WiP +++ 1:72 Vultee P-52B Vanquisher USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), 1944

[Dizzyfugu]

After the Me 351 kitbashing the next one is already in the pipeline. Mojo is flowing, as well as putty, so that I proceed with the next messy project that has been lingering for some years in the back of my mind.

Stay tuned. 

[Rick Lowe]

<Popcorn Emoji> 

[Dizzyfugu]

Here we go. As an introdution I must say something about the original idea behind this build - it was inspired by a Vultee Vengeance in Brazilian markings, which made me wonder about an American export fighter during WWII, something like the Vultee P-66 or Curtiss Demon, but later and with more oompf. The Vengeance's profile spawned the idea of a land-based F4U, because it's inception and development would fit my intended time frame. And as a de-navalized version it could have been much simpler - esp. with "straight" wings. So the original concept was an early F4U with P-47 wings and landing gear.
However, the more I thought about it the less plausible that became. Vought only did naval aircraft, and I did not find the whole thing convincing enough, including the export-only idea. So, the project lingered for some years, and I had already stashed away two(!) Birdcage F4Us as donors, as well as a P-47. But it was not right yet... Until I revisited the vengeance and thought: "Why not make the thing a Vultee aircraft, the 'better' P-66 that never was?". As an alternative to the early P-47A, which was not very convincing and rejected by the USAAF?

That was a better concept, and from there the work started for an ETO aircraft in late 1944 - the Vultee P-52B "Vanquisher"!

Work started with the fuselage, a Hasegawa F4U-1 (actually the -2 kit for the early night fighter, but it just has some extra parts), but being a Vultee aircraft I wanted to get away from the F4U looks, for a more independent design around the R-2800 engine. While retaining the basic hull structure I deciced to change the cockpit in two ways: moving OOB tub and windscreen/hood further forward (much like the XF4U prototype) and lowering the spine for a different, heavily framed canopy with extended glazing, reminiscent of a P-38 or a Mitsubishi A6M).


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-K' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More coming soon...

[NARSES2]

Looking forward to this one Thomas.

[Dizzyfugu]

...and there's immediately more to show. 

In parallel to the fuselage I worked on one of the major challanges, the wings and esp. the landing gear. The aerodynamic parts all come from a DZI Donetsk Toy Factory Vultee Vengeance, a rather basic kit from ~1970, and in this case the more recent ARK Models reincarnation. I really love Vultee's odd trademark wing shape, but the Vengeance wings could not be directly used - the span is too wide and as a result the wing roots too deep. A logical solution: cut away span at the wing/hull intersection. This created another problem, which I'd have tackled, anyway: the landing gear's track width would not work anymore, but I'd get rid of the Vengeance's rotating/backwards-retracting landing gear, anyway.
So I cut away the OOB fairings and filled the resulting gaps with 2C putty. Once dry the span was reduced by ~0.5" per wing - not much, but it has great impact, and the aircraft's proportions were good again.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-K' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-K' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

In fact, the slender sickle-wings match the cleaned F4U fuselage surprisingly well, and the look "fast"! From the lower wing halves new wells were cut out for a conservatve inward-retracting lang gear arrangement (the guns in the wings will be moved further outside, so it's plausible), with the help of new covers that I found in the scrap box, because the whole landing gear has to be scratched for the new arrangement. Not 100% certain about their origin - my guess, due to the material: leftover Me 309/609 parts from a HUMA kit. The Vengeance's air brakes on the wings had to filled/PSRed away for the "new" fighter aircraft, too.


1:72 Vultee P-52B 'Vanquisher'; aircraft 'VF-K' of the USAAF 336th FS, 4th FG; Debden (UK), late1944 (What-if/kitbashing) +++ WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

More to come soon...

[Gondor]

I like the idea and the execution so far. Keep at it as it looks good 

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, I have a "vision" for the thing.