P-47 SuperBolt

[John Howling Mouse]

Now that most of the stash is in plain view, I'm always passing by the shelves and getting ideas.
LOTS of ideas.  One thing that caught my eye last night was the way Monogram compressed the photo below on one of their box ends.

I think the image is both compressed vertically as well as somewhat elongated nose to tail, rendering an almost FockeWulfish looking, sleek fighter shape.

I know it's nearly impossible to lengthen a taper running on both the vertical and horizontal axis, but I'm going to try to represent this, right down to the altered tailfin and lengthened/narrowed fuselage and canopy.  Wish me luck!

[noxioux]

Boy, you picked a tough one John.  But I like the idea.  Maybe it would be possible to stretch the fuselage section by section, inserting some balsa or other material.  To compress it on the vertical axis, maybe do just the opposite and remove some thin sections.  Compress it vertically first, then stretch it horizontally.  You might have to vac-form a new canopy, though.

The nice thing about the Revellogram kits is there's usually plenty of thick plastic to work with.

It's ambitious.  But the finished product would have people scratching their heads. . .  You better get cracking!!!

[SinUnNombre]

Baz, you're insane. But we knew that, right? Can't wait to see it.

Jon

[Ed S]

Now that most of the stash is in plain view, I'm always passing by the shelves and getting ideas.
LOTS of ideas.  One thing that caught my eye last night was the way Monogram compressed the photo below on one of their box ends.

I think the image is both compressed vertically as well as somewhat elongated nose to tail, rendering an almost FockeWulfish looking, sleek fighter shape.

I know it's nearly impossible to lengthen a taper running on both the vertical and horizontal axis, but I'm going to try to represent this, right down to the altered tailfin and lengthened/narrowed fuselage and canopy.  Wish me luck!

Clever idea JHM.  But in the long run, it might be less work to scratchbuild a new fuselage.  You could carve one out of balsa or bass wood and vacuform the shell. 

Ed

[BlackOps]

Sure, it'll take you three years but I'll be here to appreciate all the effort and stalling that you put into it 

I think it's actually a pretty cool idea and I've seen you overcome some pretty tough situations before with amazing results so whattaya waitin' for? 

[Brian da Basher]

Wow that's gonna take a lot of skill and patience, Sensei.

Just a thought, but if you were able to "shorten" the fuse vertically, wouldn't that give the illusion of a "stretched" fuse horizontally?

I guess I'm always looking for the easy way out. If this was in 1/72 the solution to the "stretch" would be easy: blisterpack from C or D cell batteries with some sprue behind to add strength. You could then PSR over where it meets the kit's fuse.

I'll get me coat.

Brian da Basher

[r16]

ı am not a modeller by any means , but a Corsair nose might have been an effective method for me if I was to attempt a small nose '47 . Yes , I had dreamed of such a thing a couple of days ago . It wouldn't resemble what you want to do but my initial point was to get a mechanically charged Thunderbolt . As I said I am not a modeller and wish you success .

[GTX]

You could always build it OOB and then heat the entire model and then very slowly and carefully stretch it - Ok, I'll get me coat!

Regards,

Greg

[John Howling Mouse]

Just a thought, but if you were able to "shorten" the fuse vertically, wouldn't that give the illusion of a "stretched" fuse horizontally?

Brian da Basher

Yes, very true.  And I could then modify whatever is available that has a relatively horizontal profile (no taper).  I am just about to go cut this thing up.  Kitnut617 would know how to cut the fuselage the second way (a zig-zag) in order to accommodate the lengthening on a taper idea but he's not here right now.

Ed S.  Of course you are quite right about doing that from scratch.  Much more sensible.  But, for fun, do a search on this website for the term "Morsair" and you'll see what's wrong with my mind.

[John Howling Mouse]

Took longer to take/upload pics than the actual cutting itself!
Initial lengthwise tape to guide my cutting:



Resulting cuts (I have done better with my bandsaw in the past, that's for sure!):

[John Howling Mouse]

I think we're onto something here....has almost a Japanese warbird look to it, like a Tony, maybe?  I've decided the canopy looks just fine as is.  I still have to modify the tailfin (see box-end photo up there) and I'm going to put in two plugs to further lengthen the cowling and the tail's taper.  If I can get the PSR to a decent, polished finish, picture multi-hued bare metal with good ol' US of A WW2 Pacific Theater markings.  I'm going to use one of those "Pyn-Up" nose-art decals for this one.





But, as we all know, the true test of any Whiff is how it feels flying around one's home (it feels very nimble, btw):



Head-on: I like the reshaped cowl opening.  Will have to modify the engine insert but, oh well.

[GTX]

has almost a Japanese warbird look to it, like a Tony, maybe?

More Frankish, I think - especially from the side:



Regards,

Greg

[Radish]

Wonderfully BONKERS

[Brian da Basher]

Wow that's great Mr Howling Mouse! It's certainly got a sleek, fast look to it! Have you considered adding a fillet to the fin like on the later P-47 variants?

I can't wait to see more of this sexy bird!

Brian da Basher

[Arc3371]

Looks great!