P-47D-25 "Hairless Joe" WiP

first bits from the sprues 

 

decied that the molded "rods" are not looking right and slowly cutting them away and drilling holes for wire replacement 

to look something like this... 

all moulded rods removed 

and replaced with wire. Definetely looking better than the original. Worth the effort in my opinion. 

PE wires ready for assembly and routing 

glued in place, next time will be routing time. added pe plates and bits to the front end (on the left) 

bits and bobs ready for next steps 

some pe parts added to the inside of the fuselage 

Engine also coming together. main rods painted together with plug wires. All that is required now is a bit of wash 

cockpit floor part still drying from wash 

Cockpit parts slowly but surely coming together. A little bit of paint, whole bunch of PE placards from Eduard set and a bit of lead wire 

All the extra work and effort was definetely worth it! I'm very happy how this turned out at the end. 

additional bits and bobs ready for install 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cockpit finally glued together 

few details added to the wheel wells 

 

small parts - all ready for painting 

wings glued with the fuselage 

 

 

checking all seams 

some needed a little attention 

final check of all seams and I'm ready for the painting stage 

 

Whole model sprayed with Mr. Primer Surfacer 1000 (50/50 with rapid thinner) 

result is simply gorgeous 

masked front end of the engine cowling and tail plane, sprayed with MRP white for future red (cowling) and yellow (tail plane) camo. 

 

Preshading done. 

Front engine cowling sprayed red and tail surface yellow. Next will be masking both ends and spraying underside surfaces with MRP-112 Medium Sea Grey 

Finally get to the upper surfaces. Front engine cowling was sprayed with both colors to test the final result. So far so good. 

 

Grey [MRP-115 Ocean Grey] pattern masked with MRP masking putty 

 

masked upper surfaces sprayed with MRP-235 Gunship Green [FS34092] 

 

and after complete unmasking, final result. 

Looking really good. 

 

Painted lower invasion stripes  

 

 

 

 

 

Central propeller hub painted with Molotow chrome (airbrushing) 

ready for decals... 

and finished prop 

bits and bobs 

 

Flory Dark Dirt wash on front cowling 

upper surfaces 

and lower surfaces as well 

 

 

Unfortunately, this is the last foto I made before sending the model to the new owner. Hopefully I will be able to provide some pictures of the completed model.