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Bill Newcomer
I have this kit from way back. I am waiting for my skillset to get better to tackle it.

Volmir Batista
Também querooooooooo !!!!

Bozzer
I'll get some more pictures up, later today, but basically this is something that I've always wanted and finally got the chance to have.
I printed this myself, after purchasing the files. I have to admit, these are bloody amazing files. I had a few hiccups during printing, and this was narrowed down to a corrupt flash drive. I can't wait to get this one done and on the shelf.

Martin Oostrom
Show us the pictures!

Bozzer
I shall, Martin. Just need to get back in the cave and take some. I can tell you that the chassis is very good. It lines up almost flawless.

Mona
oh there's the uhmm...trailer 😉 👍

Bozzer
After dinner, I'll make sure that I grab you both some pics 😉

Bozzer
Ok, as promised, just for you guys 🙂

Martin Oostrom
It looks so weird in that milky plastic

Bozzer
@martin. I bought some ABS-like, transparent resin, so I could use it for clear parts. What you see is, 2mm thick clear. I've not tried it any thinner, but for my taste, it's not good enough to use as glass for cab windows, etc? However, I'll give it a try, soon, just for a sample. Even i can be wrong, sometimes?

Martin Oostrom
You're not wrong, you tried something new that didn't work out as hoped. No shame in that!

Nigel Chapman
How have I missed this?
Wow Bozzer that is awesome. I agree with Martin it does look strange in that colour. At first glance I thought it was bread dough!

Bozzer
The original mistake was how I orientated the print. Also, I cured it in my machine. On the second attempt, I cured it slowly by sunlight and started assembly before it was fully cured. That turned out better, because I was able to get a better joint and the Super Glue held it better. Still a little filling, but a much better result. My plan is to light sand everywhere, then apply a filler/primer. I need to source this, but I will.
You boys will appreciate this....
The wife walked into the new cave, and stopped talking!
She's now aware of the stash that I've accumulated, during her absence. She said that I must have spent a lot, on kits?
I told her that they're cheaper than hookers!
When the swelling goes down, from my black eyes, I'll start modelling again!

Mr D
Looking great 👍
What is it made from??
I've never come across a build like this??

Martin Oostrom
You should have gone with 'cheaper than booze' 😂

Nigel Chapman
Taken out of context 'starting modelling again' doesn't sound much better 🤪

Bozzer
Lol, she was cool with it really.
@Mr D. This is an ABS-like, clear resin and printed on a resin printer. It's the largest resin build, I've done, to date.

Mr D
Thanks Bozzer, learned something new.
Looks a fun project, all the best with it 👍👍

Bill Newcomer
I have been out of the loop as my summer has been very busy. I shall be very interested how this comes along. I can afford a 3D printer, I simply do not have the space for one.

Martin Oostrom
Gorgeous

István Szücs
She looks good in yellow, I love the way you weather your vehicles! The slant6 also a good idea!

Brandon H
Thanks guys!!

Alexander Grivonev
I like the subtle weathering, the little paint blemishes, very realistic looking👍 Beautiful!

Bill Newcomer
Well done. I have a resin 72 to et to one of these days/years

Bob Hall
Pretty sweet there B !

Martin Oostrom
Great work, as usual. 😁

Brandon H
Thanks Martin! It's nice to be building again at last!

István Szücs
Another masterpiece, another Mopar! Well done, sir!

Bill Newcomer
Wow! You built that to be really nice!

Pepe
Nice job

Martin Oostrom
Another fine fire department truck

Goldman
Great looking model. Beautiful paint job.

Curtis Caden
Thank you Pepe, Martin Oostrom and Goldman. My only wish is that directions would show pictures of how the part looks after it is attached. Too many arrows pointing in a direction and not even showing which way the part should be flipped. I am convinced that to build a model correctly one should do two of them. One to learn on and one to have for a nice, finished product. I tell myself that I build it because I like the subject matter, and it is only a representation. I felt bad that I couldn't align the white decal stripes better.

David Orr
Very nice work Curtis. Looks like an absolute beast. How did the kit go together? I've got an AMT Kenworth Alaskan Hauler in the stash which I'm hoping to build soon. That will be my first truck model.

Villiers de Vos
Flawless.

Neuling
Beautiful!

Christian W
That truck looks really nice! Flawless pauntjob. This is what I like 🙂

Curtis Caden
David Orr the truck part went together fine. The wrecker part that sits on the frame was a bit awkward. There were two options for the hooking part that led to some confusion on my part. I liked having the long cable but having it molded in plastic was not ideal and I probably should have substituted a fabric rope cable. I did like the way the mirrors in this kit were molded.

Curtis Caden
Thank you, Villiers de Vos, Neuling and Christian W.

Bozzer
Did you have any issues with the hood alignment, Curtis?

Bill Newcomer
That is nice looking rig. I like the shape of the hood.

George Williams
I like it a lot, especially the stripes.

Robert Podkoński
Beautiful!

Rui S
A Beauty indeed 👍 Great photos too 😉

Spanjaard
gorgeous blue color

J35J
Great build and paint work!👍🏻

Martin Oostrom
Great paint job

Christian W
Brillant finish! That gold on blue looks so good <3

Neuling
Very well done!

Dominik Weitzer
Thank you very much! Much appreciated 🙂

d hadley
Stunning!

Bozzer
I echo Christian!
That's a really eye catching colour! Top job, Dom 👍

Bill Newcomer
Beautiful color combo. Stunning.

Nicolas
Following

Robert Podkoński
Me 2!

Marcin Dudek
👀 3rd

Dave Burgess
So now the FUN begins! Turning the P-39 wing into a (laminar flow) P-76 wing! I found a cheap P-51 kit ($13 CAD) to sacrifice. I'll need to cut out and fill in the P-51 landing gear wells, chop off the wingtips to reduce the wing span to ~36 scale feet (35'10"), cut out the P-39's gear wells, chop holes in the P-51's wings to mount the P-39 gear wells, and remove the leading and trailing edges of the P-39 wing root to mate up with the P-51 wing so it matched the P-39 fuselage. Also because the gear wells in the '39 are further back than the P-51, and the flaps on the P-51 are molded as one piece not two, the rear of the gear wells extends into the flap space, so I'll have to toss the flaps and fill that space with sheet styrene. Piece of cake! (Yeah, right!)

Guy Rump
Following as well! 👍

Dave Burgess
Step 1: Chop both the P-39 and P-51 lower wing into the component parts. I want to keep the P-39 wheel wells, and rear and forward centre so they will mate to the P-39 fuselage

Dave Burgess
Step 2: I re-sorted the wing components to prepare assembling the XP-39E/P-76 wing.

Dave Burgess
Step 3: glue all the bits together; re-invorced with styrene strip

Dave Burgess
Step 4: a WHOLE BUNCH of puttying! in retrospect I probably didn't need to do so much disassembling of the P-39 wing, but I wasn't sure where it was going at the time.

Dave Burgess
Step 5: Now I have to chop the tail off the P-39 and fit on the P-51 tail. I think this will probably be the easiest approach here. I also have to lengthen the fuselage by 24 inches or 24/72 - 1/3". Fortunately the rear and front of the wing bottom match up well to the fuselage wing fillets, suggesting to me that my wing mods were pretty accurate.

Robert Podkoński
Photos #4-6 terrified me... 😉 Great job, Dave!

Dave Burgess
Thanks, Robert. Y'know, the first time I decided to to a mod that required me to cut up a new kit, that was EXACTLY my reaction. I was terrified that I was going to destroy a perfectly good kit and have to throw it away. And that was only one kit - this one required me to cut up TWO!. Several decades of model building and multiple mods have given me the confidence to do these mods, knowing that while it may look a hot mess when it's in progress, with a little sheet styrene and some putty, I can pull it off, and most people wouldn't be the wiser.

Dave Burgess
Step 6: Wing and fuselage have now been modified for XP-39E / P-76; Still looking a bit rough; some sanding to do before I mate the wing & fuselage.

Dave Burgess
Step 7: Modified fuselage mated to modified wing. more putty applied. I have to sand down the wing fillets, a couple of low spots on the wing underside, and feather in the new (P-51) tail into the rest of the fuselage. Then, my favourite job: painting and decaling! I'm still trying to decide whether to just paint the XP-39E as it is in the photos, or dress it up as a P-76 in US or Soviet markings (which is probably where the P-76 would have ended up). I'm leaning towards the latter, because the only photo I could find of the XP-39E is this B&W one.

Dave Burgess
Three more rounds of putty & sanding to smooth out some rough patches; Canopy masked and attached; ready for airbrushing!

Robert Podkoński
Looks great already. Fantastic job, Dave!

Dave Burgess
So there it is folks! After a long chop, putty, much sanding, and just generally fiddling about, a P-39D converted to a P=39E/P-76. Bell never actually got a contract for the Bell- P-76, which was what the XP-39E was to be designated when it entered production. However, much of the development of the XP-39E ended up in the P-63, including the more powerful engine, lengthened fuselage and wings, and I believe the supercharger which was removed from the P-39's design which was restored. The one adaptation in the XP-39E that DIDN'T get incorporated into the P-63 was the straight (clipped) wing tips and tail surfaces. All-in-all, it was a REALLY fun build, especially watching the ugly duck grow into a swan!