This is
my ProModeler 1/48 P-47N Thunderbolt.
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Construction
All
in all, this is a very nice model that is well detailed enough to be built
pretty much out-of-the-box. The kit includes a more than adequate
cockpit, an outstanding engine, a beautiful and accurate propeller, and
excellent ordnance. Some of
the engineering is unorthodox (wheel well construction and seam along the bottom
of the flaps), and there are some fit issues, but, in the end, it sure looks
like an “N” to me! I just added
a Cutting Edge seat since the one included with the kit looked a little too wide
and didn’t include a seat harness, drilled out the blast
tubes and gun barrels, and added some copper wire for brake lines.
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These
2 photos were taken by Ivan Rich |
There were no locating pins for the two small antenna, so I drilled a
small hole in the rear of each piece, and glued a piece of brass rod in each
hole to make a locating pin. I then
made a small indentation in the fuselage with the exposed end of the pin, and
drilled a small hole for each piece where the indentation was made. The
fuselage interior doesn't contain any tabs for attaching the cockpit tub so
I used sprue from the kit as tabs to glue the cockpit to the fuselage and secure
a good fit.
Painting
Testors
Aluminum and Stainless Steel Buffing Metalizers were used for the natural metal
finish. I first masked off some
panels and sprayed them using Stainless Steel.
I then sprayed those panels with Testors Metalizer Sealer in preparation
for masking. I originally intended
to use Post-It Notes for masking, however, when I tried that, I found that they
wouldn’t stick to the entire surface. At
that point, I decided to use drafting tape to mask the panels, hoping that the
sealer would protect the Metalizer from coming off when I removed the masks.
Well, after I sprayed the rest of the model with Aluminum, I carefully removed
the masks, and there was absolutely no lift-off of the Stainless Steel
whatsoever. I was very impressed
with the durability of the Metalizer Sealer, as it can be sprayed on right from
the bottle, provides a great surface for decals, and dries very quickly.
I also used it to seal the model after all the decals were applied.
I
sprayed a primer coat of flat white over the entire model just to give the paint
something to stick to and, due to some of the white gathering at the tip of the
nozzle, there were a few areas where the paint "spurted" onto the
model. As a result, I had to sand
and polish those spots to smooth them out.
However, when I sprayed on the Metalizer , a dark "smudge-like"
mark appeared under the Metalizer on every spot where I smoothed out the white
undercoat. I didn't know they would
show like that after the Metalizer was airbrushed on.
Next time I'll be more careful and will probably use gloss white as the
base coat as well as making sure to re-spray the base coat over any areas that
have been smoothed out.
In
painting the wheels, I first sprayed them flat black.
I then cut a piece of drafting tape and laid it over the wheel so that it
covered the hub. Using a scribing
tool, I kept outlining the hub gently until the tape separated so that I had a
mask that covered the wheel and exposed the hub.
I then drybrushed the hub using Testors Steel until the desired look was
achieved. I think this is a more
effective way of achieving a worn look to the hub than first painting it and
then using a wash. The same method
could also be used on the landing gear, although I haven’t tried that yet.
The
pictures that show the blue trim as a baby blue hue is the result of the flash;
the color is actually a medium blue color.
I used Tamiya Sky Blue for the trim, Testors Yellow Zinc Chromate for the
wheel wells, inside of gear doors and strut
covers, and engine interior areas, Humbrol
Bronze Green (# 75) for the cockpit interior,
and Model Master Olive Drab for the anti-glare area and upper fuselage.
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Weathering
& Decaling
I
went light on the weathering and used black pastel chalk exclusively to shade
some of the panel lines, gun stains, and exhaust/waste gate area. For
the landing gear, wheel wells, interior of the inboard gear doors
and landing gear covers, I used an acrylic wash of Model Master Flat
Black, followed by a drybrushing using the respective base colors mixed with
white. This acrylic wash was also used on
the engine and cowling interior. An oil wash of Burnt Umber and some
drybrushing was used in the cockpit. The wheel treads were drybrushed
using Humbrol Panzer Gray and Testors Flat White. Light paint chipping on
the olive drab upper fuselage and in the cockpit was achieved by using Testors
Silver applied with a fine-tipped brush. I used the
kit decals, which, for the most part,
worked out fine. Testors Micro
Set and Champ Setting Solution were used to apply the decals.
The Champ Setting Solution was especially useful in getting the black
decal stripe around the cowling to settle down; it would’ve been very
difficult to do this without a decal setting solution.
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The
model represents “Drink’N Sister”, a P-47N-2-RE
flown by Capt. Jon Vogt of the 318th Fighter Group, 19th
Fighter Squadron, who became an “ace-in-a-day” on May 28th, 1945
by shooting down five Japanese Zeros.
Happy
Modeling!
Rick
References:
- P-47
Thunderbolt in detail & scale by Bert Kinzey, Squadron/Signal
Publications (1998)
-
Thunderbolt:
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in the Pacific Theater by Ernest R.
McDowell, Squadron/Signal Publications (1999)
-
Modelling
the P-47 Thunderbolt by Brett Green, Osprey Publishing (2004)
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