standard paddleblade was introduced later, and was also used as a field mod, but given the timing of things, I’m going with the Curtis Symmetrical prop for this build

Curtis also did an asymmetric paddleblade even later, which was *also* retrofitted to some jugs

this makes things more than a bit confusing when building to a specific point in time 😂

[crazypoet]

For my next trick - planning a *little* bit ahead this time 🤣🤦‍♂️ - I’m going to work on the hydraulic line that snakes down each of the main gear legs

the challenge here is in properly locating the end points - where it connects both at the top end and down near the wheels

photos of restored examples show a variety of routings in between, from which I can extrapolate how it’s routed along the struts pretty well.  Unfortunately, they’re kinda missing the points of connection top and bottom

The only photo I’ve found that shows the whole length is from a pair of gear struts that look to be salvages from a wreck, and it’s a bit fuzzy

thus should be fun!

[KevinM]

I can see now why those actuators were so important to you and the lines looks the business.

[crazypoet]

17 hours ago, KevinM said:

I can see now why those actuators were so important to you and the lines looks the business.

Thank you!  These lines are pretty visible, if one cares to look - and the line that feeds the brakes is even more so.  I couldn’t let these go unfinished and feel good about it 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[crazypoet]

So I’m getting ready to start putting these together.  I have a pretty good feel for where they connect in the wheel well.  There’s not a line already molded in the kit plastic, but that’s not a problem here - I can just add that as a part of the strut and glue it down when I install it

so that part will be fairly straightforward

so here’s the tricky thing.  This line feeds the brake cylinders on the inside wall of the wheel hub.  What isn’t clear is whether the line terminates into the axel (and then internally to the brake cylinders) or connects at some point to the brake cylinders more directly.

I’ve found two pics that *sort* of show this end, but neither show that level of detail.

so a question to those who’ve trod this path before me - brake line into the axel, or to a point on the inner edge of the wheel, where the brake cylinders are actuated?

my instinct (and some excellent YouTube vids on how aircraft brakes actually work) tells me that this line will connect to the plate holding the cylinders - but that’s still not entirely clear from the photos I’ve been able to find

im using the excellent resin main wheels from BarracudaCast for this, which include a bit of detail on the brake cylinder side of things, but not enough the make it easy to identify a connection point for the brake line

here are the two pics I have that sort of show this.  Neither one is taken from an angle that really lets me look at that final connection point, so I’m wide open to suggestions 🙏

 

[DocRob]

Sorry, no hit, I checked my pix from a P47-D from Chino, but non showed it clearly. Problem is, the wheel well cover sits so tight around the axle and brake line, that it is barely visible at all. You should check, if it would be visible with your kit LG. Have you checked technical drawings?

Cheers Rob

[crazypoet]

31 minutes ago, DocRob said:

Sorry, no hit, I checked my pix from a P47-D from Chino, but non showed it clearly. Problem is, the wheel well cover sits so tight around the axle and brake line, that it is barely visible at all. You should check, if it would be visible with your kit LG. Have you checked technical drawings?

Cheers Rob

I have a subscription for AirCorps, but not even their references and manuals (so far) have shown this in detail

i agree that it’s a bit of a snug fit between the wheel, gear covers, and strut - but it would be just my luck to have this in a contest and find that I got it wrong 😂

[HubertB]

Nice work 👍!

No judge in a contest would probably know what’s right anyway, not taking into account that accuracy is NOT a criterion in judging in model contests.

But no judging can beat the « I know it’s accurate » feeling , and this is the one you are striving to satisfy .

Hubert