1/72nd Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt, 6th FS, 1st Air Commando Group, USAAF, Asansol, India 1944/45

[tonyot]

Hiya Folks,..... another long term inmate of the shelf of doom,..... mainly because I couldn`t find the DP Caspar, Operation Thursday decal sheet which I had put away in a `safe place' to use on it,.....  I finally got this one finished yesterday. It represents `Bar Fly' of the 6th FG, 1st ACG, based at Asansol, India in 1944/45 for operations over Burma, especially in support of the British Chindit`s (with whom we think my Grandad fought, if not, then he was certainly a jungle warfare instructor for them),.... for which the 1st ACG was specially formed to support. 

This is the real aircraft;

Seen here later with its Bar Fly nose art,... ;

 

And here is the model,..... I was unsure whether to represent the stripes as blue or black,..... the only colour photo I could find of a 1st ACG P-47 was inconclusive, so judging from the tone of the photos above and RAF practice in the same area, I went for blue,.... but black might still have been the right way to go nd I did use black for an earlier 2nd ACG P-51D model? The drop tanks came from an Airfix P-38 and the DF Loop came from the new Arma P-51B/C kit;

 

 

And here is the model alongside my other 1st & 2nd ACG models so far,...... I`d like to add a C-47 and a Waco CG-4 glider too,

 

Cheers

          Tony 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2022 by tonyot

[Wulfman]

Excellent job on the Jug, great work !

 

Wulfman

[Jackson Duvalier]

Yet another beautiful model, Tony!  One wonders when and if you sleep.

 

Did you use the kit canopy on Bar Fly?  I've seen other modellers depict the 1/72 Tamiya P-47 with the stock hood opened up, but it doesn't seem to want to fit for me.  At least not without minor surgery.  I have vac transparencies but I'd prefer to use the OOTB bit if I could figure out how.

 

Which kit did you use for the P-51A?  Is it the High Planes offering that comes with decals for Mrs. Virginia?

[72modeler]

Oh, my, Tony- that is a gorgeous Jug! The best natural metal example I have seen in a long, long time, and SEAC Thunderbolts don't seem to get the same love that the MTO and ETO ones get from modelers. Looking at the photo you posted of the two taking off, I would say they had blue stripes, as the ones on the fuselage seem to match the blue of the national insignia- just my uneducated opinion, y' understand! How about those Tamiya P-47's? Just about perfect kits in every way...just wish they had done an N, but there's always hope! That quartet is awesome, BTW. You must get Tamiya  rattle can aluminum by the case, like I get beer! You are in a class by yourself, mate!

Mike

 

BTW, @Jackson Duvalier, Rob Taurus makes a beautiful replacement canopy for the 1/72 Tamiya razorback and bubble canopy Jugs- they are outstanding!

[tonyot]

1 hour ago, Wulfman said:

Excellent job on the Jug, great work !

 

Wulfman

Cheers Wulfman,...... glad you like it mate, 

 

54 minutes ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Yet another beautiful model, Tony!  One wonders when and if you sleep.

 

Did you use the kit canopy on Bar Fly?  I've seen other modellers depict the 1/72 Tamiya P-47 with the stock hood opened up, but it doesn't seem to want to fit for me.  At least not without minor surgery.  I have vac transparencies but I'd prefer to use the OOTB bit if I could figure out how.

 

Which kit did you use for the P-51A?  Is it the High Planes offering that comes with decals for Mrs. Virginia?

 

Thanks Jackson,........ funnily enough I don`t sleep much,...... but I don`t spend all of that time modelling!  Yes I used the kit canopy,...... I usually sand the spine down a little on the amiya P-47 to get it to sit better but I forgot to do it this time,...... I only remembered after I had painted and decalled it! The canopy does sit proud,..... but I clamped it in place using tape after cementing it in place, left it for a day and that did the trick! 

The P-51A was a Brengun kit if I remember correctly,...... I think the decals were from the DP Casper decal sheet. The B-25 was Hasegawa and the P-51D was Airfix.   

 

1 hour ago, 72modeler said:

Oh, my, Tony- that is a gorgeous Jug! The best natural metal example I have seen in a long, long time, and SEAC Thunderbolts don't seem to get the same love that the MTO and ETO ones get from modelers. Looking at the photo you posted of the two taking off, I would say they had blue stripes, as the ones on the fuselage seem to match the blue of the national insignia- just my uneducated opinion, y' understand! How about those Tamiya P-47's? Just about perfect kits in every way...just wish they had done an N, but there's always hope! That quartet is awesome, BTW. You must get Tamiya  rattle can aluminum by the case, like I get beer! You are in a class by yourself, mate!

Mike

 

BTW, @Jackson Duvalier, Rob Taurus makes a beautiful replacement canopy for the 1/72 Tamiya razorback and bubble canopy Jugs- they are outstanding!

 

LOL..... Cheers Mike,...... and that is very kind of you indeed mate. Yes I like going for the underdog,.... as you well now,.... and have a few more `so called' razorbacks lined up,..lovely kits aren`t they these little Tamiya kits? Thanks for agreeing about the blue stripes,...... I used black on my P-51D but they were blue in reality too...... having found some excellent colour images since! 

I might just buy shares in Tamiya silver LOL,...... I hadn`t realised how many silver aircraft I had built recently until you said,..... I`d best get some other colours done too eh!  

[TheBaron]

Top piece of work Tony and love the ensemble picture at the end.

[bigbadbadge]

That's a cracking Jug Tony, love that paint finish. Going to have to get some of that silver too.

The picture at the end is great and they all look fab.

Great work fella

Chris

[112 Squadron]

The T-Bolt looks excellent in these markings. But the same goes for the rest of your 1 ACG collection. They are all splendid builds! 👍 Tony, are you planning to add a Norseman or even a C-47 to your 1 ACG collection?

[tonyot]

28 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

Top piece of work Tony and love the ensemble picture at the end.

Thanks mate,..... glad you like the cast taking a bow at the end,...... hopefully there will be more of them by this time next year if I`m still here!

 

11 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

That's a cracking Jug Tony, love that paint finish. Going to have to get some of that silver too.

The picture at the end is great and they all look fab.

Great work fella

Chris

Thanks Chris,..... glad you like them mate,...... I swear by this silver finish,..... but some people don`t like it nd say it is too grainy,..... so have a practice first! 

 

3 minutes ago, 112 Squadron said:

The T-Bolt looks excellent in these markings. But the same goes for the rest of your 1 ACG collection. They are all splendid builds! 👍 Tony, are you planning to add a Norseman or even a C-47 to your 1 ACG collection?

Thanks mate,..... I definitely intend to add a C-47 to the 1st ACG collection, a Waco glider too and maybe a silver B-25,...... if I find a Norseman I may add one of those too. I`ve seen some that didn`t have stripes,..... and despite them being a pin, I`d rather it had the stripes on the fuselage.   

[RidgeRunner]

Very nice, Tony. My Uncle Henry fought in Burna so this is particularly poignant for me. My wife’s family also lived in Asansol at one point :). 
 

Martin

[Eric Mc]

Great P-47.

[tonyot]

3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

Very nice, Tony. My Uncle Henry fought in Burna so this is particularly poignant for me. My wife’s family also lived in Asansol at one point :). 
 

Martin

Thanks Martin,........ and WOW,.... those are both closely related to the area.

As I said my own Grandad served in the Far East and my wifes Grandad also served there too,....... he was a pre war Regular with the Kent Buffs and saw active service on the NW Frontier and in Burma, plus Palestine before war broke out,..... then he served in the Western Desert and then back to Burma,...... where he ended the war,..... one of the few remaining `original' members of the battalion! 

 

3 hours ago, Eric Mc said:

Great P-47.

Cheers Eric.

[Sky Keg]

Tony…….your collection keeps getting better with every addition you make to it.  The Thunderbolt here goes very nicely with the Air Commando Mitchell and Mustangs.  I like it!!!! 

 

Mike

[tonyot]

16 minutes ago, Sky Keg said:

Tony…….your collection keeps getting better with every addition you make to it.  The Thunderbolt here goes very nicely with the Air Commando Mitchell and Mustangs.  I like it!!!! 

 

Mike

Thanks Mike,...... yeah the collection is getting a bit too big really,..... I`ve run out of room!  

Edited January 11, 2022 by tonyot

[MACALAIN]

On 10/01/2022 at 17:17, tonyot said:

Hiya Folks,..... another long term inmate of the shelf of doom,..... mainly because I couldn`t find the DP Caspar, Operation Thursday decal sheet which I had put away in a `safe place' to use on it,.....  I finally got this one finished yesterday. It represents `Bar Fly' of the 6th FG, 1st ACG, based at Asansol, India in 1944/45 for operations over Burma, especially in support of the British Chindit`s (with whom we think my Grandad fought, if not, then he was certainly a jungle warfare instructor for them),.... for which the 1st ACG was specially formed to support. 

This is the real aircraft;

Seen here later with its Bar Fly nose art,... ;

 

And here is the model,..... I was unsure whether to represent the stripes as blue or black,..... the only colour photo I could find of a 1st ACG P-47 was inconclusive, so judging from the tone of the photos above and RAF practice in the same area, I went for blue,.... but black might still have been the right way to go nd I did use black for an earlier 2nd ACG P-51D model? The drop tanks came from an Airfix P-38 and the DF Loop came from the new Arma P-51B/C kit;

 

 

And here is the model alongside my other 1st & 2nd ACG models so far,...... I`d like to add a C-47 and a Waco CG-4 glider too,

 

Cheers

          Tony 

 

 

Nice work, as usual.

 

Alain

[tonyot]

38 minutes ago, MACALAIN said:

Nice work, as usual.

 

Alain

Thanks Alain,..... glad you like it mate.