Tamiya 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt x 2

[kyledehart5]

Thick AND brittle. Not an ideal combination. From what I can see it sure seems like you’re beating all issues into submission. Looking wonderful with some color on the NMF

[handiabled]

The decals and paint work on the nmf look awesome in spite of the issues you encountered!

[TJ]

For the issues with the decals you had, your fixes came out great.

[oortiz10]

"Stripes - The Vengence"

OK, so I started on the invasion stripes under Kwitcher's wings. I thought I had things dialed in...until I removed the masking. Let me preface with saying, I always hate masking over NMF.

Up until this point, I had good luck avoiding any NMF pulling up with the tape. The spots that did were small and easily fixed. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with the wings. I had multiple sizeable spots lift off multiple times. After all the sanding, re-masking, and repainting, things were not looking good. Not only did I continue to have paint pull off, but my stripes were no longer parallel...or rectangles, for that matter. I had a couple of trapezoids in there!





But, I persevered. I ended up stripping the flap down to bare plastic and starting over. The wing, I sanded and resprayed most of the underside. It all paid off in the end. I ended up with, what I consider, a satisfactory result. For the record, the decal instructions for Kwitcherbitchin state that the invasion stripes do not extend all the way to the leading edge.





Much better! I can live with that. 

Oh, just because I couldn't resist, here are the pylons dry-fitted to the wings, and the wings dry-fitted to the fuselage:





Next, I have to do the partial invasion stripes on Kwitcher's belly. Of, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket on your way out.


Wish me luck!
-O

[kyledehart5]

Excellent work!! And great job getting through the masking issues. That really turned out awesome.

[oortiz10]

"Stripes - O's Conquest"

OK gang, I am done with the primary painting, including all the stripes.








Time to move on to the fiddly bits and decals before final assembly. I'll post more when there's more to post.

Comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket on your way out.



Thanks for stopping by!

-O

[TJ]

Nice work on those stripes O

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful work on the striping!!

[handiabled]

Wonderful paintwork! The invasion stripes look perfect

[“Dallas” Kenny X]

That Tamiya Thunderbolt kit is one of my favorite kits to build, and in my opinion it’s one of the best model aircraft kits ever tooled and manufactured.

And you’re doing a sterling job on both your builds. Beautiful work.

[oortiz10]

Hey MSCers, I just wanted to let you know that I've been picking away at my Thunderbolts. I was able to make some significant progress.

I ordered some replacement wheels from Eduard. They arrived and I was able to get those all done.





The great thing about Eduard's set is it includes a tailwheel. Here they are before final weathering and a flat coat.





But the most exciting thing to share is...

...STICKERS!





I was not impressed with Aztec's decals, so I used what I needed from their set, then raided my spares to find appropriate stencils. Here are the two airframes with their wings dry-fitted. The only decals that need to still be applied are the kill markings and the pieces of the national insignia for the open oil cooler doors on Kwitcher.








I gotta say, I love the look of the big national insignia on the Thunderbolt, especially against the invasion stripes!








Well, there ya go. That's where I'm at. Still plenty to do before I can call these done, but I want to believe that it's all downhill from here.

Of course, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket on your way out.

Thanks for lookin'!
-O

[keavdog]

Looking good O. The NMF looks really nice. Too bad about the Aztek decals. I've had good fortune with what I've used of theirs.

[TJ]

The colors are starting to pop out now. Great work

[406 Silverado]

Dude.......you deserve the biggest award possible for getting through all of the troubled areas of this build that you did Omar. That's quite the roller coaster ride on this project but you're pulling through it all in good fashion and the results speak for themselves.

Masterfully done so far good sir.

[handiabled]

Wow do these look superb with the markings and nose art on!

[cbaltrin]

Looking great O! nice updates you’ve made. Tamiya P-47s are about as good as it gets for me! Can wait to see your final product.

[cbaltrin]

Also, I like your engine wiring technique —going to have to try that on my next radial…

[kyledehart5]

Really look outstanding in NMF. And the markings you’ve chosen really jump out on you. Great choices and great work

[oortiz10]

OK plastic mashers, I've made some progress on the Jugs. I started the weathering process. I tried two different techniques. On the Escuadron 201 airframe, I used oils. On Kwitcher, I used the salt method. Both were a first for me.

















I'd love to hear some feedback. Please share your thoughts. As you know, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket on your way out. Especially today.


Much appreciated!
-O

[keavdog]

I like the oils on the panel lines - looks really good. I have sprayed Tamiya smoke over panel lines to get to a similar weathering. Really looking nice.

[kyledehart5]

Excellent. I’m not sure if I have a preference. Both of them look very nice. I’m really liking how these are going.

[Tojo72]

Nice set of twins,and some great markings.

[deafpanzer]

I really love how the nose arts really pop out!!!

[“Dallas” Kenny X]

Great work on these!

[Steve Zuleski]

Those are lookin mighty purty, O. I love the subtle weathering, excellent! Looks like you got thru the paint tussle quite nicely.

[handiabled]

I agree with Steve the subtle weathering looks wonderful on both of them

[garybrantley]

There is some super nice scale modeling going on here, Omar.   The paintwork is very impressive, and I am going to steal your engine wiring trick next opportunity I have! 

Then, build on, hermano! 😃

[oortiz10]

OK gang, I think this my last post before the final unveiling. I got the airframes all built up. The only things left to do are install the gun barrels, pitots, canopies, windscreens, wingtip lights, gunsights, and props.











As always, comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. Feel free to drop your two cents into the bucket on your way out.


Stay tuned for the final reveal!

-O

[jeaton01]

Omar, they are both just lovely, and I think your weathering is spot on. The streaking on the propellers looks odd to me, centrifugal force will usually make any streaking run from root to tip, I think.

[oortiz10]

Aug 9, 2024 21:50:39 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

Omar, they are both just lovely, and I think your weathering is spot on. The streaking on the propellers looks odd to me, centrifugal force will usually make any streaking run from root to tip, I think.

John, thanks for the feedback. I appreciate the comments. In regards to your point about the props, you're right. If you look at the photo below, you can see the streaking along the length of the blade.


 

I tried to recreate that effect on my Invader when I finished it up, however, I couldn't get the results to a point I was happy with. So, consider my "streaking" artistic license. 

-O