Thanks for the tips on the cowl, Mark.

Looking great! What a pain that Hasegawa segmented the cowl like that, but looks like you have it nicely handled. I'll be following this one. Great job on the cockpit as well.

-BD-

Small update today.  Last night I started work on the cowling.  It was molded in four parts, along the actual panel lines of the real thing, but it sure is going to be a challenge to get it together.  There aren't any locator pins, just some "shelf" guides that aren't too helpful.  And the seams go right through the fine detail of the latches on the front of the cowl.  Quite a few ejector pin marks too, that I had to fill since they would be visible after assembly.

EPM's filled and sanded.

Cowl taped up to check fit/alignment. 

The directions call for inserting the engine assembly into the bottom of the cowl and then building the cowl around it.  But I found that the engine can be inserted afterwards without problem, so I will just add in the duct work and the engine mount (both dry fit) to use as a brace for the panels during the glue-up. Then I'll pull those parts out so I can clean up and paint the interior before putting everything back in.  Going to start on this process tonight.  Fingers crossed!

Cheers, Mark

Thanks guys.  I managed to finish up the engine wiring last night.  It was a chore, but the result is satisfying. I'm happy with the result.

I did do a very light wash on the engine cylinders just to give them a little depth.  But that's pretty much going to be it for weathering from here to the end. 

Cheers, Mark

What Don said, above. I favor aircraft appearing as new, coming from the commercial aviation side where huge investments were made in maintaining a clean look, I finish in that manner. Fussy old bugger I am.

Your '47 is looking first rate, it shows great attention to build quality and details. This should be something to really enjoy seeing when you're finished. 

Thanks for the post and photos.

Patrick

Nice work there, esp wiring up the engine! 

Those shots of the real thing help dispell the remarks some folks say, that there is no  model aircraft use for polished aluminum Alclad.  We don't always have to make a model heavily weathered- nothing wrong with depicting a show bird or museum piece.

Excellent work there on the engine ignition wires.  

Toshi

Mark, The shoe is on the other foot, we missed your excellent build.

Looking forward to you uploading more posts of your build very soon.

Well I've been away from the bench (and this site) for a couple of weeks, dealing with the real world.  A couple of gigantic projects at work, (along with their super-tight deadlines), and visiting family in town, combined to really stress me out.  But now things are somewhat back to "normal" so I can get back to the Dottie Mae.

This isn't much of an update, more of a re-start.  Below are a couple pics showing where I'm at.  Fuselage seams have been dealt with, only a small amount of filler needed on the horizontal stabilizers.  The engine is almost done, just need to rig up the PE wire harness.  And the prop hub now has a nice metal coat.

Before my forced break, I did some testing on various NFM finish options, including Bare Metal Foil, and decided I'm going to use the AK Xtreme Metal paints again.  I like the results I got on the last Jug I did, so I'm going to go that route.

Now I have to spend some time getting caught up on all the awesome work people have been doing that I have missed!  

Cheers, Mark

MrStecks

Ooh, awesome pics.  Thanks for sharing those.  I toyed with the idea of driving up there last month to see the plane in person, but too many real-life things got in the way.  Thanks again. 

Cheers, Mark

 

Mark,

I totally understand how the real-life things get in the way of fun at times in this hobby. I highly recommend if you ever get the chance to attend Warbird Roundup up here, it would be worth the trip. The aircraft displays and ability to get up-close-and-personal with them and get fantastic shots of areas the we like to spruce up in our builds is a great bonus. Plus, they always have fantastic guest speakers and presentations. Last year was a presentation about Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, from his granddaughter. This year was the reovery of Dottie Mae and another presentation about the Glacier Girl P-38.

Also, I live exactly one mile from the airfield and am always open to meeting up with fellow modelers.

You're welcome for the photos! It was an awesome experience seeing the restored aircraft and listening to the power come from that beautiful engine. They flew her a couple of times that day and each time was just as impressive.

Also, seeing the original panels from the aircraft, after they recovered her from the bottom of the Austrian lake was awesome to see. They also showed a short bit of a documentary that will be shown on the National Geographic Channel later about the whole finding of the aircraft and the process of recovering it from the bottom of the lake, to the team that brought it here to Idaho for restoration.

Looking forward to seeing the end result of this build! Looking at trying to find one of these kits myself and seeing if I can do it some justice.

She's coming along great! 

Jelliott: Thanks! Those are great photos of her. 

Great work on the office.  At 1/32, it's going to be YUUUUUUGE!!

Stellar work on the office. 1/32 scale really is tempting me .. maybe a bit easier to work on in general but, as you said, so much detail.. that might negate the advantages of the larger scale?

Nontheless, fine work so far. Following with interest.

Ooh, awesome pics.  Thanks for sharing those.  I toyed with the idea of driving up there last month to see the plane in person, but too many real-life things got in the way.  Thanks again. 

Cheers, Mark

Here are some reference pics of the real thing. I took these a couple of weeks ago at Warbird Round-up in Nampa, Idaho.

Here's the original nose art section that was also at the show.

Fantastic job on the office.  Your WIP is moving forward excellently.  I'll be waiting anxiously for your next steps!

Toshi

Beautiful job so far. A 1/32 aircraft is on my to do list next.  I'll be looking for this one at Modelpaloosa show Sept. 22.

Only a small update tonight.  Finally got the fuselage buttoned up.  Looks like just some slight sanding and no filler needed for the seams.  I've cleaned up the wings and painted the wheel wells.  I discovered after some trial runs, that I'll be able to slide the wheel wells into the wings after they are glued up.  So this will give me a chance to do some detail work in the wells without having to handle a big wing all the while.

Only one pic, of the progress so far:

After dry-fitting the horizontal stabilizers I already know they are going to be a bit tricky.  Going to have to some seams to fill there.

Cheers, Mark

Thanks D, I appreciate the vote of confidence.

Cheers, Mark

Wow!  That cockpit is amazing!  I know I keep saying this, but you sir, have some serious skills.  Watching this with great interest.

D

fjs

Very nice cockpit Stecks, I don't know about you, but I would finde it very hard to resiste the temptation of weathering. Still I look forword to seeing it come together!

Thanks Fletcher.  It's funny, as I was working my way through the cockpit, I automatically started doing a first pass of weathering on the floor.  Suddenly I remembered, no weathering!  D'oh!  So there is some slight weathering in the cockpit.  It is hard to avoid doing it. 

Cheers, Mark

damouav

Great work on the pit, I will follow this wip with interest.

Keep the images coming.

Thanks Damian.

BrandonK

She looks fantastic. The amount of detail in these large kits is amazing.

BK

Thanks Brandon.  Yeah, it's almost too much detail.  There's something like four or five large pieces of PE parts for each of the landing gear doors!  lol

Cheers, Mark

She looks fantastic. The amount of detail in these large kits is amazing.

BK

Great work on the pit, I will follow this wip with interest.

Keep the images coming.

Very nice cockpit Stecks, I don't know about you, but I would finde it very hard to resiste the temptation of weathering. Still I look forword to seeing it come together!