Tamiya 1/48th P-47D Razorback
I built this kit over the past month and a half, and I was amazed at the excellent fit and detail right out of the box. I added Eduard photoetch details to the cockpit, brake lines to the main gear and the wiring harness to the engine, but otherwise its box stock. Paint is Model Master Olive Drab and Neutral Gray, both of which were postshaded. The decals are from the kit, depicting Lt. Frank Klibbe's "Little Chief" of the 61st Fight Squadron, 56th Fighter Group. The kit decals were a little thick, and despite a gloss coat before application, a couple of the stencils silvered. I'd love to build another one day, and if I do, I'll likely use aftermarket decals. Then after another gloss coat, I applied a sludge wash of artist oils and turpentine. Once wiped off, I sprayed Alclad II Krystal Klear Flat, which sprayed well, dried quickly and left a nice level flat finish. I added some staining with Prismacolor India Ink Artist pens in black and sepia, finally a silver watercolor pencil added some paint chipping to frequently handled panels.
All of my previous models have been "4 Footers" at best... they look good from 4 feet away. With this one, I think I might be under 2 feet. It's better than my last, and hopefully, my next model will be better than this.
An excellent build indeed, sir...along with equally excellent photos.
Frank, excellent work on an excellent kit. However, I think you underestimate your self. This looks good at any range. Nicely done !
Lovely work, Frank. Your shading is excellent.
Kinetic have now released the former VFS version of this in 1/24.
It looks awesome! I like your weathering on this one. Well done!
Really nice work !
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Very nice Frank, Looks like a show winner to me.
Just the right amount of info, Frank, thanks for sharing this lovely model.
Now that's a Jug…..love the model detail and the paint work. Definitely much better than a two footer.
That's a wonderful P-47, Frank, congratulations. I got interested by your washing technique - wonderfully messy! What washing medium did you use?
Thanks! It's artist oil paint and odorless turpentine. I let it sit until it no longer looked wet and wiped it off.
Very nice result.
Great looking Jug!
Beautiful Jug - great detailing and finishing - looks very convincing!
Frank, beautifully done! The turpentine doesn't eat the finish?
I left the sludge wash on for about 18 hours because I got interrupted and it didn't affect the finish at all. The wash went over an acrylic gloss clear coat.
Frank, now I see the part I didn't figure, the clearcoat. Aha! Thanks.