Tamiya republic. P-47d thunderbolt razorback

[Ron2]

I'm disgusted with my armor kit so I set it aside and decided to do a Tamiya kit- for obvious reasons! I'm at beginning stage, primed some pieces and working on cockpit. Laid down a metal finish and will go from there. I'm going to do Gaby Gabreski of 56th FG. Ordered decals for his plane. I think I'm going to buy more Tamiya kits moving forward. Going to try something different with the gauges. Hit it with aluminum base, coat with black and then scratch off the black around the gauges. Seems like a good idea…

 

[ohbejuan]

I am building this right now too! Great kit

 

[Rockin' Rob]

What the hey man? That's some good work but I have a question. I swear. Every time I log in, which is sometimes several times a day, you're building something different. I honestly can't keep track anymore. I could have swore you were building a tank.

 

[Ron2]

What the hey man? That's some good work but I have a question. I swear. Every time I log in, which is sometimes several times a day, you're building something different. I honestly can't keep track anymore. I could have swore you were building a tank.

I am! Haha

 

[Edbert]

I am! Haha

It is a disease, horribly contagious, and usually fatal, meaning you have it until you're dead ;-)

 

[Ron2]

I am building this right now too! Great kit

Yes it is!

 

[BarleyBop]

honestly can't keep track anymore

I am! Haha

I'm thinking Ron could furnish enough material and variety for a model Forum all on his own!

 

[Ron2]

I'm thinking Ron could furnish enough material and variety for a model Forum all on his own!

That would be a sad forum! Wait… are you calling me a ball hog??

 

[Wig41]

How did your instrument panel turn out? Your method seems like a good one.

 

[Ron2]

How did your instrument panel turn out? Your method seems like a good one.

That's on the schedule for tomorrow. Will post pics

 

[Ron2]

How did your instrument panel turn out? Your method seems like a good one.

So I'm not completely done but here's a taste. Kind of difficult to do on the smaller panel.

 

[BarleyBop]

taste

Pretty tasty! Note to self.

 

[Ron2]

I used the same technique from the gauges on the side panels and cockpit for metal finish. I laid some pva over the areas I wanted to show metal wear through, painted it a faded OD and then scraped the glue off revealing the metal finish underneath. I'll drop some epoxy on the gauges later to simulate glass.

 

[Ron2]

With the epoxy. I also scratched lines on the gauges to simulate the needles.

 

[BarleyBop]

Cool effect! At scale you're consistently getting much finer detail than you could with a brush!

 

[Ron2]

Cool effect! At scale you're consistently getting much finer detail than you could with a brush!

Thanks BB I appreciate that. One often wonders if they're getting any better.

 

[Ron2]

Some pics of engine assembled and fuselage etc

 

[Littlemarten]

I'm disgusted with my armor kit so I set it aside and decided to do a Tamiya kit- for obvious reasons! I'm at beginning stage, primed some pieces and working on cockpit. Laid down a metal finish and will go from there. I'm going to do Gaby Gabreski of 56th FG. Ordered decals for his plane. I think I'm going to buy more Tamiya kits moving forward. Going to try something different with the gauges. Hit it with aluminum base, coat with black and then scratch off the black around the gauges. Seems like a good idea…

A very good scale modeler I knew back in the 80's used that technique on aircraft with raised panel lines, though he sanded rather than scraped. Back then, kits with recessed panel lines were rare to nonexistent.

 

[Ron2]

A very good scale modeler I knew back in the 80's used that technique on aircraft with raised panel lines, though he sanded rather than scraped. Back then, kits with recessed panel lines were rare to nonexistent.

I've used this technique before for weathering and then I'll do a combo of sanding and scraping, for some reason I never thought to do it for the gauges until now. I like doing it for traffic areas because I feel the sanding to the metal finish looks natural.

 

[Littlemarten]

I feel the sanding to the metal finish looks natural.

It is natural—shoe and boot soles pick up a lot of fine grit, from sand-size down to microscopic. They are like the leather and rubber belts that are loaded with grit compounds and used to polish metal.

 

[Ron2]

Had some glue mishap, will need to do a little scribing and sanding. This kit is refreshing. Im about done for today.

 

[BarleyBop]

refreshing

It's nice eh, when a kit just has that certain Je ne sais quoi ?!

 

[Littlemarten]

It's nice eh, when a kit just has that certain Je ne sais quoi ?!

It's Japanese, not French …

 

[Rockin' Rob]

It's Japanese, not French …

Ah yes. Wabi-sabi.

 

[Ron2]

Painted the red and primed today.

 

[Ron2]

Asking for opinions. Sorry for the excessive pics but depending on the angle it looks different. I've got three different metal finishes. Some polished aluminum areas, flat, and dull. Not sure if it comes through with the pics. Depending on the light it looks "shadowy", gives the illusion of it having black paint peeking through. Not sure if I should leave it or hit it with a little more paint.

 

[Jantk14]

In my opinion these bare metal planes look best when there is no shadowing. I like when it's a uniform color but some of the panels are a darker color than the rest. Again just my opinion. But also I am no expert on the right way to do them.

 

[ohbejuan]

I have tried to make the shadowing work but never succeeded. I agree about the different panels.

 

[BarleyBop]

I'm no aircraft expert, but I have a hard time imagining shadows on a reflective surface?!

 

[Littlemarten]

There has to be an apparent reason for the variation. Each variation needs to be limited to individual panels unless there is a reason for it extending to adjacent panels, such as because of wear (shinier), particular soiling (exhaust, burnt gunpowder, lubricants), or different metals or alloys.