On to the kit. The Tamiya P-47 series is perhaps the greatest thing ever kitted in plastic. It's pure modeling bliss. I will add Ultracast tires and a seat, the latter because I have one on hand. I'll rig the motor too, as I do on all my radials. I have HJ on an Aeromaster "Wolf Pack" sheet.
I started with the cockpit. I used the kit decal for the instrument panel and had no issues. Again, the seat is Ultracast. I came up with my own version of Dull Dark Green that Republic used. I mixed up XF-61 Dark Green with a touch of XF-58 Olive Green.
I then switched gears and worked on the Pratt & Whitney R-2800. All radials need wires,as they look naked without them. Forget Photoetch and try this. Here's a brief "how to". First I assemble the engine and add the gear box, which is temporarily secured with blue tac (gear box painted black for illustration purposes..it's not necessary). Now we need ignition leads. I glue two pieces of .10 styrene together and slice off pieces to represent the leads. These are then Tenaxed around the ring. If your radial doesn't come with this ring around the gearbox, add one with styrene rod.
I then used Alclad Grey and primed the mill. I was ok with this grey shade for the gearbox, so I taped it off and sprayed the rest Alclad Aluminum. Once done, It was time for the wires. These were a copper color on the real thing, so I use the copper striped from an old stereo wire. It's now a matter of cutting the wires to length bending them, and then super-gluing them from the lead to the cylinder.
I usually start off slow, but once you get the hang of the proper lengths, it goes quickly. I can get here in an hour or so....
Now the fun part....paint and weathering. I hand paint the leads then spray everything with a Testor's gloss coat to seal it for a wash. After a Detailer wash, I hit it with Testor's dullcoat. I then finish it off with a blast of X-19 Smoke to give it that smokey used look.
I should be buttoning it up soon.
Joe
