P-47 Thunderbolt "Razorback"

[J Luke]

You are getting there. You seem to have the nack, just keep taking away small slivers.

Lou

Thanks! I've seen where you mark lines on the cross section gauges and then transfer measurements to the model. Would you mind doing a "walk through" on that for me? Or perhaps post a thread where that's done that I maybe haven't found yet? Thank you!

[lastvautour]

Check out the Ventura Tutorial. If that does not meet your needs I will do a short tutorial on transfering line to the models. However all my stuff is packed in boxes and I don't know how long it will take to get to them. I am currently unpacking the kitchen.


Louis

[J Luke]

Thanks! I will look at that one again and let you know.

In the meantime, I was able to get more shaping done last night, just checking the contour gauges as I went. I'm close on the one side, but not quite there yet. I also got a vertical stabilizer cut out, though I think I'll need to redo it. After checking with the templates, both the vertical and the horizontal stabilizers came out a bit too large. That shouldn't be hard to remedy, though. Here's a look at what I've got so far:

[lastvautour]

You have it. Well done so far.

Louis

[J Luke]

Here's what I got done over the weekend. The two sides are shaped and sanded and mostly symmetrical. I also had to remake the vertical stabilizer because the first one didn't fit right. I'm very pleased for my first time building a model in this way. Next will be fitting the wing along with some of the "fiddly bits" like the exhaust vents below the cowling and things.









I did a "contour check" drawing vertical lines on the fuselage and the sides are a little flat (you can see it with the darker bands of wood), but I'm going to leave it, as I don't really have any more room to sand anymore off. I'm already a little under-sized when I check with the contour gauges, but I'd say it looks pretty close for my first try.

[lastvautour]

Excellent results. You do not appear to be a novice at all. I await further photos.

Louis

[J Luke]

Excellent results. You do not appear to be a novice at all. I await further photos.

Louis

Thank you! I suppose I'm a novice in that I've never built a model like this from scratch (using chisels, knives, etc), but I've done many plastic models over the years, and the pinewood derby cars I've enjoyed creating.

I'm slowly starting to work on the wing joint next. When using the notch technique like you demonstrate in the Ventura tutorial, does the notch need to be the full width of the fuselage (at its widest point) or just the width of the fuselage where the wing will sit?

[lastvautour]

Yes, thge notch is the full width of the fuselage where the wing sets. Check out the Ventura tutorial.

Louis

[J Luke]

I got the notch started last night. I still need to trim and adjust to get it to sit up where it goes on the fuselage, but I'm happy with the results so far.

[lastvautour]

Now come a bit off here, a bit of there until you are satisfied with the placement. I have no shortcut on doing this.

Louis

[Boomerang]

Jordan,

Definitely looking like a Thunderbolt.

Coming along nicely.

Cheers

Gordon

[J Luke]

Thanks, Gordon. I'm very pleased with the results so far. I appreciate the kind words.

[J Luke]

I was able to get the wing fitted last night. Here are a few photos:





I forgot to mark the gun locations while the wing was still flat. I did my best with the wing already shaped. You can see on the left that one of them is a bit off:


I'll certainly need to use some putty to fill in on the bottom. I also haven't shaved down the shim I made to fill the gap behind the "plug." Everything is just dry fitted for the photos.


I also got some work done today on the engine cowling and cowl flaps. I am trying to highlight the flaps by cutting directly into the wood, then after painting, I will run some thin, dark paint into the lines to make them stand out.

[lastvautour]

Fantastic results. Have you considered what paint scheme you will be using?

Louis

[J Luke]

Fantastic results. Have you considered what paint scheme you will be using?

Louis

Thank you! 

It will be olive drab over neutral gray, but I haven't decided much beyond that yet. Maybe D-Day stripes. I've always liked how they look on the razorback Jugs. Same with the C-47. They just look "naked" to me without D-Day stripes.