Top Flite Giant P-47 Thunderbolt
01-07-2017, 06:59 AM
#26
Thread Starter
In preparation for returning to work on the P-47, I am faced with another scale challenge. The stock kit design for attaching the wing is via 2 nylon mounting bolts with open access tubes on the underside of the aircraft. There is also a diagonal separation under the wing trailing edge for removal of the wing. Compare the kit design to the scale drawing. The full scale P-47 has 2 vertical panel lines near the wing trailing edge and it is my goal to redesign the wing attachment so that the separation occurs along one of these panel lines (the rearmost panel line should work best) thus creating a much more scale appearance. My idea is to create a removable belly pan that separates along the scale fuselage panel lines and continue to utilize the stock nylon bolts to mount the wing. The belly pan will have to be removed in order to access the wing mounting bolts but this solution should require the least effort to redesign and maintain the scale integrity that I am attempting to capture in this build.
04-25-2017, 07:50 AM
#27
Thread Starter
Time to get back to work on the P-47! The rear fuselage has now been sheeted and I'm nearly ready to start wing construction. I still believe that strip planking the fuselage would have been a better option since torturing pieces of balsa sheet into a compound curve is inherently difficult. I made a tool for sanding the compound curve of the fuselage. Using a sanding bar or sanding block will result either in flat spots or a "starved horse" look in which the sheeting between fuselage formers will have more material sanded away resulting in gulleys or depressions in between formers. To mitigate this problem, we need a flexible sander. I sawed an old yardstick into a 20" section, attached basic dowel handles with countersunk screws, and attached sticky-backed sandpaper to the sanding surface. The result is a flexible sanding bar that blends and smoothes around the compound fuselage curves.
04-21-2021, 05:24 PM
#29
Thread Starter
Harriermate,
Regretfully, no. I have not finished the P-47. It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since I got started with it. Life took some strange turns since I last posted and I haven't found the time or motivation to work on it. I'll get back to it eventually; I just don't know when.
Cheers,
Scott
Regretfully, no. I have not finished the P-47. It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since I got started with it. Life took some strange turns since I last posted and I haven't found the time or motivation to work on it. I'll get back to it eventually; I just don't know when.
Cheers,
Scott
04-22-2021, 04:05 AM
#30
Scott,
sorry to hear that. My models regularly sit for extended periods too between sessions! Was looking forward to seeing how you modify the wing spars to accept the scale geometry of the landing gear.
Nigel
sorry to hear that. My models regularly sit for extended periods too between sessions! Was looking forward to seeing how you modify the wing spars to accept the scale geometry of the landing gear.
Nigel
