Yeah, another one. Looks great Tom!!

Just wandering because it is something that I am tempted to do, but a little afraid to try just yet - did you 'flatten' the tires yourself? They look good, and I hear it is easy, but I'm afraid I'd melt them too far or some other terrible mistake...

Leon

I just noticed I missed Mal's p-47n. It looks good. I was wondering did you use a decal for the front band just aft of the yellow? I masked and painted mine because I wasn't sure how well a decal would do all the way around the front (well actually I wasn't sure how I would do trying to get a decal to go all the way around the front...) If you did use decal, is it a hard process? Do you cut it up into short lengths or just one long one? If you goof up, is it easy to retry it?

Leon

Nice one Tom, how did you weather this beaut, and which aftermarket decals?


One way to flatten the tyres is simply to file flats in them. This is a bit unreal, as it is the weight of the aircraft that "flattens" the tyres and they bulge as well. It is also very difficult to get the flatsin the right place, if the wheel is not verticle to the ground. I find a better way is to heat up the tyre on an iron, adding a little pressure to flatten it. the trick here is not to use to much heat, that way a greater area of the tyre appears to soften, before you can distort it. Done right you can get a nice bulge. If the wheel is not vertticle to the ground then you could attempt to let the finished model rest on it's wheels on the iron. I haven't tried this, for fairly obvious reasons



Yes, it's a decal, It's quite easy to apply, you just have a limited time in which to get it straight. I don't usually cut off decal film, but on these sort of decals I do. By doing that it lessons the area and therefor the surface tension. Plenty of water will keep it movable, for longer. For this type of decal or small ones such as stencils I use a wooden cocktail stick for positioning. More precise than a brush, just be gentle.
Mal

1/48 Tamiya P-47D Razorback
Aeromaster "Little Chief" decals
Photo etched seatbelts, resin seat and tires
Weathering with pastels, pastel sludge for the panel lines
Silver pencil for chipping

This was my first kit to build in about 16yrs. The last time I had done a kit, I was 12 and would just glue them together .Now armed with an airbrush and the right tools, I am at it again, and loving it. The decals didnt come out as well as I would have liked on this one, but hey first time with the solvents. I have since completes 5 more models and getting more knowledgable and skillful, thanks in great part to this website. I have developed like many, a fondness for the Tamiya kits. Lets keep this up its cool, and I have a few more to submit!

Redman71

Nice one redman71 particularlr for your first in 16 years. I was bought this kit for Christmas and it is a beaut, if a little expensive. I have the bubbletop as well and a Hasegawa bubble top so I have plenty of P-47s to do :-)
Mal

Hi. Looking at these nice T-Bolts made me want to post this pic of Gabreskis aircraft. It's built out of the box except for wheels from Ultracast. It's Tamiyas bubbletop with Aeromaster decals. Wingman out.

Well this isn't really a normal thunderbolt, but with permission I will post my what-if scheme. It is the 1/72 tamiya kit. Normally I go for 1/48, but with incredible kits like this, it is tempting to make the switch.



Hope all is well.
Leon

Due to other commitments I have been a bit slack in getting this sorted for voting. A good job too, now we have Leons wonderful Jug as well :-)
Mal

For those that have been wondering what happened to this, well I hadn't forgotten, but with the voting for the "model of the month" taking place I didn't want this to get in the way. With the "model of the month" having started I think I will "aquire" models for the gallery in a slightly different way than this idea. Unless of course you want to vote for gallery models as well as model of the month? I'm not sure weather the system can fit it in?
I'll give you time to consider this before carrying on
The Zero and corsair gallery pics will be sorted as well.
Mal

What is Aclad 2?

cheers

Philip

Hi Philip, Alclad II is a paint that replicates a natural metal finish (NMF) It comes in a variety of shades and is quite expensive (£4.50 per bottle when I last bought some). It is one of the easiest ways to replicate the NMF but can only be applied by airbrush.
Mal

With the advent of the Model of the Month this idea has sort of taken a nose dive. These models should therefor be entered into one of the monthly shows. Sorry for the cock up but it appears members like the MOM idea better so we are using that to promote the display of models. Thanks to those who put these models on show, please leave them in your gallery I would like to do something for the gallery anyway.
Mal

Hi Mal

I think you're being unneccessarily harsh. The last thing I want is for one idea to be at the expense of another that's equally sound. MoM is great - but remember, we can only fit 20 entries per Poll.

More importantly, it's not all about competition! Modelling to a theme may run much longer and attract more submissions - so there's plenty of scope for both.

All we really want is for more members to join in and showcase their work. It doesn't matter how - MoM, Theme Builds or individual posting - it's the sharing that counts, that's what will confim our place at the Top Table of web-communities.

All the best - and keep 'em coming

Rowan