Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) Dear Fellow modellers I offer for your pleasure my latest creation. The 1:32nd scale Trumpeter P47-D Thunderbolt kit as “Rozzie Geth II” aka “Miss Fire” flown by Col Frederick J Christensen as part of Zemke’s Wolfpack. A second lieutenant and captain in the Army Air Corps, he flew P-47 Thunderbolts with the 56th Fighter Group -- Colonel Hubert ''Hub" Zemke's Wolfpack This was a nice kit to make. Some problems with fitting but in the end it came together ok. Paints were a mix of AK and Hataka Redline. The cans, buckets and fuel drums are the Tamiya 1:35th scale sets. The invasion stripes were spray painted white and then masked and hand painted black to give a slightly ragged and hurriedly applied look. Weathering is my usual NMF approach, restrained with some panel line black. The decals were a pain mostly so i elected to use the minimum number. About the pilot - Frederick J Christensen Fred Christensen portrait (IWM American Air Museum) While in England, Christensen adopted a stray black cat and named it Sinbad. He is reputed to have taken Sinbad with him on missions, carrying him in the cockpit of his P-47 as both a good luck charm and inspiration to his fellow pilots, then bringing the cat to the United States as a pet in September 1944 after the end of his tour. UPDATE I managed to find some pictures, stills from a couple of British Pathe newsreel taken at RAF Boxted of Fred C and Sinbad. Also the only picture I could find for the inspiration for the name and nose art picture . It's not recorded what she felt about being displayed naked on a plane over Germany several times a week ! But the picture of her shows her enigmatic smile so maybe she approved! Rosamund Gethro..aka "Rozzie Geth" Sadly she died in 1978 before her time . She didn't marry Fred C Sinbad pictures One of my cats, Zoe playing the part of “ Sinbad”! Diorama I wanted to set this model in a diorama. My first serious attempt at this. I made up a few scratch built items from wood to detail the setting. Wheel chocks, an' A' frame for storage for drop tanks etc with red FIRE buckets. US Jerry cans and .50 Cal Ammo box. The setting is at RAF Boxted Station 150 sometime after D-Day 1944. I used both RAF Halesworth and RAF Metfield for field visits to get a sense of these hardstandings on the ground. I chose to make a representation of a Class A bomber station ‘Spectacle’ loop hardstanding and did a fair bit of research in to this. The base board was a piece of hardboard with grey and black primer spryed and some ancient railway grass scatter. I even used a piece of plastic from a Covid Testing kit as a drain inspection chamber cover! Anyway I hope enjoy and like what I’ve done .Critique and comments would be very welcome as always ! This was taken at RAF Halesworth of a Razorback on a hardstanding. This was my in part my inspiration for my diorama. I visited this place recently. The buildings are mostly still in existance as industrial units for small businesses. Miss Fire with Fred Christensen and his Ground Crew circa Sept 1944 Here's another WW2 pic of Miss Fire Thought I'd be a bit cheeky and take a shot of my previous build on he diorama base too.. My uncle Peters Tempest V.. I was also going to add some 1:48 scale Harrier Sidewinders to Miss Fire as a joke but maybe that's for another time 😂😂 anyway .. the diorama base works for the Tempest too I think... I hope you’ve enjoyed this RFI. Its taken about 3 months to get to this point. I’ve certainly enjoyed the build, the research and taking the pictures. Kind Regards, Andy Edited February 1, 2022 by Col Walter E Kurtz added more pictures 57 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Looking at the model and the overall diorama, it's hard to believe this is your first diorama attempt. Truly beautiful work! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob K. Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Nice Thunderbolt and diorama👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 16 minutes ago, SAT69 said: Looking at the model and the overall diorama, it's hard to believe this is your first diorama attempt. Truly beautiful work! Thank you Sat! I am most humbled by your appreciation. Think it could be improved with some ground crew figures? It took me a day to lay out and paint the board but I had a good idea of what I wanted It to look like from my researches. i think I will put a frame round the board and take it out to take some different pics to blend the dioram with a real background not just my tiny garden.. cheers regards Andy 12 minutes ago, Rob K. said: Nice Thunderbolt and diorama👍 My pleasure Rob. Thanks for your appreciation.. glad you liked it! Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 That’s a nice story! A superb diorama and a wonderful Jug. You can be proud on this one. All in all a fantastic work! Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Brilliant model and ditto dio! There's a bit of 'unused' area behind the plane, including the grass, that might be good place for a couple of figures and perhaps a cart or a light vehicle? Beautiful work! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Very fine diorama, and a beautiful model too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Spitfire31 said: Brilliant model and ditto dio! There's a bit of 'unused' area behind the plane, including the grass, that might be good place for a couple of figures and perhaps a cart or a light vehicle? Beautiful work! Kind regards, Joachim Thank you for your appreciation Joachim and your suggestions to improve it are very welcome. I tried to get some 1:32 figures but nothing at the price I was willing to pay☹️. A light vehicle would be good too. I did have an idea to make up some scratch built bomb trolleys. There's a fair few 1:35 scale vehicles available too. I'm still learning about dioramas and will play around with the configuration of this one to see what works better cheers Andy Edited January 25, 2022 by Col Walter E Kurtz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 51 minutes ago, Gary Brantley said: Very fine diorama, and a beautiful model too! Thanks Gary I'm glad you approve! Much appreciated! Regards, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 1 hour ago, Andy Dyck said: That’s a nice story! A superb diorama and a wonderful Jug. You can be proud on this one. All in all a fantastic work! Cheers Andy Cheers Andy! It is a great story about him and Sinbad! I'm a cat lover myself and I read that after he returned home he would rescue injured animals. He also would go to schools and educate school children about history and the effect of War on people. Sadly he died in 2006 but he sounds like a great and thoughtful man.. would have loved to have met him! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Absolutely stunning Jug. What's not to love? (PS Hadn't the 56th moved from Halesworth to Station 150 RAF Boxted, by spring 1944?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 Actually Yes! I think you are right! 😊... wiki says " the 56th Fighter Group which was transferred from RAF Halesworth on 19 April 1944" I should change the setting to RAF Boxted. Just checked and the same Spectacle loops were there so I'm happy. Thank you for the correction. Glad you liked the model. Cheers, Andy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 This is a wonderful model, and the diorama looks perfect. It must be a huge base given the 1/32 scale. Are you permitted to move it in the house. Btw, the wing star-and-bar appears a bit small, doesn't it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 Thank you Very much for your comments. Glad you like it! The base is 48 cm x 67 cm so not overly large. I had planned an even bigger one originally but SWMBOd would have asked some very awkward questions regarding where it would be living! 😂😂 At a 1:32 scale a 50 foot wide Spectacle loop would be about 48 cm odd I think? In the end I thought I could make it appear bigger by using the extra length at an angle and dropping the camera to a scale 6 foot eye level. I hope this has worked to some degree? I'm a newbie where dioramas are concerned lol. i did like the very flat lie of the hardboard for the concrete. To my eye it replicates the smooth civil engineered concrete laid you see in WW2 photos.. I'm not sure about the Trumpter decals at all. I left out quite a few as they were very fragile and had a lot of carrier film outside the decal. I think you are right though it does seem a little small , certainly side by side with a 1:48 Tamiya Jug... if I was to do this same kit again I'd pick some quality after market decals to use instead of the kit ones supplied. Good call to point this out though I'd not considered the size being incorrect. Thanks for this ! cheers, Kind Regards, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMRL Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 That's a great 1/32 P47, the second I've seen here in the last couple of weeks. Your diorama takes it to another level and I like the markings as well. I'm also building this kit, although my end product won't match this, it's a fun kit though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingBlue Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Really amazing work, very realistic. I think my favorite detail is the tail stripes that look intentionally sloppy like someone painted them quickly in the field with a brush. Did your research show anything about why the P-47 has two different names? You see this from time to time and I'm always curious about how that happens. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 8 minutes ago, MRMRL said: That's a great 1/32 P47, the second I've seen here in the last couple of weeks. Your diorama takes it to another level and I like the markings as well. I'm also building this kit, although my end product won't match this, it's a fun kit though. Most kind of you to say so! I'm sure your version will be great. Do you have a WIP for your kit build? I'd be very interested to have a look if you do! It is a fun kit I agree. It also has a nice solid feel once the main parts are glued together.. this I like ! i think I recall the RFI kit posted recently as well.. it was a very nicely done example if I recall correctly! Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, BleedingBlue said: Really amazing work, very realistic. I think my favorite detail is the tail stripes that look intentionally sloppy like someone painted them quickly in the field with a brush. Did your research show anything about why the P-47 has two different names? You see this from time to time and I'm always curious about how that happens. Thank You Blue! Humbled by your very positive comments on my modest work. You have a good eye for detail indeed. I did paint the tail black stripes in an intentionally sloppy way.. exactly for the reason you said. I couldnt find out exactly why it has two names. Miss Fire I couldn't find anything about but Rozzie Geth is one of Fred Christensen girlfriends from his college days.. and the Pin Up Cowling painting is a close likeness to the said lady! She was an undergraduate studying sciences I believe. He studied music at universi before joining the forces. I did find only 1 picture of her online in a lab coat with test tubes etc.. Edited January 25, 2022 by Col Walter E Kurtz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Fantastic work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 25, 2022 Author Share Posted January 25, 2022 24 minutes ago, RMCS said: Fantastic work Thank you Sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Outstanding Andy!!!!! Your attention to detail is superb. My only critique……………the building in the background isn`t to “scale”. 😬 Very nice results Andy!!! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 I had a feeling this would turn out right! Must be a huge base area, but looks very effective in the photos. I particularly like the paint effects and chipping/wear on the cowling and OD anti-glare panel on the aircraft, just right 👍 Maybe you could add figures when time and funds permit, as others have mentioned it would bring the diorama to life. As it is, you could just say it was chow time 😂 Really well done 👏👏👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Alan Bardell Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 Wow What a great P47 Looks good and I like it a lot. B R 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 3 hours ago, Sky Keg said: Outstanding Andy!!!!! Your attention to detail is superb. My only critique……………the building in the background isn`t to “scale”. 😬 Very nice results Andy!!! Mike Cheers Mike! I put a lot of effort in to this one , glad you like it. Dang! I didn't notice that building when I took the pics! I should take it out and do some outside pics with acreal background that makes it look in scale lol! Regards Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted January 26, 2022 Author Share Posted January 26, 2022 17 minutes ago, Paul Alan Bardell said: Wow What a great P47 Looks good and I like it a lot. B R Thank you Paul! I hope my efforts will inspire you. A very warm welcome to you to Brit Modeller! Regards, Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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