Thought it'd be fun to take you through the process of me trying to repair, replace, and repaint these two 1/18th toys. NOTE: I am not really performing any major surgery or modification on these two, as I was a bit pressed for time to get them done for an upcoming show at the our local air museum on May 7th.
Background:
When 21st Century first arrived in stores across America around 2000, I was instantly hooked and loved these new 1/18th scale aircraft. I would later go one to try and find any of these 1/18th scale aircraft for cheap in second hand stores or on websites like Ebay and Craigslist. And in that time I was successful at grabbing more than a few of these models in varying levels of completeness. Two I had acquired that were not complete, I saw as an opportunity to do something special with them.
Being involved with the Connecticut Air & Space Center since 2005, I've since become the curator for the collection of artifacts. So my mind is always on displays and models that could help tell the story of our aviation history in Connecticut. With these two banged up models, a P-47D and a P-51D, I knew just what to do with them! Fast forward to 2023, our museum was in the planning stages for a 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Connecticut Air National Guard! The main attraction was a CTANG C-130 visiting the museum!
So with that in mind, I started to think about just what kind of displays would be good to put together for the event. And then I remembered my two 1/18th models...
P-47D to P-47N
After discovering a picture of this P-47N used by the Connecticut Air National Guard back in the 50's, I became a little obsessed with modeling this plane. I first started on this 1/18th model originally, but due to a lack of spare parts, I shelved it. I eventually moved onto recreating this plane in 1/144th and 1/72nd scale but am now back!
Republic P-47N Thunderbolt P-47N-25-RE, 44-89316. 118th FS, 103rd FG, Connecticut National Guard. The modern Connecticut ANG received federal recognition on 7 August 7, 1946 as the 103d Fighter Group at Bradley Army Airfield, Windsor Locks. The mission of the 103d Fighter Group was the air defense of Connecticut. It was assigned the 118th Fighter Squadron, equipped with F-47D Thunderbolts. September 18, 1947, however, is considered the Connecticut Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act. According to JoeBaugher.com this aircraft had an accident on Feb 6, 1947 while landing in bad weather at Hill Field, UT; 118th FS, 103rd FG, Connecticut Air National Guard, Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, CT; Damaged Aug 9, 1950 while taxying at Groton Field, CT; 118th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 4709th Defense Wing, Air Defense Command, Suffolk County AFB, Westhampton, NY; Crashed Apr 18, 1952 after losing control 3 miles SE of Flanders, Long Island, NY; Pilot killed.
The lack of spare parts (starboard landing gear, door, and hard point) caused me to not continue, but thankfully I recently found someone willing to model the needed parts and 3D print them. Something I've been waiting for awhile now. With the parts being made, I decided to take stock of this old project, and see what I could do jump start it!
I had already repainted the fuselage silver, and masked and painted different parts a different metal color, along with a black antiglare panel. I also cut and sanded a piece of styrene for the rake spine on the tail, create two radio masts out of tooth picks, and scratchbuilt a ADF Football out of plastic and putty.
You can see in these shots, cut pieces of thin styrene taped onto the wings, to better help shape the plastic. These strips were to become the extensions needed for the P-47N's wing. As the N model's wingspan was winder for longer range in the pacific. I decided since I am on a deadline for May 7th, that I wasn't going to try and do the heavy modification needed (especially with the undercarriage / landing gear bay) and just keep the D model sized wings for now. I may go back in the future and correct this issue, or better yet, someone 3D scan both halves of the original wings, and modify them in the computer, and just add the necessary length into the model and print it!
This shot shows the layout of all the parts and pieces I currently have for the project. I cut the wingtips off of each wing with the intention of gluing and sanding new squared off wingtips that can be found on the N model. Since I finally found someone to make me all the replacement parts I needed:
- Starboard Landing Gear
- Starboard Landing Gear Door
- Starboard Inner Landing Gear Door (Actually for another stock P-47D I have hanging up)
- Hard Point
Here are a couple of shots from the designer of the new parts being made in CAD.
Since I had all the parts needed for the port wing, I decided to install the original landing gear and button it up. I put the four screws in, and also ran a thin bit of superglue along the seems to help the wing stay as one. The gentlemen making me the parts is also providing me some spare plugs to go over the screw holes. I repaired the inner gear door, as the original thin rod that attached it to the hinge was broken. I drilled out two holes, and replaced it with some thin wire. I've since added a wingtip that I've been sanding and shaping it. I think I might add another piece to fill it out and get the more correct shape. I'll get more pictures of that process in the future. I've decided not to repaint the wings, as I think the color looks pretty close to the fuselage, and the placement of the stars appears to be accurate. I'm just going to need to mask it off and spray paint some red bars onto them. Not to mention the large NG-316 numbers.
As I wait for the replacement parts, I still have plenty to do. My next goal is to repaint the horizontal stabilizers, and rudder. I can then mask off the tails and paint the orange / red tip on the tail. I also have the matter of the canopy, which has a GIANT crack through it. Any good leads on products that would help glue clear acrylic together and make cracks disappear?
And then there are the props and hub. Now from the original pictures it's clear that this P-47N was still using the Curtiss Electric Propeller setup. The model came with two of the original props, and my father had already made a new Curtiss hub on the lathe years ago. So I now just need two more replacement props, which I intend on sourcing eventually. But being from Connecticut and the home of Hamilton Standard for years, I figured it would be neat to see a HS prop on her too! But where to find one? After doing some digging, I came across HPH models, which builds exquisite museum quality models. Including a range of very expensive 1/18th scale models. I saw that they had made 1/18th scale F4U-4 and -5 Corsairs and figured that the four bladed setup would suffice. After finding an email, engaging in some dialog, and a paypal order that I wish was less, I had my own H&S prop setup! More to come on this later.
P-51D 44-11280
The other model I wanted to replicate was of Pilot Lt Col Edward O. McComas' P-51D of the 118th TRS 23rd FG.
The 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron began World War Two as the 118th Observation Squadron, Connecticut National Guard, whose lineage dated back to the 118th Aero Squadron and duty in France in World War One. The 118th was called into federal service in February 1941, and at the time of Pearl Harbor, was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, after having been on maneuvers with the Army ground forces for most of that year.
Redesignated the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in August 1943, the squadron was commanded by Major Edward O. McComas served in China for only fifteen and one-half months and was engaged in strenuous combat for just a little more than six of those months (from mid June 1944 to late January 1945), but it compiled a truly enviable record during that relatively short period. Three of the squadron’s pilots achieved "Ace" status; Ed McComas, with 14 enemy aircraft destroyed in the air and four on the ground; and Oran S. Watts and Russell D. Williams each with five destroyed in the air and one on the ground. Squadron commanders in China, in addition to Ed McComas, were Oran Watts from late January until mid May, Charles C. Simpson from mid May until early June, and Marv Lubner (an Ace with six victories from a previous tour with the 76th FS in China) from early June until the squadron ceased to function as a combat unit in late September or early October 1945.
Here is a nice shot of McComa's newly arrived P-51D he received after becoming an: "Ace in a Day". He would go on to score 14 air to air kills by the end of the war in 1945. But you might be more familiar with the 118th TRS Mustangs from this incredible scene from Speilberg's film: Empire of the Sun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SifFmsTF1c
Ever since purchasing a busted up BBI P-51D in the markings of "Old Crow", I've always wanted to replicate this noteworthy scheme. But like the P-47, I needed to source some replacement parts.
- Starboard Landing Gear Door
- Port Landing Gear Door
- Port Inner Gear Door
- Hard points x2
- Rudder
- Port Horizontal Stabilizer
Here is a shot of the gear doors being recreated in CAD...
...and the printed result!
And now for the rudder!
Test fitted on the designer's own Old Crow. It helps when the designer already has his own collection of 1/18th planes to use for reference!
This was the starting point after wiping it down with some proclean. I first glued the bent prop back into place and cut off the original flimsy antenna mast and thick gauge wire on the tail. I'll eventually replace the mast with a new one, along with a scratchbuilt loop mast found on McComa's aircraft.
I thought the stars were nice enough to save, so I masked over them, along with the exposed gear bays, cockpit, and prop and hub. This is how it looked.
I applied about three coats of Tamiya 86512 AS-12 Spray Bare Metal Silver before I started seeing the Old Crow markings disappear. Overall I was most pleased with the results.
I decided to keep the fuselage stars covered for the time being and shifted my attention to the wings. After applying 2 to 3 coats, I removed the masks off of the stars and red "Do Not Step" right angles near the wing roots. I painted in the fuel tank ports, guns, and am now just waiting for the spare parts and decals to arrive. After not finding success with removing the spinner and props, I decided to mask and paint them in situ. I first painted the yellow on the entire hub using an old and (soon to be) sorely missed spray can of Model Master Insignia Yellow. I then masked over the yellow, and spray painted the black ontop with Tamiya Black. I was shocked to come back and find the black paint had cracked ontop of the yellow. Definitely not good! I went back and covered the area with Mr. Surfacer 3000 a couple of times, and then went back with the black. Which seemed to do the trick. But in my haste, I didn't double check my references! The middle black section should extend towards the tip of the spinner more. So I'll have to do that, and mask for the OD anti glare part on the top. Then just touch ups and I think I'll be pretty much caught up for now. I might still go with stencils and paint the Black Lighting markings onto the model instead of decals, but I'll wait off on that decision for now.
I will say this, one thing that continues to bug me about this model is the landing gear, and the fact they appear to be at full extension, as if the plane was coming in on final approach to landing.
The replacement horizontal stab after being 3D printed and scribed.
Replacement rudder on the designer's P-51. Showing the internal structure
One replacement hard point and an original. My 51 requires two new hard points.
One of the last things I could do to the 51 before the replacement parts and decals show up is painting the OD antiglare panel.
Since I have all the parts for the port wing, I decided to assemble it with the original landing gear, doors, etc. I am supposed to be also getting some replacement screw plugs to cover the holes up.
I think it came out pretty good!
Last think I need to do is touch up the black and yellow on the spinner, and then mask and clear coat it in semigloss.
P-47N
Lots more to do on the 47 still! I decided to mask off the existing stars on the wings an reuse them. They will still require some touchups (along with the one side fuselage star). Not to mention a little clean up / repaint on the starboard side of the fuselage. I did paint the ADF Football Loop black, then clear coat it, pin it, and install it onto the fuselage. I also painted the orange tail tip on as well. I apparently didn't take a picture though.
Since I decided to forgo the wing extension for the time being, I'm jus trying to make this model look as good as possible.
I made a wingtip cover, cut and sanded it, then masked and painted it.
I then tried to add putty to the leading edge, but then opted for thin styrene rods to try and fill in the gap.
Once its sanded smooth I'll repaint it. Then I need to make a pitot tube, and install the new gun barrels
Shown in the picture is one orignal set of gun barrels from the toy, and my replacements. Made out of some styrene tube stock, cut, sanded, and now painted.
Utilizing my father's expert skills, I decided to give him a little project. Taking this...
And turning it into this!
When I originally sent for the aftermarket HS props and hub, they for some reason sent me a Curtiss hub! Which will be used eventually. This model came with two of its original props, and no hub. So I'll eventually source two more props and put together a second prop for this model to switch out.
Here we see the replacement hard point for the starboard wing
And an original starboard landing gear, and the scratchbuilt replacement made out of aluminum! Now the only thing I need to figure out how to fix is the landing gear locking pin that is broken. I've already tried to fix it once with some plastic stock and glue, but the spring tension needed for this piece did away with that!
The vinyl decals also eventually showed up! These are normally used for RC models, were scaled down for my projects, along with corresponding sheets of stencils / nomenclature for each aircraft. I had to wait for some additional decals that were left out from the initial order. (Namely the large numbers on the P-47's wings, and the lightening bolts on the 51's tail, horizontal stabs, and wing tips. The P-47's markings were spot on, but the 51's was lacking. So I ended recreating the bolt designs I needed in Illustrator and printed them out at my work on their printer plotter. In the end I could have probably done almost all of the markings myself using the setup I have at work, but opted to have someone else deal with those headaches.
P-51D
Since the plane was much farther along then the 47, it received alot more focus and attention. After applying these lightening bolt decals, all major markings were applied. I now only had to tackle the small nomenclature stencils set. These two nomenclature sets have been the bane of my existence. Just alot of work for small payoffs. First off they didn't come with any directions. And then when I inquired about them, I was sent two pdf images of the layout for the stencils. But they weren't numbered in nay way AND the directions were slightly blurry. Leaving me to endlessly squint at the directions, and then back to the decal sheet to try and match up burry blobs to one another. So with that being said, I have about 90% of the nomenclature markings on the 51 done. Once I complete all the stencils, I still have to touch up the yellow and black on the nose, mask the canopy again, and shoot the whole thing in semi-gloss. Once thats done, I think I'll be pretty much done as far as the plane is concerned. I have found a base to make a simple diorama for it to sit on, including a 1/18th Jeep I had growing up. Now its just a matter of finding the damn thing!
Here are a couple of shots of the P-51, pretty much in its current state. Sans all the stencil nomenclature, and additional lightening bolt decals on the wing tips, and horizontal stab tips.
The P-51D / F-6 variant that is the subject of this model had (in additional to the standard antenna) a directional loop antenna. So I had to make one myself out of glued pieces of styrene, cut, sanded, and painted. I had a styrene tube that would serve as the loop. Just needed it to cut off the right sized piece, sand, and glue it on.
What it started out as:
And what it ended up looking like:
Not 100% but good enough for me! The final thing I'll probably end up doing on the 51 is running some wire.
P-47N
The P-47 has proven to be more challenging in getting it closer to completion. When I originally started this project 13-14 years ago, I applied a homemade US Star on the port side of the fuselage. It looked good when I first applied it, but in those 14 years, some water or condensation of some sort dripped onto it, and it was slightly frayed and looking not so great. Here it is when I first applied it:
I decided that since I had all new decals to apply, I would remove this star, sand the area, mask, and repainted the rear fuselage. I ended up the starboard side as well, because the paint was scratched and just not looking very uniform or clean anymore.
Ready for new paint!
During this process I had also masked and painted the orange tip on the tail. Every unwrapping is a bit of excitement and motivation to keep pushing forward.
The new star being put on.
The process of applying these vinyl decals was fairly straightforward but still tricky. After cutting out the desired decal, you then had to peel off the backing paper, with the transfer paper still on the front. Each of these numbers are separate and can be moved individually.
You then soak it in a soapy water mixture for anywhere between 20 seconds to a minute. Any more and the decal will start to breakdown.
Once it's been soaked, you bring it over to the model and do your best to try and line it up where you want it.
Once it's in place, use a credit card to squeegee the water out from behind the decal. Then carefully remove the transfer paper in front. After that these decals usually require additional work to help the decals fit and fill in any crevasses they are over on top of. I found thin, long wooden toothpicks, the edge of a credit card, or small plastic tools help to fit and form the decals to the surface.
Here is the finished result. I still have about 90% of the stencil nomenclature to go on the Thunderbolt. And I REALLY don't want to!
The wings were the next big challenge. Since I had all of the parts for the port wing, I decided to assemble it. First by screwing the screws into the underside of the wing, then running alot of glue along the leading edge, and clamping it down with tape. I then sanded it down, masked it, and painted.
For the other wing, I had to install the replacement landing gear, retap it so it would accept the replacement wheel, repair and install the locking mechanism, and assemble.
Using the only original 1/18 pitot tube I have from one of these models as reference to make new ones.
I'm reusing the original wing lights, and am now cutting out the notches for them both on the wing tips.
Welp... I'm calling it. I decided to cut my losses in regards to the never ending application of those damn little nomenclature stencils! The 51 has the majority with about 90% of them on. So I'm happy with that. The directions were a bit more detailed and HQ, so I could actually read what they were saying. As opposed to the P-47's directions, which I only had a top and port side layout to go off of. And that wasn't very legible to begin with. So I said, screw it, and left her as is. If I find the motivation I will go back and add the decals onto her. But for now. For the sake of having something on display for May 7th, and especially for my own sanity, I decided to wrap up the project.
Here are a couple of pics I took in the backyard while there was still some light out! I masked the canopy one last time, and shot the whole plane in a semi gloss to better integrate the very shiny vinyl decals and the passable semi gloss tone from the silver paint. I think it more then helped to blend the two into a passable model! If I did it again, I would just make the stencils and paint on the markings.
I stole the drop tanks off of my intact Old Crow for the event, but will return them after the show.
I ended up using some fishing line (what I use to hang up all my 1/18ths in the basement) for the wire leading to the tail.
I found this awesome base in the old wood shop of the museum, and am planning on making a basic but affective diorama for the 51 to inhabit, complete with my old 1/18th Jeep I played with when I was younger. How if I could only find it!!
I see so many inaccuracies on this bird (namely the fully extended landing gear) and I wish I could have had the time to dig in and go bananas with the corrections / details. But for what its supposed to be, what kind of history it will hopefully teach, I'm goods with it. I'll try and remember to take shots of them during the event.
The P-47 has been a little more of a challenge getting it to this point. What with trying to get the replacement parts to work and be usable. But I think I'm at a good place. One of the last things I had to do was make a new control stick for the P-47, as the original flew the coop long ago. Fairly straightforward procedure, I used the left over metal rod that I used to make the pitot tube, and bent it to match a P-47 control stick. I opted to make use of my Tamiya masking tape, and applied a few layers, sealing it with superglue.
I added a flat piece of plastic card ontop, and then sanded it to a circle. To make the button I glued a small bit of thin styrene rod ontop. Once dry I cut and sanded it in place, and then painted the whole thing OD. Then brushed the black and red on. And there you have it!
Once installed I called it good! I ended up trading canopies with my intact Eagleston P-47D Bubbletop since the original one was cracked.
The original stencils from the 21st Century model were still intact on the wings since I decided not to completely repaint them, so I didn't need to go over them with the decals I received. I did apply some to the port side (Since my directions only showed that side). If anyone has a lead on good directions for stencil nomenclature for a P-47, please pm me!
I am trying to have a friend of the museum make me a matching base for the P-47, so I can have them match in similar diorama bases. Minimal in appearance, but enough to add to the scene.
I must admit I am in love with the aftermarket HS prop and hub setup over that Curtiss Electric looking doohickey. And it sure spins easily too, which is just always a joy when the slightest bit of wind comes by. BUT I gotta' admit, I would also love to see the original package on this bird since that's what's on it in the picture we have. Stay tuned for that!
It's not perfect by a long shot, but I'm happy with the overall result. The wings aren't attached so if I want to go back and try and pull off the wing enlargement surgery I could. But I think she still is looking pretty good as is.
Well I was able to find my 1/18 Jeep FINALLY, added a few items in the Jeep, finished the base and the barrels, painted, and it was good to go! Here are some shots of it before I brought it down to the museum for the show. Note: I also painted a moustache onto the pilot so it resembled McComas a little more!
And here is a little video of the P-47N getting some time in the wind! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRD6RiZtXt0
I didn't remember to take any pictures of the two models when on display during the event, but it was a beautiful day nonetheless down here in Stratford, and we were still graced with a CTANG C-130!
Photo by: Ken Middleton
Unfortunately the centennial C-130 was broke, so they had to send the spare instead. But heck, Id rather ANY C-130 then NONE AT ALL!
All in all a successful day of promoting the museum and helping to ensure our sustained growth and continued success. Thanks for looking!
Thanks for checking in and taking a look at what were two very delayed projects of mine that are finally finished! Only took about 12 years! But they are at least much more complete then ever before! I will try and remember to take some shots at the show on their bases and hopefully being enjoyed by visitors to the museum! Thanks again!
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