Official FMS 1500mm P-47D Razorback Thread

[davegee]

Not to much further I can go until I get the markings package from Callie. That might be another few weeks. I might take it out for another test flight in the meantime, though.

Cheers

Davegee

Weather was acceptable to do a couple more test flights on my new 1500mm FMS P-47D, still under construction. I flew it twice, one without the drop tank, and one with the drop tank. Didn't see any appreciable difference in performance with the tank on or off. But it is fast, or wants to fly fast! Very much like a fighter, indeed. Landings are really a piece of cake when you fly at the right speed and do a two point landing, with some power.

The only minor issue I have at this point is that the right inner gear door which is down whenever the gear is out, doesn't seem to be retracting when the gear comes up. Haven't seen that one before with these airplanes, and it works perfectly on the ground (of course!)

Can't wait to get the graphics from Callie in a few weeks to finish off the look. I've been experimenting with the larger V3 FMS Corsair prop, and it flies very well with it, and of course looks better than the undersized stock prop that comes with the airplane. I have someone making me a 3D printed Curtiss Electric prop hub and I'll add some vinyl "boots" at the base of each prop to complete the look. Hopefully it will all work out ok.

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

davegee Beautiful paint work, Dave. She's a looker even without Callie Graphics' magic. Best, LB

[jetfool]

Davegee.
Glad you got a couple of flights in. Plane is looking great. Hopefully mailman will surprise you soon. The tank really sets it off. Rex

[davegee]

Davegee.
Glad you got a couple of flights in. Plane is looking great. Hopefully mailman will surprise you soon. The tank really sets it off. Rex

I've done all sorts of experiments on these three P-47s that I have with the sway brackets for the fuselage drop tank which was used frequently on these earlier T-bolts in Europe during WWII. This latest try, I used 1/4" square hardwood pieces, cut to proper length, and then epoxied into square holes I made in the fuselage with my exacto knife. Keeping it simple, I drilled holes in the end of each square dowel, and inserted a finishing nail that has rings on it that mimic threads. The whole system is very strong, and my fears of them breaking off under the strain of setting the weight of the plane on foam pads in the car for transport to the field never materialized so far. They come very close to touching the foam tank, and the tank slides in well on its stock mount that FMS designed for the model. Close enough for a foamie, anyway!

I think I'll retrofit my other two planes with these hardwood pieces to make sway brackets that are pretty close to scale. This seems to be the best plan yet for these brackets for me.

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

davegee Beautiful paint work, Dave. She's a looker even without Callie Graphics' magic. Best, LB

Callie's magnificent work will be the crowning touch to this model. If I had a preference, it would be using paint masks and painting every decal and nomenclature onto the plane as was done on the real ones, and also on all my bigger gasser planes. It allowed all the rivet details to show though, just as would be when you painted over the surface of airplane skin. But since I haven't found a way yet to do that without the paint pulling off of the foam, the Callie decals do a very nice job.

Incidentally, I used simple Tamiya rattle cans of AS-6 Olive Drab (USAAF) and Neutral Gray (USAAF). After filling dents, holes, etc., and spraying primer and additional sanding, these Tamiya paints were a breeze to apply. And of course I used the 3M foam masking tape that you are now familiar with. Good stuff!

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

Tamiya "Rattle Can" is the finest rattle can paint. Used a bit on the Hornet. If there's a compromise to using it for everything, it would be color choices in the spray. Best, LB

[davegee]

davegee Beautiful paint work, Dave. She's a looker even without Callie Graphics' magic. Best, LB

Hurrah! My number in line finally came up and Callie emailed me this morning that she is now working on my special markings set for "OLE COCK." I've cleared the deck for next week to put them on when they arrive. She wrote that they should ship on Friday, so I should have them next week, sometime.

davegee

[Elbee]

Congrats, Dave!!! It is that way with Callie, I place my request, work out the layouts and then I must put on my patience cap until the magic arrives. Always worth it in the end. Best, Steve

[spanner76]

Weather was acceptable to do a couple more test flights on my new 1500mm FMS P-47D, still under construction. I flew it twice, one without the drop tank, and one with the drop tank. Didn't see any appreciable difference in performance with the tank on or off. But it is fast, or wants to fly fast! Very much like a fighter, indeed. Landings are really a piece of cake when you fly at the right speed and do a two point landing, with some power.

The only minor issue I have at this point is that the right inner gear door which is down whenever the gear is out, doesn't seem to be retracting when the gear comes up. Haven't seen that one before with these airplanes, and it works perfectly on the ground (of course!)

Can't wait to get the graphics from Callie in a few weeks to finish off the look. I've been experimenting with the larger V3 FMS Corsair prop, and it flies very well with it, and of course looks better than the undersized stock prop that comes with the airplane. I have someone making me a 3D printed Curtiss Electric prop hub and I'll add some vinyl "boots" at the base of each prop to complete the look. Hopefully it will all work out ok.

Cheers

davegee

Oh my goodness! That is just gorgeous! Awesome work Dave!

[davegee]

Oh my goodness! That is just gorgeous! Awesome work Dave!

Thanks, Spanner 76. Let's stay in touch as I finish the plane and especially adding the new 3D printed CE prop hub and the Corsair V3 props. I am going to add vinyl sleeves to mimic the "cuffs" that the CE propellers had, as well as the elongated, bullet shaped prop domes. The vast majority of P-47s had this over the Ham Stand props and blunter prop domes, so this should make this plane a bit more scale look, and hopefully a good flyer, as you and I have found out through our separate tests on opposite sides of the globe!

Cheers

davegee

[jetfool]

You will soon be on the final stretch of this build. Going to be a masterpiece. Now what will be next on the agenda? Rex

[davegee]

Just completed a few minor additions to the plane this afternoon after the maiden. One picture shows the retracted landing light. I used a "mini mag" light reflector, bulb and cover that was approximately the correct size and cut a hole out on the left wing behind the landing gear. Early jugs had the landing light here, later ones they moved it to the left wingtip. This light is non functional, just for looks as it would be retracted for almost all flight operations.

Also, attached is a photo of the wheel and one of the scratchbuilt wheel covers for the earlier model jugs. Later models they did away with these and just showed spoked wheels.

Last is a photo of how I circumvented the poorly designed tail wheel door retraction set up. On the real plane, these doors were mechanically retracted or splayed out as the gear went up and down. The model has the doors hanging down and attached with springs to the tailwheel strut. But this makes the gear doors sashay back and forth on the ground as the tailwheel is moved. I think FMS mostly did a super job in designing this P-47 model in almost all aspects. But the tailwheel door design I'd have to say "used poor headwork."

The fix, and I got this from someone many years ago when the model first came out, was to string a small spring across the gear doors. This does two things. First, it forces the gear doors to be splayed out more than the original FMS design, and allows for the gear doors to smartly be pulled closed after the gear strut pulls on the spring, forcing them closed. Works great, been using this for years. Also notice the scratchbuilt object at the bottom of the tailwheel area. This was a hardpoint to attach a jack to to safely raise the tail area.

Also, the plane comes with painted green zinc chromate gear wheel wells and other interior parts. They should actually be yellow zinc chromate, and I used an airbrush to paint them after I taped them off. I think some of the contractors sub-let from Republic like Curtiss might have used the green, but the vast majority were yellow.

I'd like to make a correction to the idea of stringing a spring across the tail wheel doors to get them to open and close in a realistic manner. In 2016, I added a simple spring from ballpoint pen, and stretched it out to a width of about 2 1/2 inches. Then on each end, I took a needlenose pliers and bent the last coil on each end up 90 degrees so that it could be attached to the little brackets on each tailwheel door. It worked great!

Well, that plane eventually came back in a body bag, (not for anything associated with the tail wheel spring mod) and more recently I used a commercially available spring I got at the local hardware store for this use. It also worked fine, but I have come across a troubling random occurrence using these hardware store springs, which are more robust than a simple ballpoint pen spring. What I have found with the bigger hardware store springs is on occasion, when I command the gear to come down, the tail wheel stays retracted. It is random, and you can't predict when this might happen. On one occasion last year, it hung up and I had to land with the tail wheel retracted, causing minor damage to the tail area.

I think the hardware store springs occasionally put too much pressure on the tailwheel, when retracted, and somehow interfere with the gear coming out. By using the above mentioned ballpoint pen spring, I think these possible issues will be eliminated.

I just wanted to make anyone aware of using this system on the FMS 1500mm P-47D razorback model should use the ballpoint pen spring idea, instead of getting a bigger spring at the store that might cause headaches down the road. I still think the concept of this spring is good, much better than the FMS design that moves the tail wheel doors as it taxies on the ground. If you have any questions, I am more than happy to respond. I'll attach a few pics I just took of the two different types of springs I have been using.

[davegee]

You will soon be on the final stretch of this build. Going to be a masterpiece. Now what will be next on the agenda? Rex

Thanks, Rex. As for plans past this project, I am putting together a bid for a project with the NASM in Washington, DC for a new exhibit gallery. Not sure if I'll get the contract or not, but you gotta try!

For rc airplanes, I would love to see something new. I have been looking at the newly redesigned Euro fighter that is now taking pre-orders. I might see how others like it first before I buy one. I may have to sell an airplane to make room for whatever I might want to buy next!

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

Davegee,

Here isa photo of mine when I was building my Yellow P-47. Also I installed the antena post on the right side of fus for the ant. wire to hook to. Rex

Hi Rex: was the paint scheme you were looking at called "Silver Lady" by any chance? If so, it had a very interesting combat life with some of the top fighter pilots of the day flying it in the 56th Fighter Group. I got to meet a couple of them before they passed on.

Cheers

davegee

[Elbee]

Beautiful IP detail.

[jetfool]

Yes it is the Silver Lady. I liked it because as you stated, many aces flew her. And it was not an OD that most are at flying events. I hope to go to some events with her this summer. Need to buy a trailer first my truck is getting full.
Meeting those pilots must have been a great experience. When I go to real fly-ins I try to meet or talk to our current airman. I have a HS classmate who flew Apaches in Desert Storm. He was a capt. and commanded a squadron then. Retired back here now and I enjoy hearing his stories. Rex

[davegee]

Yes it is the Silver Lady. I liked it because as you stated, many aces flew her. And it was not an OD that most are at flying events. I hope to go to some events with her this summer. Need to buy a trailer first my truck is getting full.
Meeting those pilots must have been a great experience. When I go to real fly-ins I try to meet or talk to our current airman. I have a HS classmate who flew Apaches in Desert Storm. He was a capt. and commanded a squadron then. Retired back here now and I enjoy hearing his stories. Rex

When you mentioned Silver Lady as the plane you were working on, that sparked a memory for me. I was active on the airshow circuit for RC warbirds between 2003-2008. I got heavily into the history of the 56th Fighter Group, not sure why at first, but I got to know several pilots, some of whom were still hanging in there during that time. Bob "Shorty" Rankin was a marvelous fellow who later commanded an F-105 squadron in Viet Nam, if memory serves. He was one of many pilots of Silver Lady. Lanny Lanowski had passed away by the time I got interested in the history of this unit, but I got to know his son, Rhys, who lives in England. I honored Lanny's memory by making my Flightline Spitfire in his markings when he flew with the RAF 302 squadron before moving in with the 56th FG of the USAAF. I have an autographed picture of "Mike" Gladych in the cockpit of his P-47. He has a big scar across his face, caused by when he intentionally rammed a German fighter from behind (apparently out of bullets) and some debris went through the windshield and hit him.

Good choice on your part to make your plane Silver Lady!

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

I bet many of you scale modelers are already familiar with Micro Kristal Clear liquiid by Microscale. One of the details I have done on my three FMS P-47 airplanes is adding the gun camera port at the base of the leading edge of the right wing. I used a 1/4" square brass tube cut to size and fit it in place and used putty and sanding to make it smooth. I also added a simulated panel below that where they would have installed or removed the 16mm gun camera before/after a mission.

The problem I had was trying to make a little glass looking cover that protected the camera and lens in the windstream in flight. I guess I probably have used this stuff before because I've had it a long time in my kit, but it was easy to take some drops of this white, thick fluid with a toothpice and apply it to the open area of the brass tube. It dries clear, and looks like glass.

I'll attach a couple of pics. You may not be able to see it in the picture, but with the naked eye it looks great.

The larger oval hole in the leading edge of the right wing is a circular brass tube that I flattened a bit in a vice to make it oval. This simulates the intake cabin air port for ventilation in the cockpit. If you need to make a small area to look like glass, this stuff seems to work well. Give it time to turn from white to clear, could take a few days to do so.

[jetfool]

Great idea Davegee. Should work well for the Corsair landing and identication lenses. Nice detail on wing too. Rex

[davegee]

Great idea Davegee. Should work well for the Corsair landing and identication lenses. Nice detail on wing too. Rex

I've had this stuff for years, not even sure I've ever used it, but it works great for small areas, they recommend about 1/4" size, maybe works on larger areas too.

I've got the Corsair on the bench and will start working on replacing the tail wheel. I'll let you know how it goes, or if I have any questions.

Cheers

davegee

[jetfool]

Davegee,

I have used RC-56 for clear lenses before and I think they will work on the three identification lights on the wing. Just takes time to dry clear. I'm getting ready to start on my cockpit mod and think I can cut the canopy at the back and leave the section over the back on. Kinda nervous but if I don't try I'll never know if it can be done. Want to have a manually open/close canopy. Operating one would be nice but not on this one, I'm not as brave as Elbee.
Looking forward to your updates on P-47 and Corsair. Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,

I have used RC-56 for clear lenses before and I think they will work on the three identification lights on the wing. Just takes time to dry clear. I'm getting ready to start on my cockpit mod and think I can cut the canopy at the back and leave the section over the back on. Kinda nervous but if I don't try I'll never know if it can be done. Want to have a manually open/close canopy. Operating one would be nice but not on this one, I'm not as brave as Elbee.
Looking forward to your updates on P-47 and Corsair. Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: I used very thin (.005" or so) amber, red, and green plastic sheet and then cut them into circles of the proper size. I then glued them in place. I assume you are talking about the three identification lights on the bottom of the right wing. There are also two blue lights or lenses on the tops of the outer wings, as you may already know.

If you decide you'd like some of this colored plastic material, let me know, I can cut some strips and send them to you.

The RC-56 canopy glue works great and I've used it many times in attaching canopies and other clear parts.

Good luck on the Canopy mod. I've done all this stuff before with the big planes, just not very much motivated to do it on these foamies. But I do admire the heck out of LB and you too, for tackling some of these details. Looking forward to seeing your progress on whatever you have planned for your canopy mod.

[davegee]

Got a good flight on my FMS P-47D today using the larger V3 Corsair prop. I have three of these airplanes, I Wanted Wings/Button Nose was the testbed today. Weather was crisp at about 28 degrees F. very light right crosswind, and brilliant sunshine on this January day.

This is the second flight with this airplane using this larger, more scale prop. I think for me, the added power given using this larger prop is noticeable. In fact, I kept the power back at about 1/2 throttle when it flew past me each lap, and the airplane seemed to be (without a speed gun to confirm) faster at a reduced throttle setting than using the stock prop.

Setting up for landing, I did a low altitude run over the runway at about 3/4 power, did a fairly aggressive pitchout to the left and climbed to the normal altitude for a downwind leg, while extending the gear and flaps. The thing that surprised me a little was that once it got close to the ground for landing, it was zipping along faster than I've been used to, for the power setting I normally use. I got a nice touchdown on the mains but used a lot of the runway to get to a stop due to the higher speed.

So, I think the V3 prop tests will definitely continue, and I hope to fully replace the smaller stock props with these more scale looking Corsair V3 props. I'm encouraged, so far.

I'll attach a few pics after the flight today. I added a centerline drop tank, as this will be the configuration I'll use on the other two planes I'm currently working on. If you're familiar with this model, you'll immediately see that this propeller is much more scale (larger) than the stock issue.