Topic: 92" Ziroli P-47 Thunderbolt

As some of you may know I've been gearing up to build a 92" Thunderbolt based on Ziroli plans for the last couple of years.
I guess I better get started seeing that Shane has his Gannet well under way 

Among the suppliers are: Model Images, Laser Lizard, Fighter Aces, Ashtek, ModelExpress, S.M. Services, Bobs Hobby Center, Fibretech.
I'm sure there will be one or two more suppliers down the road 

Wingspan 232 cm(92"), about 53 cm(21") wide at the wing root.


The fuselage is not much shorter.


CJM retract, not decided on set of wheels yet.


Local tradition 


Laser Lizard short kit.


Only "problem", if it can be called that, is that the parts literally fall out of the frame.


Control horn for one of the flaps. There you can also see the small pieces that connect the parts to the frame.


Few ribs.

Looks like pure fun   I think a bit of wight saving drilling seems to be on the agenda  Gotten any Forster drill bits yet, have you

  Johan

Nobe, but I'm going to look for them this week. 

Nice one Sverrir 
The laser cut parts look great mate 

Nobe, but I'm going to look for them this week. 

B&Q have drills suitable for holes in thin material, see my Mitchell build thread in Scale Models,
Stearman

B&Q have drills suitable for holes in tin material, see my Mitchell build thread in Scale Models

Sverrir,

Do you have B&Q.................. up in the frozen North?.............    

Great to see, that you've got what you've been waiting for, for soooooooooooo loooooooooooooooooong.

Some interesting wall paper in your building room........... ::cc  ::cc  ::cc

Tally Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Andy

I must say though Sverrir , Your appearance has changed a lot since Cosford ! 

I think the price of an airline ticket over to the UK would up the price a little bit       I live in Iceland btw
I've been watching your B25 thread, nice model, might be a built one in my future, got a YT B25 brewing.

The Stearman pic is from an old Würth calender, not sure about the scuba ones. The building room is at my mates place.

Must be the new cowling... though I still haven't perfected the ancient art of self filming   

Local tradition 

I thought we all tried them on for size   well I did with the Avenger cowl 

Looking forward to this build Sverrir 


Mark.

Hey Sverrir! When you get out of the bucket to get drill bits... Buy the expensive ones if there's a choice...

They are a bitch to sharpen up if of inferior quality and over heated..

  Johan

lol, how did you know I was waiting for payday 

Some of the reading material I've acquired, from various sources, including this forum(thanks guys)   

Well I guess there is no use in postponing this any longer, I decided to begin on the horizontal tail as it seemed to be of a suitable proportions.
I'm still short of some wood but hopefully it should arrive soon.

Here I've found the parts from my box. Not much problem getting them out, just a little shake and they just fall out, don't you just love lasercutting.


And hopefully they'll end up close to this arrangement.


I began by putting up the tabbed ribs and support them with some balsa.
This helps when it comes time to locate the rib in relations to the trailing edge, then it can be fastened.


Here the trailing edge has been applied and next up is the leading edge.


Then we put in our spare ribs 


And here we are now 


The ribs for the elevator where not in the package so I'll need to do some cutting soon.

Hi Sverrir,
No need to do any serious cutting for the elevator ribs just use a piece of suitable stock balsa ex. 25x3mm and just chop 'em down to the right length, glue in and use a long "bar sander" to shape the profile of the whole elevator in one go.

  Johan

I like your style young one   

Small steps 

Next step was to trim the wing ends.


Then the fun started, time to begin on the elevator's trailing edge.


Then it was a matter of aligning it to the center of the leading edge.


Now it was time to get busy and start scratch building, I needed 10 ribs for the elevators because they where not included in
the short kit. Reason being that they are not shown on the cut list on the plans.
To simplify matters I made all the ribs the size of the largest one and then trimmed them depending on where they went.


And here this is starting to resemble a structure that we can use to fly 




Next I'll sheet the tail so I better end this session by gluing together two balsa planks for the sheeting.

Not time for the sheeting yet   

Next step was going over the whole stabiliser with some sandpaper, the elevators are glued on with a few CA drops.
One unexpected benefit of the lasercut is that you clearly see what areas you've gone over with the sandpaper.
I've also added some balsa where the trim tabs are.


And here I was considering putting some hinges, red + marks the spot, any comments regarding placement or number of hinges?
The black lines at the top are where the full size hinges are

Hinge positions look ok, I would put more balsa infill blocks at the hinge positions to give them more gluing area.

Steve

Just as Steve has written.............    

I would also move the two outer ones closer to the ribs...........

What design are we looking at here? Rounded L/E to the elevator and Pro-skin shrouds top and bottom?

Tally Hoooooooooooooooooo

Andy

Yes, balsa blocks will be added   

I would also move the two outer ones closer to the ribs...........

To tie them better into the frame?

What design are we looking at here? Rounded L/E to the elevator and Pro-skin shrouds top and bottom?

That sounds about right but I've still got to go over that part in my docs.

I have 3 Robarts on the elevs on my P-47 (ZG38)..................if this is ZG62 or bigger powered, I'd personally add in a 4th hinge...............space equally between root & tip.

Phil

Z62 it is.

I'd fit 4 then..............I've seen Robarts break when 3 have been fitted on models smaller than this...........

Ouch 

Get some hinge blocks fitted for 4, but don't drill any holes yet.....................you can try some PROPPER glass filled nylon hinge points I'm bringing in soon if you want................tough as old boots they are.

Phil

Sounds like a plan Phil, sign me up 

OK....watch the usual spaces.........

For the ultimate P47 build check out http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/  There's a training video showing the uncrating and assembling of a razor back P47. All done in the field with no cranes or machinery, just manual tools.

For the ultimate P47 build check out http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/  There's a training video showing the uncrating and assembling of a razor back P47. All done in the field with no cranes or machinery, just manual tools.

I just wish there were somewhere to order the two big boxes these days.....

  Johan

and at that price Johan 

I guess it's time to sheet the tail, like I mentioned earlier I glued two balsa sheets together.
It's good to sand the sheeting before applying it, it's easier and usually results in a neater job.


Some meat for the hinges to bite into added.


And this is how it looks after trimming. Still need to close that gap up front.

Excellent buddy.................    

4 hinges per side does look better..........    

Keep up the good work....

Tally Hoooooooooooooooooooo

Andy

Hi Selleri,

Thought it about time I added a post, here. The Yellow Aircraft P-40 has 4 hinges in the elevator & that's got a ZG62 grass cutter up front, too.

Everything lookin' very nice - doing a good job

TTFN,
neil

Thanks Neil, you're not doing a bad job yourself on the Warhawk 

Both sides of the stabilizer have been sheeted, the hole at the top has been closed and balsa blocks installed in the elevator.


And this is hopefully how high it will be 

I always seem to be gluing things together, now I just need to get 4 parts out of the sheet so I can cover the elevators.


Cut the sheeting in half, 2 + 2 = 4 so we should be okay.


First part is quick and painless, little bit of wood glue.


Some clamps and few drops of CA glue to secure the first sheet, second sheet was done the same way.


Guess I'll be flying before Christmas 



If I would build the stabilizer again I would wait to put in the hinge and trim tab blocks until after I've sheeted one side.

Even though flash floods, mud slides and customs program run out of control tried to hinder its delivery my balsa finally showed up today courtesy of JPerkins through my LHS.

I hope Santa brought you what you wanted 
Last night I decided to continue with this great epic build

Next up on the agenda would be to start building the fuselage and being a Ziroli kit that meant á crutch was needed.
I guess most of you already know this but the crutch is used to aid in aligning the fuselage formers while you assemble and sheet them.
Later you can remove the crutch or leave it as it serves no structural purpose.

For my next building session I'll need to assemble a jig to lift the crutch up from the table so the formers can be correctly placed. Something like this setup will be needed.


One sander + balsa


And we get this nice wedge that I used at the back of the crutch.
This could easily have been done the old fashioned way but when you got the equipment you just got to use it. 


Here we have the crutch and again with plywood pieces that are part of the wing seat.


As I'm building a razorback I will not be needing these.


But these will do quite nicely.


Some stack we have here.


Here we see the plywood for the firewall, Ziroli says 1/4" but the plate I got is only 3/16".
And I have some doubts about that plywood, what do the experts say???


I just couldn't resist...        don't worry these are the bubbletop formers.


Now this is starting to look fun 


And puzzle of the day, 10 plywood pieces that came from the fuselage ribs sheets, anyone know where they might go, or will I need to go over all the drawings with a magnifier glass
These are for the wing pylons, 4 mounting points, so I guess I've 6 to spare

Hi Sverrir, I think you should get some new ply to replace that firewall, it looks like light ply to me.

Try to get hold of something like this (10mm & 12 laminations stiff as metall) I used this stuff for the retract bearers on the Tigercat, you can get it from www.hobbytra.se

Have fun and let the glue flow...

  Johan

It's also been suggested that I get 2x 4mm pieces and laminate them to be sure I get a straight one, but this looks like it should be up to the job, now I just need check if it's sold locally before doing some long distance shopping 

B25 from YT, P47 crutch and P51D from Top Flite.


And here we have the jig, it has been fastened and straightened so we should be getting ready any minute now.


And here is the crutch on the jig, notice the markings for centerline, both on the crutch and the jig.


My plane was pregnant and I didn't know it, Ready 2 in hiding.


Guess this height should do it.


Old firewall in the new firewall cut out.


And here they are side by side, not a doubt in my mind that this was a smart move.


Almost there!


Balsa stripper from Master Airscrew, used for making stringers at the moment, might also come in hand when it's time for some planking.


Here is the fuselage with few stringers.


More of the wingseat has been added. Notice that I gave that poor, poor woman pilot some new clothes


And there you have it, I've yet to apply any glue, I fastened a few naughty wood bits and wetted them, I hope they'll have adapted for the next session so it will be easier to glue them. I'll also have to think about what stringers to glue in and what gear to arrange before processing too far with the build.