1/72 Strombecker P-80A

[Mark Braunlich]

Inspired by the other Strombecker restorations seen at SMM and having had this old built Strombecker P-80 for some years, I decided to have a go at it during my recovery from back surgery.   First pic here shows it as I found it, luckily complete.  There was a large unsightly "flat" on top of the fuselage for mounting the canopy.  I don't know if it came from Strombecker that way.  Second photo shows a slab of basswood glued onto the flat to correct the fuselage contour.

Lots of nostalgia with this one.  My brother and I grew up playing on and inside a P-80C parked at the local airport, a bike ride away from home.  We would crawl in the tailpipe, there was no engine inside, and we would sit inside the intakes, shooting down any MiG that came near.   The canopy was wired shut.

[lastvautour]

Nice subject. Good luck and give us lots of pictures during the restoration.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

That will make for a great restoration project Mark,I love your boyhood story,it reminds me of my own favourite place where I used to eat my lunch when I worked in aviation,sitting on the flight deck of a former BOAC Lockheed L749 Constelllation that was being scrapped,it sat there for several years until one night it got torched by vandals,what a sad end to a grand old lady of the skies.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

The leading and trailing edges are thinned and the flat-bottom wing is changed to something approximating the correct semi-symmetrical airfoil.
The same thing is done with the tail surfaces.

[Mark Braunlich]

Thanks Oceaneer for fixing the upload limit.  Photos added to above post.


Fuselage getting lots of refinement.  Intakes reshaped and hollowed, tailpipe hollowed, and the cockpit area reshaped.  I'm looking at photos from the internet but I think I remember most of the shapes in my head.  The large wing fillets will be a first for me  

[Mark Braunlich]

I'm trying an "old school" method of making wing fillets.  Medium hard block of balsa is roughly shaped to the outlines of the fillet then glued and pinned in place.  The shapes are roughly sketched on the block just by looking at photographs.   The balsa is softer than the Western Pine fuselage and wing so can be shaped and sanded without touching the underlying wood.   

[Balsabasher]

A good idea Mark,as a small tip for you try using lino cutting gouges to remove the balsa,you should be able to get these still from art stores,failing that then make your own from steel tube,just grind the edge of the tube to make a keen edge,finish off with glasspaper wrapped around or glued to pieces of dowel,best of luck.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

I'm satisfied with how the balsa fillet turned out.    A bit of white filler to blend the balsa fillet into the pine air intake.  I'm sure the gouges would work Barry but I don't have any, the nearest art store is about 65 miles away and my doctor won't let me drive yet.   There is no "local" hobby shop.   I used my grandfather's rat-tail rasp and a half round file to shape the fillet and sandpaper of course.

[Balsabasher]

Looks relly good Mark,those fillets make such a difference to the way the P-80 looks,so I am not the only person without a local model shop,they are a dieing breed.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

Looks like the plaster man has been at work  .

[Balsabasher]

These fillets make all the difference Mark,well worth the extra effort.
Barry.

[Mark Braunlich]

Intake boundary layer splitters have been added, gun ports drilled in the nose and the kit's original flat-bottomed canopy carved, filed and sanded to fit the top of the fuselage.  My brother loaned me the instruction sheet from an original kit and it explains about shaping the bottom of the canopy and how to do it.  So the flat filed on top of the wood fuselage on this particular model was not original to the kit.   It's also been given two coats of Sig sanding sealer at this point.

Mark

[Balsabasher]

Mark a worthwhile modification to bring this lovely P-80 inline,you just have to admire the Lockheed draughtsmen for that beautiful nose shape,well done.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Mark it is looking great. Did you hollow out the intakes or is that part of the original make up of the kit?

Lou

[Mark Braunlich]

"Body's in white, all gleaming bright."

Flat white primer partially rubbed out and all looks good.

Yes, Lou, I've hollowed out the intakes and the tailpipe.  Now, on to the drop tanks.

Mark