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P-47D 56th FG, Tamiya 1/72


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Hi everybody,

 

my recent completion: P-47D 42-7937, 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force, Lt. Anthony R. Carcione, late 1943.

 

The stereotypical USAAF aircraft as we imagine it carried some nose art, so when I decided to do a P-47, I was looking for one with either a cartoon figure or a pin-up. Finding a meaningful photo and the corresponding decal sheet can be frustrating at times, but finally, I settled for this aircraft that even displayed two dames, one more appropriately dressed than the other.

 

This particular aircraft is quite well documented; apart from several photos it was also captured on film and appeared in the wartime documentary „Ramrod to Emden“ (www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_5ELQhzrPA). You can see LM-Q at about 32:05 in this clip. Part of the cowling with the nose art even survived to this day and apparently can be seen in a museum in Suffolk.

 

This aircraft is representative of the moment when the 8th Air Force’s strategic bombing campaign against Germany was still teetering on a knife-edge, and the P-47s and P-38s struggled to protect the bombers during the most crucial points of the campaign. The puny P-51 only took over the role of the Thunderbolts and Lightning later.

 

This is Tamiya’s 1/72 kit, and it is, of course, of the highest quality. The fit of the canopy is actually so tight that I couldn’t remove it again after test-fitting. The decals were included in the booklet Nigel Julian/Peter Randall/Zbigniew Kolacha, 56th Fighter Group. Part 1 (AJ Press), which I highly recommend. The red-bordered stars neither come with the kit nor the booklet, so I used a separate decal sheet by Experts Choice.

 

One of the nice things about modelling is that you really learn new things about your subject. In this case, I learned that early and late D-models differ regarding the cooling flaps. On the later production blocks (and most likely the majority of all Thunderbolts built) the lower two flaps on each side are cut back and therefore narrower than the other flaps. The Tamiya kit and I guess every other kit has this later variant. 42-7937, however, was one of the early production blocks. Unfortunately, I discovered this only when I had already started airbrushing the model. So some meticulous last-minute cutting, puttying, adding of plastic sheet and sanding was due. Otherwise, this aircraft also needed a whip antenna instead of the antenna mast supplied with the kit.

 

Now somebody should build an even earlier 56th FG P-47C with the yellow-bordered insignia without bars.

 

Every comment welcome.

 

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That's a superb looking Thunderbolt.  I like these earlier schemes and it's particularly interesting that this one carries two star and bar markings underneath.  A great paint finish with the decals, especially the ladies, having a real painted on look.

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Great looking Jug :clap2: ... Im familiar with the extra set of stars & bars on the lower wing. I was always under the impression this was done for D-Day and beyond. Supposedly so that trigger happy AA- gunners and troops in general wouldn't shoot at the P-47’s due to there similarities to FW’s. Good to know it was used prior to D-Day. 

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On 7/31/2018 at 7:46 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Great looking Jug :clap2: ... Im familiar with the extra set of stars & bars on the lower wing. I was always under the impression this was done for D-Day and beyond. Supposedly so that trigger happy AA- gunners and troops in general wouldn't shoot at the P-47’s due to there similarities to FW’s. Good to know it was used prior to D-Day. 

Thanks for your comments.

The extra insignia on the lower wing (the diameter of the insignias was also increased) was introduced quiet early. Maybe with a view to British AA gunners who thought every fighter with a radial engine must be a Focke-Wulf!

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Excellent Razorback P-47!

The close-up photograph of the port side artwork was very daring (and I don't just mean because of the subject matter either).

I doubt that most of my builds could stand up to that sort of close scrutiny. 🙄

:goodjob:

 

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