Tamiya 1/48 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Bubbletop" - Lt.Col. Benjamin Mayo - Finished and in the Gallery!

[PlaStix]

This build will include a number of firsts for me. In terms of aircraft this will be my first non-Spitfire build since getting back into making kits again. It's also going to be my first metal finish paint job. I'm planning, at the moment, to try brush painting it but I may end up using spray cans depending on how well some tests go when I get around to them. The version I'm planning to make this aircraft as also includes some very large decals.........and I don't get on well with decals at the best of times.....could be fun!

It may be a couple of weeks before I properly get around to starting the build as I'm in the middle of making a 1/48 Tamiya Crusader tank in the Made in Britain GB.

The kit I'm using:


And this is the version I'm planning to do:

As flown by Lt.Col. Benjamin Mayo, 84th FS, 78th FG, Duxford Air Base, 1944.

The detail on the kit itself looks superb - I'll post some photos of the sprues soonish.

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited March 30, 2016 by PlaStix

[Blastvader]

Noice.

I'll be watching this one Stix.

I had considered getting in on this GB with Hobby Boss' 1/48 offering but given the speed I build at (so far in the Made in Britain GB I've stuck 12 pieces of PE on the seats) I'm really going to struggle to get the Blenheim finished in time never mind two kits though in fairness the HB P-47 has a grand total of 44 parts which is barely more than are in the Blenheim's cockpit..and that's 1/72 I may rethink my position.

[wimbledon99]

I'm in for this one Stix

[PlaStix]

Noice.

I'll be watching this one Stix.

I had considered getting in on this GB with Hobby Boss' 1/48 offering but given the speed I build at (so far in the Made in Britain GB I've stuck 12 pieces of PE on the seats) I'm really going to struggle to get the Blenheim finished in time never mind two kits though in fairness the HB P-47 has a grand total of 44 parts which is barely more than are in the Blenheim's cockpit..and that's 1/72 I may rethink my position.

Hi Blastvader and thank you for stopping by. I'm making this, the Crusader in the MiB GB and I'm planning a couple of Hurricanes for the Hurricane STGB - so I think you should enter your Hobby Boss P-47 here.......you know you want to! ;-)

I'm in for this one Stix

Hiya Nigel!

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited January 3, 2016 by PlaStix

[trickyrich]

Welcome aboard Stix, it's great to see you're attempting a number of firsts with this build. There'll be plenty here to help and offer you any advice you may need.

Well good luck with the build and with all the new things you're attempting, good on ya, look forward to seeing her in the gallery.

[PlaStix]

Welcome aboard Stix, it's great to see you're attempting a number of firsts with this build. There'll be plenty here to help and offer you any advice you may need.

Well good luck with the build and with all the new things you're attempting, good on ya, look forward to seeing her in the gallery.

Hi Rich and thank you for your welcome. I am looking forward to this build - the kit looks brilliant - just got to hope I can do it justice! Going to be interesting with the metal finish.

Right, as promised, here are some photos of the sprues of this rather excellent kit:

The cockpit detail looks amazing:

Very fine detail on the exterior:

Clear parts:

The decals:

The instuctions:

Kind regards,

Stix

Edited January 5, 2016 by PlaStix

[Arniec]

Hi Stix,

Welcome from me as well. That is a realy nice kit you have. I have build it a few years back and it is a truly Tamiya kit. You throw some glue in the box shake it and voila out coms a nice kit.

I now know what you mean with big decals. The most troublesome will be the D-Day stipes. Maybee you could paint them instead of using the decals.

O and Always take your time with big decals do them one at the time. Aspecialy the ones for the cowling.

Cheers,

[wimbledon99]

Wow - That's one very shiny canopy - And straight out the box!!

Has to be said that Tamiya is quality

[trickyrich]

Gosh after seeing those pictures I'm going to have to go for a Tamiya version.......maybe with some AM stuff thrown in!

[PlaStix]

Hi Stix,

Welcome from me as well. That is a realy nice kit you have. I have build it a few years back and it is a truly Tamiya kit. You throw some glue in the box shake it and voila out coms a nice kit.

I now know what you mean with big decals. The most troublesome will be the D-Day stipes. Maybee you could paint them instead of using the decals.

O and Always take your time with big decals do them one at the time. Aspecialy the ones for the cowling.

Cheers,

Hi Arnold. Thank you too for the welcome and the advice about the decals. Going to be a bit of a learning curve on this build! I might try painting the invasion stripes.

Wow - That's one very shiny canopy - And straight out the box!!

Has to be said that Tamiya is quality

Gosh after seeing those pictures I'm going to have to go for a Tamiya version.......maybe with some AM stuff thrown in!

Hi Nigel and Rich. It is a very good looking kit. Rich - another Tamiya P-47 sounds like a great idea! - could you start yours first and then I can 'borrow' some ideas?

Kind regards,

Stix

[stevej60]

This should be a cracking build Stix,the detailing as always look,s superb as you would expect from Tamiya,that cockpit will paint and weather a treat!

[PlaStix]

This should be a cracking build Stix,the detailing as always look,s superb as you would expect from Tamiya,that cockpit will paint and weather a treat!

Hi Steve. Yes I am particularly looking forward to doing the cockpit - the detail looks amazing. Not so much looking forward to the metal paintwork on the outside though!

[Mottlemaster]

Good luck with those checker decals for the cowl . If i recall tamiya are rather thick but will handle moveing around ( for a few seconds ) . I tried masking a checkerd Fw190 and after 4 or 5 attempts gave up as i started goeing mad trying to get start and finish to match ;(

Will follow/ stalk your every move on this one as for P-47 i know nothing.

Alistair

[Blastvader]

Hi Blastvader and thank you for stopping by. I'm making this, the Crusader in the MiB GB and I'm planning a couple of Hurricanes for the Hurricane STGB - so I think you should enter your Hobby Boss P-47 here.......you know you want to! ;-)

Kind regards,

Stix

We'll see how well my Blenheim progresses and then come back to that one I think. From looking at sprue shots the HB Jug looks pretty good (especially for the price) but it does seem to lack pylons for its stores and there's not much cockpit detail but neither of these things is world ending.

[PlaStix]

Good luck with those checker decals for the cowl . If i recall tamiya are rather thick but will handle moveing around ( for a few seconds ) . I tried masking a checkerd Fw190 and after 4 or 5 attempts gave up as i started goeing mad trying to get start and finish to match ;(

Will follow/ stalk your every move on this one as for P-47 i know nothing.

Alistair

Hi Alistair. Yeah the large decals for the nose have me a bit concerned - there could be some bad language and last minute change of plans at some point in the future!

I'm not the one to follow/stalk as I know nothing about P-47s either. There's going to be some cracking ones built in this GB though by the look of it!

We'll see how well my Blenheim progresses and then come back to that one I think. From looking at sprue shots the HB Jug looks pretty good (especially for the price) but it does seem to lack pylons for its stores and there's not much cockpit detail but neither of these things is world ending.

I still think you get a thread started and get something done on it on Saturday! Bit of paint in the cockpit?

Kind regards,

Stix

[Blastvader]

I still think you get a thread started and get something done on it on Saturday! Bit of paint in the cockpit?

Kind regards,

Stix

Well, I'd have to actually buy the kit first...and its decals. Also, I'm buggering orf to Rome in about 13 hours so Saturday's a bit of a No Go

Ciao

Paul

[PlaStix]

Well, I'd have to actually buy the kit first...and its decals. Also, I'm buggering orf to Rome in about 13 hours so Saturday's a bit of a No Go

Ciao

Paul

Oh well...............when you get back then!

Hope you have great time in Rome!

Kind regards,

Stix

[Daniel Cox]

Hi Stix,

It's a lovely kit, brush or spray can I'm looking forward to seeing your build.

Cheers,

Daniel.

[rob85]

Stix, I am looking forward to this one, especially if you manage to do a good NMF with the paint brush!

Instead of using the check transfer.... Why don't you mask it and paint it by hand....😀

Rob

[jrlx]

Hi Stix,

Great choice, I'll be following with great interest. I have the 1/72 version which is exactly like yours but reduced in size. I'll build mine with AM decals as "Little Ann".

Cheers

Jaime

[Wolwe82]

Nice choice Stix, cant wait to see the progress, wohoo!

[Biggles87]

Hi Stix, just found this, as everyone says it's a great kit. Can I recommend Tamiya AS12 ' bare metal silver ' for the base coat, it's not too shiny and actually seems to weather like real metal.

Looking forward to the build.

Cheers

John

[PlaStix]

Hi Stix,

It's a lovely kit, brush or spray can I'm looking forward to seeing your build.

Cheers,

Daniel.

Hi Daniel - I'm looking forward to seeing your build too!

Stix, I am looking forward to this one, especially if you manage to do a good NMF with the paint brush!

Instead of using the check transfer.... Why don't you mask it and paint it by hand....

Rob

Yeah painting of the metal finish is something that's bothering me a bit! Tell you what: I'll paint the chequered design by hand if you cut me the squares of masking tape!

Hi Stix,

Great choice, I'll be following with great interest. I have the 1/72 version which is exactly like yours but reduced in size. I'll build mine with AM decals as "Little Ann".

Cheers

Jaime

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your build. I went out trying to get the 1/72 version but couldn't find one and then accidentally found the 1/48 version in a sale!

Nice choice Stix, cant wait to see the progress, wohoo!

Thank you Wolwe - see below......

Hi Stix, just found this, as everyone says it's a great kit. Can I recommend Tamiya AS12 ' bare metal silver ' for the base coat, it's not too shiny and actually seems to weather like real metal.

Looking forward to the build.

Cheers

John

Hi John. Thank you for the advice but I don't get on well brush painting with Tamiya paints. Tried some a while back and I made a proper mess!

I'm mostly working on my MiB GB Crusader at the moment but wanted to get this one underway. I've started with the cockpit following the instructions. The detail is fantastic.

First off I cut the sprue sections for the cockpit parts away from the rest of the sprues:

I thought I'd include a photo of what my paintwork looks like after the first brush painted coat:

Second coat - I used Humbrol's 117 matt US Light Green:

I also painted the cockpit wall areas on the insides of the fuselage:

Comments and suggestions welcome.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Basilisk]

Hello Stix,

Looking good, but the interior green used on the P-47 is a darker bluish green. HERE is a good example of the tone.

This is a good read too if you unfamiliar with US aircraft.

http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/01/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us.htm

Cheers, Peter

[PlaStix]

Hi Peter. Thank you for the information and I can see what you mean. I'm not going to worry about it too much to be honest. I've got several photos where the green looks much lighter and others where it's even darker than you are doing yours. By the time I've got a dark wash on and some dry-brushing done it'll be fine - especially when it's all buttoned up in the fuselage. I did a little research before and a couple of people said 117 was a suitable match and I had some in stock! Thank you anyway.

Kind regards,

Stix