Official FMS 1500mm P-47D Razorback Thread

[davegee]

those are great pics, Rex. Glad you got the pilot seat position figured out. He looks super! Thanks for the heads up on lengthing the control stick on the bubbletop. I'll do that.
I really like the currougated floor with the wear marks on it. The shoulder harness looks great. I have been adding those for most of my fighter cockpits for many years. With the 1/5 to 1/6 scale warbirds, I was able to find material and fittings made for hobby things that looked right and were functional. They came out great and actually kent the pilots locked in place in their seats. I rpobably glued down these smaller printed pilots but the effect of the shoulder harnesses/seat belts is a plus, and hopefully not lost on the judges.

Cheers

Davegee

[jetfool]

Davegee,
Thanks for your comments. The floorboard came out nice, .020"styrene primer, silver, int. green. I rubbed the paint with a 3m pad to let the silver show thru. looks good in person put most people won't see it with pilot in. I spot glued him in the seat and can remove if needed.
Working on getting the headrest, seat height and pilot looking correct per photos of pilots sitting ready to fly. Chewing gum comes in handy to hold things when measuring in the small area.
Shoulder harness/ seat belt really looks great. Trying to decide if I want them fastened or in an unhooked position as if he is exiting.

[jetfool]

Found a good image of the instrument panel. Enlarged to 270% and. printed on photo paper. Used sharpened brass tubing to cut instruments out and glued to OEM instrument panel. Looks pretty good. I cut the rudder pedal arms off and will make longer arms to fit the pilot's feet.
4-12" snow expected this weekend so hope to have cockpit finished by Monday
Primed the propellor cuffs
Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,
Thanks for your comments. The floorboard came out nice, .020"styrene primer, silver, int. green. I rubbed the paint with a 3m pad to let the silver show thru. looks good in person put most people won't see it with pilot in. I spot glued him in the seat and can remove if needed.
Working on getting the headrest, seat height and pilot looking correct per photos of pilots sitting ready to fly. Chewing gum comes in handy to hold things when measuring in the small area.
Shoulder harness/ seat belt really looks great. Trying to decide if I want them fastened or in an unhooked position as if he is exiting.

I guess that is up to you to have the shoulder hanresses fastened or not. Myself, I always have them attached so he looks like he is ready to fly and do battle!

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

Found a good image of the instrument panel. Enlarged to 270% and. printed on photo paper. Used sharpened brass tubing to cut instruments out and glued to OEM instrument panel. Looks pretty good. I cut the rudder pedal arms off and will make longer arms to fit the pilot's feet.
4-12" snow expected this weekend so hope to have cockpit finished by Monday
Primed the propellor cuffs
Best Regards, Rex

Excellent idea, Rex. I had not heard of that before, but it is excellent! I also put a drop of resin or epoxy on each instrument face to simulate glass. Makes for a finished and credible look.

Tip 'o the hat to Elbee. He redesigned the cuffs for a better fit than I had. With my V1 paper or plastic cuffs, they were not sealed at the ends, just glued on in the middle. That sorta worked, but then when I was flying it, you would hear a "POP!" and you knew one of the cuffs had popped off when stresses and air got in there underneath and popped off the cuffs. These V2 or V3 printed cuffs are much better, although I would recommend glueing them at the cap end onto the prop, and at the narrower end with CA to the prop, making a little bead all around the joint so that they cannot come off in flight. I then touch up the black and where the bead of glue was, put on the decals, and you're all set! I have flown with the V3 Elbee design several times and they work perfectly each time. I have found when the earlier version popped off occasionally, there was ZERO effect on flyability of the aircraft in any way.

I'll look forward to seeing how you do the rudder pedals. On mine, the pilot's feet didn't line up very well, so I just left them out of the cockpit. But if you come up with a workable plan, I might add them back in again.

Right now we are + 2 degrees F in Cody, but a slow "warmup" if you can call it that is on the way next week. At least we don't have a lot of wind, which really makes it tough combined with the low temps. But even a few days in the 40s or even low 50s is like Miami Beach here!

Cheers

Davegee

[jetfool]

Davegee,
The cockpit parts are all fitting well but my extra 3/4" depth is almost too much. I am going today to get the height correct so there is more room below the cockpit. Now it is less than 1/8" and wiring underneath has to be correct so I want more clearance so moving the seat/. pilot a little will need to be done.
The instruments fit fairly well and look great. I will use some of my wifes clear craft epoxy for the glass. Dries crystal clear.
When I have side depth, pilot/seat height all set I will give all my dim. on here for others. There is plenty of room just need more clearance.
Elbee is our resident GOO-ROO!
I really enjoy the snow and cold weather. I do most of my building and if I lived in Florida or another warm state I'd never get any building done.
Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,
The cockpit parts are all fitting well but my extra 3/4" depth is almost too much. I am going today to get the height correct so there is more room below the cockpit. Now it is less than 1/8" and wiring underneath has to be correct so I want more clearance so moving the seat/. pilot a little will need to be done.
The instruments fit fairly well and look great. I will use some of my wifes clear craft epoxy for the glass. Dries crystal clear.
When I have side depth, pilot/seat height all set I will give all my dim. on here for others. There is plenty of room just need more clearance.
Elbee is our resident GOO-ROO!
I really enjoy the snow and cold weather. I do most of my building and if I lived in Florida or another warm state I'd never get any building done.
Best Regards, Rex

Sounds good, Rex. We'll stand by for more reports as you get the adjustments done to the seat/pilot height. Just part of the process.

Cheers

davegee

[vrosi1963]

The main hatch profile is looking good with a first layer of primer to identify all the imperfections, lots more finish work to go on the main fuse

[davegee]

The main hatch profile is looking good with a first layer of primer to identify all the imperfections, lots more finish work to go on the main fuse

looking good, James. In the second picture, can you cover over the cutout where the OEM gunsight used to be? I'll be putting in a totally different printed gunsight and it would be better if the entire glareshield is smooth before I begin installing that and other stuff, too.

Thanks!

Davegee

[vrosi1963]

looking good, James. In the second picture, can you cover over the cutout where the OEM gunsight used to be? I'll be putting in a totally different printed gunsight and it would be better if the entire glareshield is smooth before I begin installing that and other stuff, too.

Thanks!

Davegee

Yes it will be filled Np

[jetfool]

With 11" of snow on ground and still snowing and 0'
the best thing to do is work on planes.
I have started installing the cockpit parts. Glued .010" styrene strips over foam cockpit edge, gives a smoother look. Back styrene former glued in. Cockpit side walls decreased 1/4" to allow clearance underneath floorboard. Pilot was pre-fitted in cockpit and the brace under seat was shortened to 1 3/16" to give correct stance in cockpit, shoulder and head height.
Will paint touch up areas and install front canopy, armor glass and gunsight
Installed cuffs on propellor, will refinish paint
more to come later.
Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

With 11" of snow on ground and still snowing and 0'
the best thing to do is work on planes.
I have started installing the cockpit parts. Glued .010" styrene strips over foam cockpit edge, gives a smoother look. Back styrene former glued in. Cockpit side walls decreased 1/4" to allow clearance underneath floorboard. Pilot was pre-fitted in cockpit and the brace under seat was shortened to 1 3/16" to give correct stance in cockpit, shoulder and head height.
Will paint touch up areas and install front canopy, armor glass and gunsight
Installed cuffs on propellor, will refinish paint
more to come later.
Best Regards, Rex

looking great, Rex. You're probably already planning for this, but the glareshield is almost always matte black on almost every airplane from WWII to the present day. I'm talking about the triangular piece where you will install the armored glass. You probably are already planning on doing that, but just checking. It's really coming together in great shape!

Cheers

davegee

[davegee]

Regarding the blade tips, you might be planning on reducing the size of the yellow tips, (FMS are way too tall) but here are a couple drawings/pictures of the real things: That's just my 2 cents worth, anyway.

[jetfool]

Davegee,
Thanks for the info. I have flat black on hand and plan to get matte black this week for the triangle aera. Decided to have Bob strapped in with harness & seatbelt. I cracked one cuff so adding a little filler to hide the seam. Your cuffs look great. Callie will send a quote for the Curtiss decal and nomenclature on the prop. I was looking at photos today to see how the tips were painted. I have the FS# for the yellow. Will prime/sand props and re-do.
I don't understand why Manufactures spend lots of money on molds, R&D, .etc then don't take the effort to get the paint correct. I think they would sell more planes.
Best Regards, Rex

[davegee]

Davegee,
Thanks for the info. I have flat black on hand and plan to get matte black this week for the triangle aera. Decided to have Bob strapped in with harness & seatbelt. I cracked one cuff so adding a little filler to hide the seam. Your cuffs look great. Callie will send a quote for the Curtiss decal and nomenclature on the prop. I was looking at photos today to see how the tips were painted. I have the FS# for the yellow. Will prime/sand props and re-do.
I don't understand why Manufactures spend lots of money on molds, R&D, .etc then don't take the effort to get the paint correct. I think they would sell more planes.
Best Regards, Rex

yeah, maybe these companies have dweebs who care more for "that looks Cool!" rather than people like you and me who want them accurate. I actually didn't catch it for awhile, like the E Flite 1500mm P-51D. I missed that for some time, actually my second one (Hun Hunter from Texas) that I still have and retired to hanging up in the garage still has the prop blades too tall on the yellow. Someday I'll get around to changing that to what it should be. Pretty easy to do, actually.

If I was a judge and really knew the true story on little details like that, I would ding them some on that score. I don't know if these judges would pick up on little things like that, but you and I know how it should look, and at least other modelers would appreciate the accuracy, I think.

[jetfool]

I think I have the cockpit about right for the pilot. Bob isn't glued in yet, but he is feet on floor and head and shoulders like my photos. Headrest glued in and looks like the time period at that time.
Dave, I think the armor glass sits at a 45' angle, correct me if I'm wrong, and glues to the frame of the canopy and base to the fus.
Best Regards, Rex

[jetfool]

Photos of real P-47 for reference

[davegee]

I think I have the cockpit about right for the pilot. Bob isn't glued in yet, but he is feet on floor and head and shoulders like my photos. Headrest glued in and looks like the time period at that time.
Dave, I think the armor glass sits at a 45' angle, correct me if I'm wrong, and glues to the frame of the canopy and base to the fus.
Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: great job resizing the headrest. Looks much better!

Regarding the angle of the armored glass in the windscreen, I think 45 degrees or so is a good estimate. Looking at it from a 90 degree angle in that in-air photo you posted, it looks like the armored glass frame approximately parallels the line of the sloping frame of the windscreen. I think that is a pretty safe and reasonable angle to put your armored glass and frame in position at about a 45 degree angle. Makes sense when I think of it; if it was perpendicular to the glareshield (straight up and down), it might be weaker to a direct bullet or flak hit. If less than 45 degrees, it might also be weaker to a direct hit. Just my guess.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

I think I have the cockpit about right for the pilot. Bob isn't glued in yet, but he is feet on floor and head and shoulders like my photos. Headrest glued in and looks like the time period at that time.
Dave, I think the armor glass sits at a 45' angle, correct me if I'm wrong, and glues to the frame of the canopy and base to the fus.
Best Regards, Rex

Hi Rex: great job resizing the headrest. Looks much better!

Regarding the angle of the armored glass in the windscreen, I think 45 degrees or so is a good estimate. Looking at it from a 90 degree angle in that in-air photo you posted, it looks like the armored glass frame approximately parallels the line of the sloping frame of the windscreen. I think that is a pretty safe and reasonable angle to put your armored glass and frame in position at about a 45 degree angle. Makes sense when I think of it; if it was perpendicular to the glareshield (straight up and down), it might be weaker to a direct bullet or flak hit. If less than 45 degrees, it might also be weaker to a direct hit. Just my guess.

Cheers

Davegee

[davegee]

Hi Rex: did the Mk.II gunsight make it through the shipping ok? Should be pretty easy to mount once are ready to do that. I try to glue it on so when seen from in fornt of the cockpit, the pilot's eye is looking right through the reflector glass on the gunsight. Then you can just glue it on at those two points that I painted on the mounting lugs on the sight. Let me know if you have any questions. It should be pretty accurate for what Bob and the others at that time were using in combat.

cheers

davegee