P-47 Thunderbolt

[stona]

This one is next up,jumping the queue but for very good reason.

This kit came into my sweaty hands by way of an extremely generous gesture from Gern (Dave) who thrust it upon me having spent a day playing with airbrushes and various paints over at my yard. Thanks again Dave,I hope I can do it justice.

Here's the box.

There are three options. Two are for Gabreski's last aircraft,one with full invasion stripes and 27 victory markings and the other as he was forced to make a belly landing in Germany with partial stripes and his final tally of 28 victories marked. I quite fancy the later version.

The other is a principally unpainted finish. I'm still wavering but after my DC-3 I'm not sure I'm ready for yet more Alclad !

I'm off to check my paint draw. I'm not sure how I'm fixed for US and British paints.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Gern]

De nada Steve. Worth every penny for all the help you gave me.

Gern

 

[flyjoe180]

Another non-Germanic subject too! Look forward to this one Steve, and Dave, a very nice gesture on your part there.

 

[treyzx10r]

Steve very cool and Gabby's bird gets my vote. He flew too low on a straffing run and damaged the prop and engine so badly he had to belly it in. He may have had a chance at beating Richard Bongs score otherwise,alas we'll never know.

 

[Vaughan]

Steve I've got this one in my stash and was waiting to see how Antonio's build came out but he seems to have disappeared off the scene at the moment. I'm looking forward to the build.

Vaughan

 

[stona]

If I do go for Gabreski's I've got the colours,including cockpit,as advised by Nigel Julian who has forgotten more about P-47s than I will ever know.

White Ensign Colourcoats,I love them.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Aaargh! I might have the paint but the kit has no harness,not acceptable to me in this scale.

I've ordered one from RB Productions for the princely sum of six and a bit euros (incl.post). I've used his Luftwaffe harnesses several times and whilst a bit of a fiddle to make they look very good.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Gern]

Aaargh! I might have the paint but the kit has no harness,not acceptable to me in this scale. I've ordered one from RB Productions for the princely sum of six and a bit euros (incl.post). I've used his Luftwaffe harnesses several times and whilst a bit of a fiddle to make they look very good.

Cheers

Steve

Are there none supplied in the kit or did I manage to lose them?

Gern

 

[stona]

Are there none supplied in the kit or did I manage to lose them?Gern

I don't think that there ever was one. There's nothing mentioned anywhere in the destructions either.

It's a great kit and the lack of a harness is a very,very minor inconvenience. I'd rather make a proper one than get something like one of those lame decal versions anyway!

I've been in touch with P-47 guru Nigel and he is very kindly sending me a DVD with a film including this aircraft and some piccies. No excuses if I get it wrong then!

Cheers

Steve

 

[Ian M]

This is just a question but would a US fighter been painted with Royal Navy BS colours?

Looks like a great camouflage and I am sure you will do it proud.

Ian M

 

[colin m]

Another non-Germanic subject too! Look forward to this one Steve, and Dave, a very nice gesture on your part there.

Maybe this will be a captured P47, flown by a famous German ace ?

 

[stona]

This is just a question but would a US fighter been painted with Royal Navy BS colours?Ian M

According to "them wot knows" this aircraft was delivered unpainted and then painted,over here,in standard British paints.

First the upper surface was painted in Dark Green and then Ocean Grey was applied in the slightly nebulous pattern you can see on the box art.

The undersurface colour is more debated. Some say it was left unpainted but Gabreski himself said it was "light grey". It's impossible to distinguish between those two in a B+W photo so I'm going with the man himself. Nigel Julian confirmed that Medium Sea Grey would have been a likely colour. It's British and was available!

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Maybe this will be a captured P47, flown by a famous German ace ?

Well,a captured one did cross my mind! Zirkus Rosarius,which was a unit set up to test and demonstrate captured allied aircraft,had at least a couple on their books

I'm going with one of the "box" schemes though. The grey and green Gabreski one looks the most challenging.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Ian M]

Thanks for a very useful reply. Being painted in England would explain things.

IanM

 

[mossiepilot]

I'll enjoy watching, Steve. I'm in the process of doing a P47 and come to a bit of a halt. This should give me the kick I need to finish it.

Tony.

 

[stona]

Just like the Olympics...we're off and running.

Just need the harness to arrive.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Vaughan]

Looking good Steve the radial engine looks well detailed. keep the photos coming. Just a question is that zinc chromate yellow or green?

Vaughan

 

[stona]

The cockpit is ZC Green,at least WEM's version.

Again I defer to Nigel Julian who told me yesterday that the evidence for this,rather than one of the other green colours,is mounting. I know he has looked at many original artefacts. He is trying to write the "blurb" for the instructions on a new large scale P-47 release which is in the pipeline and get a book he is co-authoring to the publishers by October. That along with his day job.He puts up with my inane questions with remarkable good grace!

I don't want to be to anal about it,it's a pretty nauseous dark green colour!

The wheel wells are ZC yellow. I mixed mine and it is too green. I'll be giving them a quick once over with something slightly more yellow before applying washes etc.

Cheers

Steve

 

[stona]

Here you go.

I'll muck them up a bit and pick out some detail when they are thoroughly dry,tomorrow.

Cheers

Steve

 

[colin m]

A couple of weeks ago, myself and daughter No1 were at Duxford IWM. In the American hangar there is a B17 with landing flaps slightly lowered. Now I realise we have to be careful with museum examples, and indeed different manufacturers but, the colour of the zinc chromate is so very much the same as your brew you have made up here. Allowing for ageing etc, I'd say you've got it.

Colin M...