1/48 ProModeler P-47N

 Thunderbolt  

by Rick Reinbott

--------------------

 

This is my ProModeler 1/48 P-47N Thunderbolt.  

Click on images below to see larger images

 

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.  

 

Click on images below to see larger images

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.

Click on images below to see larger images

 

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.

Click on images below to see larger images

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) 

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Rick Reinbott