P-47D Thunderbolt
An impulse build after the 1:48 Airfix Spitfire from a month or so ago. Five weeks from cracking the box to what you see here – and yes I know I haven't painted the sway braces on the pylons and centreline yet.
As usual with Hasegawa's BIG kits it simply fell together without any fuss whatsoever, I was expecting ‘issues' with the multi-piece cowl, but it behaved impeccably. The huge take-away from this build is the incredible quality of AK's enamel lacquer's. So much better behaved than Alclad and nowhere near as ‘smelly'. First time using Kagero's decals and they worked perfectly also.
Not much else to say, my first 1:32 completion in a l-o-n-g time and enjoyed so much I dragged-out my H'gawa 109G-14 as a possible next project…
Thanks for taking the time to look folks and please feel free to ask any questions or make any comments or criticism.
Ian.
17 additional images. Click to enlarge.
That's really sharp. Can you mask over the AK metallic?
Yep, John it's 'bulletproof' go-ahead and mask with confidence.
Ian.
One nice Jug!
Dang! It takes me five weeks just to get the box open!
I agree that new AK products are v good. Have to ask - what colour is the cockpit interior? Anyway, great looking scheme.
Rob it's the 'correct' Dull Dark Green. The only P-47's that had the more well known 'Interior Green' were a handful built by Curtiss, they were designated P-47G's and were used exclusively for training within the US.
I mixed my own 'Dull Dark Green' using Tamiya IJN Green, Olive Green & Blue.
Ian.
Now that's a right nice set of Jugs (pictures, that is)...nice work, sir. 🙂
Criticisms? You are joking. If I built this I think I'd be tempted to quit and rest on my laurels.
Terrific jug and a beautiful finish on that NMF - I'm signing up for the AK lacquers.
Nicely done, Ian. I always have to check out the jugs, especially when they are "well built" !, and this one is nice. Well done !
Wow !
I wonder whats the size of that beast which is also a beauty!
Hats in the air!
Love the nickname "Schmattzie" sounds great! ha ha
I've been following along with your build thread and your T-bolt is a fantastic plane. I like the original photos at the end too. Two thumbs up Sir. I really like it !
Great looking Jug !
Simply an excellent build! Love T-bolts in all their shapes and colors.
Hello Ian...That's an outstanding Thunderbolt build and very nicely done.
Very nice result. Outstanding work. the big Hasegawa kit is a nice one.
One bit of information (not a complaint): unpainted P-47s did not have any ZC on the ailerons - they were completely unpainted. The silver leading edge is the giveaway for a field-applied camouflage scheme on P-47Ds, since they were painted with the flaps up. This was pointed out to me by one of the pilots in the 78th I interviewed, when he was explaining their late-war P-47 camouflage. I wasn't aware of it myself before that.
Thanks Tom, good info for the future as I still have two Razorbacks and two Bubbletops I NEED to build before I 'move-on' - I was in two-minds about painting the Chromate yellow. One of those 'toss-a-coin' decisions.
Ian.
Very nice build.
Ian, beautiful build, and thanks for posting the photos of the other planes in the squadron.
There is little better than looking at a photograph and then a built up kit and knowing that some really accurate modelling has happened! Stunning!
Great work, Ian, good to see your finished model.