Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) This is HB981, a Republic P-47D-22-RE Thunderbolt attached to 135 Sq. RAF in Burma during 1945. At 04:45 on 2nd May 1945 it was taking off from Akyab Main to provide "cab rank" support for the Operation Dracula landings at Rangoon, when it lost power and ground-looped off the end of the runway, tearing off both wings in the process. Its relevance to me is that the aircraft contained my father at the time it performed this unplanned evolution. After the aircraft had come to rest, he popped out of the cockpit unharmed, then popped back in again to retrieve his parachute, since it was a chargeable offence to lose a parachute. Then he jogged back to the end of the runway, sat on the parachute, and waited for a vehicle to come and get him. At which point he cadged a cigarette off the driver. Shortly after that, he had his photograph taken, posing on the wreckage. (The photograph, you'll see, also had a fairly hectic later life.) The story is retold amusingly in Roger Freeman's Thunderbolt: A Documentary History Of The Republic P-47. (The squadron number is wrong - 135 Sq. didn't renumber to 615 until slightly later in the war.) Paints are Tamiya, LifeColor and Alclad. The 150-gallon (US) drop tanks are filched from a Tamiya P-47M kit, but the Hamilton prop (and its decals) came with the Razorback kit, although it's not required for either of the aircraft detailed in that kit. SEAC roundels, flashes and the tail number come from an Xtradecal "Yanks with Roundels" sheet. Eduard photoetch detail and placards, Squadron wheels, and an HGW Sutton harness which I found almost unusable. Finally, a comparison of the Thunderbolt and Hurricane, showing what a brute the Jug was in comparison. (My father used to take great delight in relaying the old RAF joke about how the easiest way to avoid enemy fire in a Thunderbolt was to release your harness and run around in the cockpit.) Possibly the drabbest Jug ever modelled. Sorry about that. Edited December 31, 2020 by Hamiltonian Freeman quote added; then fixed some photos 52 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Lovley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Not at all. I think that is one of the coolest Jugs ever modelled. Something really different and with a personal story behind it. The only thing is I think your images may have a red cast to them which isn't helping the greens. My camera does the same thing. The new images look a lot better now. Excellent work all round.👍👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Greg Law said: Not at all. I think that is one of the coolest Jugs ever modelled. Something really different and with a personal story behind it. The only thing is I think your images may have a red cast to them which isn't helping the greens. My camera does the same thing. Thanks. It's not a red cast in the camera, it's taking daylight photos in a room with deep pink wallpaper! Tweaking the colour temperature helped a little, but I should just avoid that room in future. The slightly wider images are long daylight exposures on a tripod, to get depth of field, and they all came out with a catastrophic pink cast from the wallpaper. Even tweaking the RAWs doesn't fix it entirely, as you've noticed (damn). The other images are taken with a handheld compact camera using a fluorescent work lamp in a back room, which I thought would turn out rubbish, but which I now very much prefer. Edited January 1, 2019 by Hamiltonian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Very nice always liked thuderbolts in this scheme 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 That`s a beauty and the Hurricane is no slouch either,......... great job, Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 21 minutes ago, Hamiltonian said: Thanks. It's not a red cast in the camera, it's taking daylight photos in a room with deep pink wallpaper! Tweaking the colour temperature helped a little, but I should just avoid that room in future. The slightly wider images are long daylight exposures on a tripod, to get depth of field, and they all came out with a catastrophic pink cast from the wallpaper. Even tweaking the RAWs doesn't fix it entirely, as you've noticed (damn). The other images are taken with a handheld compact camera using a fluorescent work lamp in a back room, which I thought would turn out rubbish, but which I now very much prefer. That sounds right to me. I had the same problem with my Oscar closeup images when I first made them. I got a red cast from the curtains. I had to wait till the morning which was a nice overcast day and they turned out a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, Greg Law said: That sounds right to me. I had the same problem with my Oscar closeup images when I first made them. I got a red cast from the curtains. I had to wait till the morning which was a nice overcast day and they turned out a lot better. Yes, you're right, I should probably revisit them. Maybe a tripod and the daylight fluorescent is the way ahead. South-facing daylight just seemed like such a good idea at the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 16 minutes ago, tonyot said: That`s a beauty and the Hurricane is no slouch either,......... great job, Cheers Tony You're kind, thanks. (You've previously pointed out the counter-historical red spinner on that Hurricane, but I still haven't got around to changing it.) There's a striking difference in the Pale Blue of the two sets of SEAC roundels on the two aircraft, which I hadn't really thought about until I saw them together. The Hurricane roundels came from a badly behaved Almark sheet I bought on eBay, and to me they now seem implausibly oversaturated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 That's no plain Jane- she's a beaut! The CBI Jugs are not modeled nearly as often as the ETO ones, but are very distinctive regarding their color scheme. The P-38 external tanks really set the model off, as well. BTW, I noticed you used a Sutton harness in your build- do you have any information regarding its use in P-47's? I am working on a P-47D Razorback from No. 73 OTU at Fayid, Egypt, but haven't gotten any answer to the query I posted a while back on fitment of Sutton or U.S. harness in Lend-lease Jugs. The Tamiya Jugs in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale are incredible kits! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchen Modeller Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 A very nice tribute to your old man - and the model is great on it's own merits - really like this scheme - she is an awesome beast. Well done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill.B Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Very nice jug! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 What a superb model and what a fabulous tale to go with it! Apparently you chose to model her as she looked before that ground loop. Perhaps an idea for a complementary diorama project? 😉 Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonL Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Wonderful model - I really like SEAC markings - with a terrific back story. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Very nice model and story. Far from being drab - it looks great in those markings. I like the SEAC Hurricane too. Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Excellent model, and judging by the photo, your Father was very lucky to walk away from that without injury. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky210 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Lovely Razorback thanks for sharing cheers Rich 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Stunning Jug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 11 hours ago, 72modeler said: That's no plain Jane- she's a beaut! The CBI Jugs are not modeled nearly as often as the ETO ones, but are very distinctive regarding their color scheme. The P-38 external tanks really set the model off, as well. BTW, I noticed you used a Sutton harness in your build- do you have any information regarding its use in P-47's? I am working on a P-47D Razorback from No. 73 OTU at Fayid, Egypt, but haven't gotten any answer to the query I posted a while back on fitment of Sutton or U.S. harness in Lend-lease Jugs. The Tamiya Jugs in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale are incredible kits! Mike Thanks for the kind words, Mike. In researching the harness, I ran into the maze of claim and counterclaim that you've also encountered, no doubt. I also spent quite a lot of time examining grainy photos with a magnifying glass, but could never convince myself one way or the other. Eventually I just went with what seemed to be the majority view by a narrow margin, and fitted the Sutton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Joyce Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Wonderful P-47, and great job on the finish. As your dad can attest to, those Jugs were about the sturdiest plane out there. I always liked that joke about running around in its cockpit to avoid enemy fire! Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habu12 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Not dirty enough! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I agree with the other posts, impressive story and models, not enough SEAC models in the world. A happy and productive new year to you. Regards Bob. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairtrigger Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Great tribute to your dad... Supurbly turned out model as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 5 hours ago, Habu12 said: Not dirty enough! 😉 Jeez-o, the last time I posted an aircraft build here I was told it was too dirty.😊 But the question of how dirty HB981 should actually be is interesting (at least it is to me). It was part of a batch that, according to Geoff Thomas's book, was delivered in March-May 1944. Halley's "Royal Air Force Aircraft" has it serving only with 135 Sq. But it doesn't actually turn up on the 135 Operational Record until April 1945, and flew only five sorties before it was DBRed. Had it been in unrecorded service with some other squadron prior to its service with 135, or had it been one of the large number of Thunderbolts that were in temporary storage in India, waiting to be issued as replacements? If the latter is the case, I've maybe made HB981 too dirty, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 (edited) I always think aircraft look good in a SEAC scheme & yours is a blinder. I did my razorback in a similar scheme, just need a bubbletop to complement it. A nice bit of family history too. Pete Edited January 1, 2019 by Buzby061 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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