Blood Brothers – Two Era’s of Thunderbolts
A while back I ran across an article about an A-10 from the 124th Fighter Wing/190th Fighter Squadron painted in World War II D-Day livery as an homage to the Squadron's heritage and it gave me an idea. I've always been a big fan of the Razorback P-47 and who doesn't love the Warthog? The durability and firepower of each aircraft reflects the rationale for both of them wearing the name Thunderbolt. Plus, I enjoy slapping invasion stripes on anything I can, so this build was gonna be fun.
The Builds
P-47D Razorback
I tracked down decals for a P-47D of the 510th FS, 405th FG flown by Pilot Lt. Harris S. Boyee which fit the concept perfect. According to http://www.usaaf-noseart.co.uk, this particular Thunderbolt was assigned to Lt Harris S. Boyse and sported a beautiful piece of nose art by S/Sgt Trank. But later was flown by 2nd Lt Paul Ellison who was shot down by flak on 17th July 1944 while flying "Tipsy". After taking off from Picauville he was hit by flak just after bombing the bridge at Conde-sur-Vire. Bits of the wing started to fall away and Ellison bailed out at about 1000ft. He evaded capture and returned to military control on August 2, 1944.
“Tipsy” as it would have appeared late summer of 1944 with the top side invasion stripes removed. As with all Tamiya kits, assembly was a breeze.
A-10C
For those of the fellowship who would ask, I did confirm that the 510th flew A-10s from 1978 to 1994 so the lineage depicted is probable. I chose the Academy offering for the build. This is a really great kit. Just the right amount of detail and goes together like dream. I also appreciated the fuselage construction minus a medial seam.
I must admit, getting the invasion stripes on this bird after assembly was a bit of a challenge, but with a measure of patience and sufficient amount of tape I pulled it off.
There you have it gang, my tribute to these warhorses of the sky that share a lineage of ruggedness. True blood brothers. Comment away and keep building.
An interesting concept with outstanding execution!
Two wonderful builds, Matt @coondog
As you said, who cannot love a Warthog and a Razorback Thunderbolt, especially at the same time.
Excellent Matt (@coondog), I love it! Both are very photogenic aircraft and the livery you chose makes them more so. I also noticed the commonality of the smaller paint details (metal canopy frame, white nose, tail stripes). Cool!
@clipper Thanks for noticing the small details. Love getting those things incorproated.
I love this concept and the builds are great @coondog. I think I may have seen the same or a similar article in the National Guard magazine.
Great idea and great finishing on both.
Nice concept and beautiful execution on both builds. I flew the A-10 for twelve years and can say you did the jet proud.
Tom Rodgers (@trod348)
My Hat's off to you Sir !
Please read my comments below about one of my Army experiences with an A-10 "driver" in the 1980's...when I was in the 3rd Cav. Your son also served in the Brave Rifles some years ago if I remember correctly. You Hog Driver guys / gals are the best !
Hand salute ... 🙂
Thanks for the nice comments, Louis. Yes, my son was in the 3rd Cav and served with them at Fort Hood and Afghanistan. On my page here, you can find the model I built of his Stryker AFV (bumper numbers and all) that I built for him a few years ago.
From you my friend that means a great deal.
What's not to like? Two big brutes sharing a lineage and loaded for bear. Both models look great!
Excellent duo!
Cool idea, Matt (@coondog). There are a lot of planes around now that have throw-back paints schemes, so lots of possibilities of similar pairs. Well done.
Just AWESOME, period.
Nice builds and the paint is just too cool!
What an original idea and above all fantastic realization!
Excellent execution of an inspired idea. The best way to model. G
Very interesting bringing together of the two aircraft. Exceptional work. I imagine this was a fun project.
Two great bolts. I love the paint and weathering.
This is a wonderful project and I like everything about it. You definitely hit a home run here buddy !
Anytime I see anything that is related to the A-10 I immediately think about the time when I actually had one fly SO low over our tank column that the plane actually clipped the top section off of the radio antenna on my tank. I saw it coming in low and then realized it was much lower than I was used to seeing.
I was the “tail end Charlie” tank commander in our Cavalry Troop tank column so I had a good view of it as it approached. The wind was blowing the dust from the column away from us so the visibility was very good. Normally when you’re the last tank in the column you eat everyone else’s dust and diesel exhaust.
So I ducked down into the tank commander cupola. My poor loader. He just froze and sat there motionless. He could not move and he was paralyzed with fear. Had he reached up with his hands he might have lost them. It was that close !
The jet had to pass just a few feet above the top of the turret. The dust contrails that it kicked up were also an incredible sight to see.
However the most impressive thing I have ever seen from the A-10 is when they fire up the Gatling gun. That’s the most amazing and terrifying sight all at once.
It’s almost as though the pilot is squirting a big water hose and it’s spraying out a steady stream of flames. The tracers are normally every 5 rounds apart.
But they fire so quickly that it looks like it is a solid stream of tracers. The sound is just as incredible. It almost sounds like a chainsaw that is running at wide open throttle…. Only it’s much louder. I can only imagine what it's like from the pilot's perspective.
My hats off to any of our A-10 drivers. They’re the best and I was certainly happy that they were on our side.
Well done my friend. I’m definitely clicking on several of the various like buttons.
Thanks Louis! Always great to hear from you my friend.
Beautiful. Great work on both and an excellent result.
A fantastic pair, Matt! What a cool idea!
Congratulations!
Bellissimi! the rendering of the livery and the colors is really well done!