Collect-Aire XP-67 - Im not sure who finished who

This is Collect-Aire’s 1/48 resin McDonnell XP-67 Moonbat. I didn’t so much as finish it as surrender to it. I could have spent another month fixing all the “for advanced modelers only” “features” of the model, but one month is enough, I have other kits to build.

Markings are for the55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, 8th AF in England, which was in reality a P-38 Squadron

I just had to give this thing invasion stripes. I know the 1943 dark green mottle usually didn’t last until late 1944, but it MIGHT have on one or two planes. Note in the pic above that the upperside of the fuselage shows the topside stripes have been painted over with fresher, darker OD paint.

Instrument panel from a P-38, gunsight and rudder pedals from a P-47, radio gear from a P-51, photoecthed seatbelts from an aftermarket sheet - I’m the pilot and my friend Ralph is the crew chief. And I made the data panel so it says the right kind of airplane:

And this is how much friggin weight it took to keep this thing standing on its nose gear - THIRTEEN 230 grain .45 slugs (4 in each nacelle), two 55 grain .223 rounds, and it still didn’t stand firm until I put two .36 cal civil war pistol balls in the prop spinners!

Parts fit was “approximate” throughout. Fortunately it was a soft resin and sanded easily, but getting the wings to fit the fuselage, and the nacelle noses to fit the wings, pretty much sanded all the surface detail off. Everything had at LEAST 1/16" difference in sizes on the mating surfaces. Those details on top of the engines are all replaced with plastic bits. The canopy didn’t fit at all. I had to use putty to make the opening on the nose (where the windshield sits) smaller, and raise the aft canopy section 1/32 off the decking. I can’t see any way this thing could be built canopy-closed, the vac clear part is just tooooo smalllll. The props are a mess, and I’m too tired to make them right. Good thing they’re flat black. I had to build up the back of the spinners to fit the nacelles. Oh, and speaking of the nacelles, the port one exploded while I was drilling it out for the weights. Shattered. I was searching for the parts for an hour. What your looking at is about half the parts jigsawed together with Aves Apoxy Sculpt replacing the rest of the shape.

I named her “Rawcuss Roslin” 'cause I was watching Battlestar Galactica right before I made the decals. And yes, it’s misspelled on purpose (actually made up of two words that describe her in her fouler moods).

Well, I’m gonna go build something easy now. Whew!

Looks great from here John. I’d say you won this struggle [tup].

Regards, Rick

Excellent end result, John. Well worth your efforts.

Looks like there’s enough ammo in that thing to refight Desert Storm, and a Civil War re-inactment! Looks really nice and an unusual subject as well.

Steve

Great job on a difficult build, my hat’s off to you! [#toast]

Good work, that looks awesome! Your pain and toil paid off. Enjoy your next “easy” build [:D]

Valiant effort indeed. “Collect-Error” planes have always been a challenge but there aren’t many alternatives out there in 1/48. Your battle scars will heal with the next build. Pick a Tamiya kit out of the stash and call us in a few weeks. I find those to be very therapeutic and inspirational after a challenging build.

I still consider the Moonbat to be one of the best looking planes ever built… right up there with Connie. Shame it never saw action.

Hi John,

Congrat`s on your build, the paint jobs very respectable and the choice of ballast is a bit of an eye opener to me here in GB with our firearm restrictions. The desicion to do a ficticious paint scheme on an expensive model is a brave choice.

[^]

Sure does look nice. I am amazed the LG supports all that weight.

Thanks everybody!

Yeah, I’m pulling out a nice simple 1/48 Hasegawa WWII fighter for a less stressful build. :LOL:

Thankfully the gear is metal! If it was resin I’d be doomed.

Ye Gods, I thought the half-dozen flattened fishing weights I had to put in the nose of my 1/72 B-25 was a lot! Maybe the military will start making small amounts of depleted uranium available to us modelers to hold these beasts down the way they are meant to look?

Nice looking build, by the way.

What an excellent build of a little known but beautiful and interesting aircraft. It is so refreshing to see something unusual like this.

Very nice build of an unusual subject.

John,

You did an outstanding job on her, given the trials and tribulations you describe. I do have a question - are you saying that a kit in the price range of Collect-Aire does not provide a cockpit? I note you said you used P-38 and P-47 parts in the office, or was this for accuracy? I love the paint job, the mottle is superb! Overall, this build is a winner, IMHO! Thanks for sharing with us!

Brian [C):-)]

It did indeed have a cockpit, but only the most rudimentary kind. The insrutument panel had only little round recesses for guages. The seat was good, an I did in fact use the kit seat, sidewalls and stick. But detail is very low. There was also no dashboard shroud, so I made one out of sheet plastic to mount the P-47 sight on (no sight with the kit).