Reich Defenders IV Group Build: Strike From Above

I have a really dumb question: Were German bombs mounted the same way as American ones? Because the SC500 bombs for my Jug are about the same size as the bombs originally fitted to the P-47s pylons and the holes for what I think should be mounting pins have almost the same spacing. I think I can get away with simply mounting the bombs to the original brackets supplied with the kit and don't have to come up with something clever myself. Do you guys have any info on that?

Yeah, this Jug is the most enjoyable project I worked on so far if it wasn't for those decals. I want to build her sister (T9-LK) at some Point, but I'll just go with a set of miracle masks for that one... The finish won't be perfect as you can still see where I sanded down the decal wrinkles in a few spots and the paint suffered a bit under the repeated applications of micro-sol and the constant handling to get the markings to look good, but I think it's going to look good enough once all the weathering is done and the final dullcoat is on.

Oh, man! I truly feel your frustration -- to be chasing your tail to get a particular set of elements to conform to your intentions and have them defy you so consistently... It's thankfully rare in the hobby! I salute your persistence, and look forward to the finished project, which I know will be spectacular!

Mike/TB379

Hey guys, remember my P-47?

I had a bunch of decal problems again. The decals for the fuselage and wing codes were ripped off by the de-tacked tape I used to mask off the crosses while respraying them. The most interesting thing is, however, that the decals didn't go off completely like you would expect. Only the damn paint and the clear coat on top got removed while the carrier film stayed on the model!!! That was simply too much for me to handle, so I set her aside for a few days to not get too frustrated and ruin the model. I've been working on painting on all the codes line by line and weathering the panel lines with flory washes. The only thing left to do now is finishing the landing gear, propeller and bombs and glue all of them in place. Then a little bit more fine-tuning on the overall weathering in form of additional oil streaking and grime on the yellow lower surfaces as well as the exhaust staining and she's done. I should be able to do all of that untill next weekend if I don't run into any more decal problems, which is almost impossible because there are only 3 very small LF-Models decals left on the model. Everything else has been repainted... (never again!)

I feel your pain... Here's hoping this is the very last snag!

M/TB379

I ran into another decal-related problem today. I won't go into any detail, but I was so close to just sending her on a one-way flight trough the room. I'm trying to repair the decals on the left wing (lower surfaces) ATM and it's looking quite alright, but I have to spray another clear coat on top of that area (and the right fuselage side. All those clear coats are slowly obscuring the nice surface details of this kit.

I like the night-fighter idea.  Have threel kits in the stash - Hasagawa AR-234, Eduard Bf-110G-4 and Tamiya He219.  Sounds like fun!

Steve

John: Great work on the weathering! I love the streaking effects! Those silvering decals are a bummer indeed and I'm afraid my Tamiya stencilling decals are going to show some silvering as well. After the Light Sheen protective layer the decal film is still visible and there is a slight step on the edges (those decals are really thick). I just hope it won't be visible after the weathering and final dullcoat...

I really like the nightfighter idea. I'm thinking of buying Trumpeter's Me 262 in the nightfighter version for some time now and I just ordered Zoukei-Mura's big He 219 a week ago. The experimental one sounds good as well (I'm thinking of that very promising Ho 229 announced by ZM), but nightfighters sounds a bit better IMHO.

Good thought too! I'm more than interested in going the Nachtjager route, it embraces 109, 190, 262, 229 and a host of radar equipped specials, like the He 219, the AR 240 and no doubt many others.

What do you think, guys? Strong theme with heaps of material to work with, and it sounds like a whole year's worth!

M/TB379

But this would be limited to night fighters of the Luftwaffe.  RD VI could be experimental s.  Besides night fighters would give me the push I need to do my ju88's. Just a thought

Nightfighters would be a great theme, though there has been a GB along those lines in the recent past I believe. I can see me fielding a 262 with radar... Other themes? What about "experimentals?" Not paper planes, but anything which actually reached the cut-metal stage, so you'd be looking at things like the Ho 229, the Wasserfall missile, the Me 163 and 263, the Me 309, Ta 152, Me 262C, Bachem Natter and so forth... All suggestions welcome!

M/TB379

Thanks Mike.  Has anyone thought of a theme for RD V.  How about night fighters.  sie kommen in der Nacht.  They come out at night in German

Looking great, TJ! I'll get her onto the Honour Wall later today. She's a rare type, gaunt and brutal, really, specialised to the hilt! Great work!

Mike/TB379

Yea the kit decals. I should have cut a little more of the backing away especially on the G. I'll put up with it. Have 3 more in the stash. Will know better next time. Thanks for the compliment

Hey thats some nice streaking and staining. Bummer about the port side code silvering a bit. Are those Hase decals?

Here is the final pics I promise.

And pasted the wrong pic. Oh its gonna be one of those days

Right one

OK changed the brightness level on photobucket

These pics came out darker then I thought.

Added a little more staining and grunge. Tell me what you think.

Very nice work Commander John. I second the exhaust staining. It will really add to the model.

Thanks Steve have another 3 129's in the stash including the one with the 75mm cannon. Will look on the  flory site

John - your 129 looks great!  I'm going to have to add one to the stash.

I just bought some Flory washes - SprueBros wwere out so I bought direct from the Flory site.  Took about a week to get to the US.

Steve

Thanks Clemons. My skills are improving watching the work of others on this forum. Was going yo order Flory wash. Sprue Bros was out.

That's a great looking model, John!

Tonight after work I'm going to try and get some better pictures.

Well I think I'm fini.  I may do some more weathering and exhaust staining not sure yet.

Hope you all like it.  Other then some silvering on the decals I was very happy with this kit.

JOHN

Ok, I placed the order for a set of mixed Archer rivets (.2mm, .27mm, .35mm) and some Ultracast P-47 wheels now and It should arrive within a week. The shipping costs are outrageous (twice the money I pay for a similar Hannants order) and the Ultracast wheels cost more than Hannants wants for them as well, but that's the only way I can get all of it in time, so I'll jsut go with it. That means that the landing gera is put on hold untill next week, but I still have to finish all the weathering. I'll post some pics as soon as I'm done with that (give me a week to do so).

I just found a webstore in Germany that sells Archer rivets. And they have some Ultracast wheels in stock too, so I'll order those 2 items and hope they arrive in time.

I guess using the HGW rivets is my only option ATM...