1/48 XP-47H

[Tiberious]

So, having not finished yet with the Corsair, though it is close, I was inspired by a group build over on Britmodeler to do my XP-47H.

This is a kitbash of the Tamiya -47D and Koster Aero Enterprises vac-kit of the Republic prototype.



I know it would have been easier to just slap the Tam wings onto the Koster fuselage, but I like the thought of keeping a majority of the Tam detail, so both kit fuselages were cut down and spliced.


The image I checked the fuselage line against isn't the correct size, but by lifting the model I was able to match it up enough to show that the line was good.


While that was setting up, I jumped to the wheel bays. Just a little bit of extra detailing was added here in the form of piping, both around the main well and some hoses near the retracting piston for the gear leg.



The wings were then closed up, with the gun ports sealed as a pic shows that, although with the ejector shoots still open.



I glued the barrels in to seal the gun ports.


The cockpit is also far along. I'm just awaiting a PE set for it and some placards.


And since the Koster detail was kinda soft in the vents and exhaust, I grafted the Tamiya parts over.



And the new vents behind the wings. I was going to use some nefarious PE parts, but found that simple styrene was more than good enough.




Well, that's all for now. I'm trying to keep my progress steady and the updates coming. Here's hoping it turns out good, because this is as much a nice build as practice for when I (eventually) work on the 1/48 F-15 Reporter.

Hazzah!

[The Cat]

Haaah that will be interesting! I've seen it for sale for a while and always wondered what it looks like close up.

Originally Posted by Tiberious

work on the 1/48 F-15 Reporter.

Hazzah!

[AdmiralBuck]

That is one helluva plane!

[Neb]

That graft look great!

Man.... it's tough to do that to a kit----major surgery.

So far, so good!

[Tiberious]

Here I was thinking I was doing just good enough! Thanks!

Working on smoothing out the little transitions and opening up the little scoops to either side of the prop hub, as well as transfering both bases for the behind the cockpit scoops from the vac kit.

[lakespeed]

Nice work. Vacuforms always get a bad rap but they're not really as tough as some make them out to be. KAE also makes some good stuff.

[Tiberious]

Yes, it's just making sure they have enough support as you work on them and when you glue the halves together.

Here are the front scoops opened up. A little more cleaning and then I'll see about making some inner lining/ducting, cause I don't think you'd be able to see engine detail through there. And after asking my father, who was a US Air Force mechanic, he thinks you'd only see ducting when looking in there.


And the fuselage. Not together yet, as I still need the PE to finish the cockpit, and I need to figure out how to do the spinner.

[Tiberious]

I think I figured out how to do the spinner.

I was picking through a parts drawer, and it is a good tip to NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY, when I found this little dohickey.


I don't know what it's from or when it got in there, but it fits nice and snug!

[Neb]

Finding the doohickey and making it "fit" is almost as rewarding as a kit that just falls together!

[Tiberious]

Damn Right! That was awesome when it just snugged right in there. I'm sure it won't happen again for another decade...

So, onward!

Here is the lower intake and grill. On the outside it's a nice piece. But inside, the inverted V splitter is off a bit and there are a lot of tiny bubbles that need to be cleaned out. So to make that easier and fix the misalignment, I'm going to sand it out from the back and replace with styrene and metal screen.


But of course, I sanded it wrong and took off too much detail on the backside bottom. Which just means I'll just have to fill and sand an area that I was going to have to fill and sand anyway. Oh well.


Next I'm going to take some of the intake detail from the Tamiya kit, the bottom half of Part E22 and fill the empty space in there.

This is cut down and drying. Need to clean it up some.

[Tiberious]

Still awaiting that last PE fret for the cockpit... Then I can start closing things up.
Fiddling with the gear right now, adding fuel lines.

I also scratched some detail for the rear facing vents on the sides. That way the gaping holes are blocked and there's detail to see.

[The Cat]

ooooo it's getting good now

[Neb]

Indeed it is!!!

[Tiberious]

Thank you gents. You almost make me squeee!

ah hum... pardon me...

I did some gear work. Putting on break lines, thicker lead wire for the bottom to depict the rubber hose and thinner for the hard line going to the top.



I also bought some brass tube from work and fitted them into the exhaust, angled and bored out some with a drill bit for scale thinness.


And today, I set the resin airscoop into one side to check fit. It's a little messy now, but that's what filler and sanding sticks are for.



I really hope the PE is in the mail today. I really want to get the fuselage closed up now...

[Tiberious]

On the side vents, both prototypes show split doors. So out came some scrap plastic along with some sanding, eye-balling and cutting. I'm going to cut up the kits 'closed' doors to finish that off.


And I used some round stock to help with final assembly. It'll give the glue something more to bite into rather than having just a thin butt-join to trust in.


And yes, quite messy in there. Hopefully that won't be seen for much longer!!

Thom