What do you paint the headrest? 

Cockpit and instrument panel dials are as usual beautifully done.  Just amazing work.  This is a very nice tribute!  I'll be following.

Toshi

I love the razorbacks as well. Gonna be fun watching this one come to life.

BK

Heck of a story and a connection, thanks for sharing with us. 

Your usual fantastic work on the cockpit plus you gotta love the Tamiya kit! 

I've got a -D a few down on my list as well Joe. a PTO Jug. This cockpit just looks fantastic. I keep hearing that this is one of Tamiya's best at 1:48. You're making a good case for it. =] Happily following along.

Slow down there little camper, I can't keep up with all the eye candy your producing!

Another build log I just have to subscribe too!

7474

What do you paint the headrest? 

 

Thanks guys...

I painted the headrest XF-64 Red Brown, then I slightly drybrushed it XF-49 Khaki to give the appearance of leather.  Some are plain black but this way is more interesting..

Love the IP! Where do you get the Airscale decals from?

rooster513

Where do you get the Airscale decals from?

 

Thanks guys.  I got them from Sprue Brothers. 

This build is looking great, which is what I've come to expect from you.  It's awesome you have a personal connection to it as well. Do you plan on displaying it in any special way, like with a photo of your grandfather and a photo of Beckham?

Cheers, Mark

Mark Steele

My wife's Uncle flew P-47's in Europe. They had a saying. "If you want to get the girls, fly a Mustang. If you want to come home in one piece, fly a P-47"

 

Indeed.......tough old birds.  They used to fly back to their bases with a good portion of their engines shot off.  I think Gabby Gabreski was quoted for saying something along those lines regarding their ruggedness.  

MrStecks

This build is looking great, which is what I've come to expect from you.  It's awesome you have a personal connection to it as well. Do you plan on displaying it in any special way, like with a photo of your grandfather and a photo of Beckham?

Cheers, Mark

Thanks Mark, I haven't decided yet.  I normally sell my personal (non-commission) builds, but it's likely I'll be keeping this one. 

In case your curious, My Grandfather "Pap-Pap" is standing, the third from the right. It's my understanding he didn't talk about the war much.  My Dad said he told him all about it one night when he was liquored up and he said he downed one German fighter.  He apparently had life long back problems from when he bailed out too.  I guess the Germans tuned him up pretty good when he landed as well.  Unfortunately he died of a heart attack on a fishing trip when I was two years old, so I never got the chance to get to know him.  I'm told he was a great guy.  

This picture is fairly famous, called "Top Cover for J Group".  It was taken on September 27th, 1943 during a mission to Ebden Germany.  The plane in the foreground is "Skippy" #423329.  My grandfather filled in on this plane during this mission and happened to be in the ball turret when this photo was taken.  The contrails in the back are P-47s. 

Wow, thanks for sharing the great photos and story Joe.  I rode in the B-17 Yankee Lady a while back and I remember thinking that there were two positions in that plane that I would never want to be in, the bombardier and the ball turret.  Although we couldn't actually get in the ball turret I remember looking down at it and thinking how horribly exposed it would feel to be hanging outside of the plane.  Same with the bombardier position, so exposed to those frontal attacks from the Luftwaffe.  Man, all of those guys had guts.

It's a shame your grandfather passed before you got to know him.  My paternal grandfather died when I was around nine.  But I do remember him telling my brothers and me his stories of being in the Navy during the First World War.  

Cheers, Mark

Yeah thanks for sharing with us Joe. And it was a shame he passed away before you really got to know him. 

Looking great so far, Joe! Love all the background info as well.

-BD-

Thanks guys.  Indeed, he was apparently a neat guy. It's funny, I look at that picture and it's like looking at my Dad in his younger years.  Unfortunately I lost my Dad 2013 to a heart attack too, a month after he retired.  He was only 66.  I think about him everyday. 

Anyways, I have been plugging along on this but I just haven't had the time to update the thread.  I hope some are still interested.  The early 8th Air Force Jugs were painted with a white cowl ring and white stripes on the tail surfaces.  The was apparently done to keep the bomber crews from mistaking them for Fw 190s.  I suppose at 350-400 mph this was easy to do.  I added a touch of XF-19 Sky Grey to the XF-2 Flat White and sprayed these areas.  I also sprayed the areas where the "stars and bars" would go in anticipation for the Montex masks. 

After taping off the white areas, I then got to painting in the blue portion of the stars and bars then adding the Montex masks to cover that part. Tamiya tape was used to prevent seepage. It was a tedious endeavor but worth it.

Once these were taped off, I began spraying the Neutral Gray.  I used XF-53 lightened with XF-2 Flat White.  This was then faded and streaked with more white added.

Blue Tac was used for the demarcation lines then I fired down straight Gunze Olive Drab. Their OD is dead on to my eye.  I added some XF-57 Buff then faded and streaked it a bit. The Montex masks performed beautifully.  The results speak for themselves.  Who needs decals for these anymore.  OD can be tough to weather convincingly, but after a postshade, I'm happy with it. 

I then turned my attention to the Pratt & Whitney R-2800.  Tamiya's example is one of the weaknesses of the kit IMO.  The detail is weak, particularly the cylinder cooling vents.  One of these days I'm gonna drop one of those Quickboost engines in one of these. To spruce it up, I added the ignition leads and wires with styrene rod and stereo wire.

To see how I do this, check out the below thread:

   http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/149327.aspx 

Finish is excellent.  Curious about the different sized markings on the underside of the wings.

Beautiful work, lawdog.  I'm enjoying both of your Jug builds.  I really like the Tamiya kit, but agree that I've seen better engines.  I feel that unless you're displaying it with cowlings open or off, the extra detail of a resin engine just isn't worth it.  Kind of like superdetailing the inside of a bomber.  But the ignition harness adds such a nice touch.  I always use your technique on radial engines. 

Also, I'm about to use Montex masks for the first time on my Corsair.  So do you lay down the masks, and then put Tamiya tape over them to seal the edges? Doesn't this change the size of the mask? 

Beautiful Joe. I did enjoy the story about your grandfather. I always think of that game 6 Degrees of Separation when I hear stories like yours. It's amazing to think of just how incredibly connected we all are somehow. =]

Man, Joe, this looks amazing. You nailed the OD/Neutral Gray scheme perfectly. And I really like the painted markings. I do enjoy Montex masks.

bstarr3

Also, I'm about to use Montex masks for the first time on my Corsair.  So do you lay down the masks, and then put Tamiya tape over them to seal the edges? Doesn't this change the size of the mask? 

 

If I can answer for Joe - the tape goes over the areas where the masks butt up against each other. I used them on a Spitfire, and if you think of the wing roundel (two colors), I painted the blue outline first, then laid down the mask and sprayed the center red. I then  put down the mask over the center, but as they're vinyl, they can be tweaked a little, and the seal might not be perfect, so I put tape where the red mask met the blue one, and then sprayed the rest of the plane. The tape is just to prevent some of that other color falling between the joints on the masks, and you leave the outer edges alone.

-BD-

Joe,

I don't know what to say, your pit and engine are absolutely amazing, perfect and educational! I always learn something during your WiP's. And thank you for sharing such a great background story. I will be here to see her complete.

BrandonD

If I can answer for Joe - the tape goes over the areas where the masks butt up against each other. I used them on a Spitfire, and if you think of the wing roundel (two colors), I painted the blue outline first, then laid down the mask and sprayed the center red. I then  put down the mask over the center, but as they're vinyl, they can be tweaked a little, and the seal might not be perfect, so I put tape where the red mask met the blue one, and then sprayed the rest of the plane. The tape is just to prevent some of that other color falling between the joints on the masks, and you leave the outer edges alone.

-BD-

Thanks for the tip.  I will definitely do it that way when I get to the masks.  

Both of your jugs are fantastic .

I will continue to follow both of your builds.

keavdog

Curious about the different sized markings on the underside of the wings.

 

Thanks all,

Keavdog, I think it's for the same reason as for the white stripes and cowl, so that could be readily identified in combat. Probably why it's huge.