Hasegawa 1/32 P47D Republic Thunderbolt

[Vaughan]

I've made a start on the Thunderbolt, it's a big kit and will look impressive on the shelf when finished. I won't be building the 'Gabby' version as most people tend to do, so I've opted for Maj. Glenn T. Eagleston's Thunderbolt with the skull and cross bones nose art. This ones going to be a challenge as it's a NMF but I should be ok as the Wildcat turned out successfully. First up is the Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engine. There are very few parts compared to the Trumpeter kits but it's still well detailed. As with most of these planes very little will be seen of the engine but it's nice to put the effort in, so I have added some plug wires. Here's my progress over the last few days. A dry fit first followed spraying the various parts, then a wash to enhance the cylinder heads. Holes have been drilled to to take the plug wire and glued with CA. This afternoon I've trimmed the wires and attached them to the distributor ring. Some further weathering will finish the engine off.

Vaughan

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[yak face]

Nice work vaughan , in this scale the ignition harness is a very noticeable addition , and yours really looks great. Nice choice of scheme too , looking forward to seeing it , cheers tony

[mossiepilot]

Cracking start Vaughan, a smart looking engine there.

Tony.

[aaron]

Nice job on that engine, i have an old revell kit of this in 1/32. Quite a big bird init

[papa 695]

A very nice start Vaughan will watch this one and like Tony say's a nice choice of colour scheme

[Guest]

That's quite cool. Noticed an article in Model Airplane International a couple of issues ago about radial engines where they used copper wires for the plug leads, but I think yours looks more realistic, being plug leads, which wouldn't be bare copper. What did you use for the plug leads and are did you paint them?

[Guest]

Very nice, I do like these old radial engine aircraft, makes them look so big and powerful.

[Vaughan]

Thanks Guys

That's quite cool. Noticed an article in Model Airplane International a couple of issues ago about radial engines where they used copper wires for the plug leads, but I think yours looks more realistic, being plug leads, which wouldn't be bare copper. What did you use for the plug leads and are did you paint them?

Frikkie I've always used lead wire which I buy from my local model shop. Because it's so soft and flexible it's easy to bend and as a result looks more realistic. The lead tends to be quite dull in look, so no need to paint, I think that also helps with the realism.

Vaughan

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[Guest]

Thanks for the info Vaughan. Appreciated!

[stona]

That's quite cool. Noticed an article in Model Airplane International a couple of issues ago about radial engines where they used copper wires for the plug leads, but I think yours looks more realistic, being plug leads, which wouldn't be bare copper. What did you use for the plug leads and are did you paint them?

The original leads were actually comprised of several insulating layers. The outside sheath was a braided metallic material. I'd say Vaughan's representation looks very good.

Beware restorations on this one (as ever) !

Cheers

Steve

[Vaughan]

Your right about the braided insulation. Here's a closeup shot I took of the P47 at Duxford.

Vaughan

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[Guest]

I love to use lead wire, so much easier to work with than copper as it has no tendency to spring back. John stocks a decent range of the stuff here

[Guest]

I'm hi-jacking here, and apologize Vaughn, but I'm hoping John reads this. There's so many things, like these lead wires and different sizes of masking tapes, that one just can not find in South Africa, even on-line from locals, so one has to be really creative. John, do you export to SA and could you message me info or provide a link regarding posting please.

[Vaughan]

That's not a problem Frikkie, you could PM Theuns user name T. van Vuurenhe lives in Johanesburg/South Africa he might be able to help you with modelling stuff or PM John or click on 'contact us' at the footer of the page. Johns always very helpful.

Vaughan

[Vaughan]

Small update for today basically a dry fit with the engine cowlings. Hasegawa have slightly over complicated things with the amount of parts which have to all fit perfectly together, so this will be a bit of a challenge. They do give a choice of radiator louvres open or shut, not sure which one I'll go for yet. I popped the engine and cowling on the end of the fuselage to see how she's going to look 'BIG' is the answer.

Vaughan

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