"Dad" Rarey's
Razorback: Hasegawa's
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The Kit
When Hasegawa released their 1/72 Thunderbolts back in the early 70s, they were a revelation! Wing trailing edges thin enough to almost be considered dangerous weapons, engraved panel lines, and an accurate outline. They were light years ahead of the competition and still make excellent models. While Hasegawa's 1/48 Thunderbolts haven't advanced the art of plastic kit molding like their predecessors did, they have done one thing that didn't exist before: create an accurate model of Republic's "Juggernaut." I mean, they even got the fact that the windshield on the bubble-tops is smaller than we have thought with previous releases. I had to check my research to show myself they were right and I was wrong when I got the first of those!
The new P-47D "Razorback" continues
this high standard. Beyond the obvious fuselage difference, catered
to with a new sprue tree, the kit provides the early (narrow) Curtiss
electric propeller blades, with far more accurate outlines than their only
competitor, Monogram, and a very nice clear two-piece canopy. Cockpit interior
detail is better than most Hasegawa offerings, the primary difference between
this kit and the bubble-tops being the shape and layout of the instrument
panel. I am sure True Details will put out a resin cockpit for this model,
but it really didn't seem that necessary to me in constructing my review
kit.
The kit provides decals for two aircraft: one new and interesting and one that's been done to death. The new and interesting one is "Miss Mary Lou" of the 19th FS, 318th FG at Saipan in the summer of 1944 (not the 381st FG as the instructions say); this aircraft, which would use the early Curtiss electric prop, is well-known to anyone who has Squadron's "Aces of the Southwest Pacific": natural metal cowling and tail, with OD-grey camouflage, which will likely look great as a final finish. The other alternative is CAPT Frank Klibbe's "Little Chief," from the 61st FS, 56th FG, the subject of one of Monogram's releases of their razorback; unfortunately, the Indian is cartoonish, to say the best. If you are dead-set on doing "Little Chief," find the old MicroScale sheet that has it - the Indian is perfect. The instructions are not entirely clear, but this version would use the Hamilton Standard hydraulic prop which is provided.
The drop tank provided is the large 200-gallon centerline metal type, which relates only to the 318th FG version. As with the earlier releases, the underwing pylons are separate moldings, which allows you to make the earlier versions of the Jug. (The 318thFG bird is one of these.)
I have the good fortune to have access to the only flying 1:1 P-47 razorback in the world, and I have spent more than a bit of time holding a Monogram model up to the real thing and taking count of all the inaccuracies. I don't think I'll be doing that with this model.
Construction
To me, one of the finest Second World
War sites on the internet is Dad
Rarey's Sketchbook,
compiled by his son, computer animation pioneer Damon Rarey. George
Rarey, known to everyone as Rarey (his wife thought that was his first
name the first several dates they had) was a successful commercial
artist in New York City before the war. In 1942, at age 25, he volunteered
for the Air Corps and became a fighter pilot, flying P-47 Thunderbolts
with the 358th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force. Being that he was
3-4 years older than his fellow pilots, his nickname was "Dad." Rarey
became the group artist, and was responsible for almost all the nose
art on the aircraft. The group was engaged in ground support missions
leading up to and through the Normandy invasion. On June 25, 1944,
Captain George Rarey, leading a flight of 4 P-47s hunting German transport
in Northwest France, attacked a truck convoy and was killed by a direct
flak hit on his fighter. It is reported that the death of Captain Rarey
threw the group into a deep funk, as he was considered "the best
of us." I have enjoyed visiting this site since almost the day
when I first got onto the internet, and I recommend it to you highly
if you haven't discovered it before.
As a writer and artist myself, I am a sucker for the airplanes flown by other writers and artists. Thus, in my collection, I have the Spitfire I flown by Richard Hillary (author of "Falling Through Space"), the Albatros D.V flown by Paul Baumer (namesake and personal model for the main character in "All Quiet On The Western Front") and the P-40K flown by Robert L. Scott Jr. ("God Is My Co-Pilot"). When I first saw examples of Captain Rarey's nose art, I thought to myself how interesting it would be if a decal manufacturer got hold of this information. I was, therefore, quite happy to discover that my fellow "Internet Modeler" Editor, Chris Bucholtz, had been similarly interested and worked with Aeromaster to create a special sheet of Captain Rarey's art for the 1998 IPMS-USA Convention. It was a matter of perfect timing, because Hasegawa had just come out with their 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt, and I knew I would do mine in the markings of Captain Rarey's airplane, "Damon's Demon," named for the son born that previous April who the father would never know.
Assembly
Assembly is straightforward, as it is with all state-of-the-art injection-molded kits these days. Follow the instructions and there will be no surprises. The one problem I encountered, which I had also encountered with the "bubble-tops," was the fit of the lower wing to the fuselage. The lower wing in this kit is one-piece, which insures proper dihedral, with a cutout of the lower fuselage where it passes through, this being part of the wing molding. The gaps fore and aft were wider than I remembered in the earlier kits, and I solved the problem with two pieces of 10-mil sheet styrene to solidify the joints, with a liberal application of putty. After drying overnight, a rat-tail file and some 400 and 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper had everything nice and smooth; I rescribed the panel lines through the area, and was ready to proceed on.
One thing I really like with the Hasegawa P-47s is that the underwing pylons are separate, which makes it easy to apply D-Day Invasion Stripes. One drills out the locating holes from inside, and proceeds with attachment of the pylons after painting.
Painting
I painted the cockpit interior pieces before assembly. New research indicates that Thunderbolt cockpits were not painted Zinc Chromate or Interior Green, but rather "Bronze Green," a dark medium green. The paint meisters have declared that Euro-1 Green is an acceptable color for this, so I used Gunze-Sanyo's Euro Green, painting the throttle quadrants and other items with Tamiya semi-gloss black, then picking out detail with dry brushed Testor's Model Master "Aluminum Non-buffing" Metallizer paint. I used that on the cockpit walls and floor and seat to show weathering from use and to bring out detail. I also used the kit-supplied instrument panel decal; there are those who think an instrument panel that isn't hand-painted is the work of the devil, but I do not subscribe to that view. I painted the wheel well interiors and the interior of the wheel well doors Yellow Zinc Chromate, while the main gear legs were painted Olive Drab 43.
With all the interior areas masked
off with tissue paper stuffing, I then began the ID stripes. The Thunderbolt
had 18" white
stripes on the horizontal stabilizer outboard of the trim tabs, and
a 12" white stripe on the rudder and vertical stabilizer, just
above the trim tab. The forward 24" of the engine cowling is white.
D-Day Stripes for single-engine aircraft consisted of three white and
two black stripes on wings and fuselage, each 18" wide. I shot
white, masked it with drafting tape (no chance of pulling it up later),
shot the black stripes and masked all of that. I also shot the trim
tabs insignia red and masked them off.
This P-47 was camouflaged with neutral grey lowers and olive drab uppers. I shot Tamiya "Neutral Grey" for the underside, and Gunze Sanyo "Olive Drab I" for the uppers. Aircraft in the E.T.O. faded differently than in other combat theaters, due to thealmost-continuous low level cloud cover ("Find the biggest cloud in Europe, and England will be right underneath" was a standing joke with Allied aircrew). Thus the aircraft was exposed to sunlight primarily at high altitude; ultraviolet radiation caused the paint to fade with a purplish hue. I therefore dipped a medium brushfull of Gunze Sanyo Violet in the Olive Drab I had shot the upper surfaces with, and applied that in a blotchy manner over the upper surfaces of wings and horizontal stablizers, and upper areas of the fuselage that would have been exposed to this sunlight, with the "faded paint" applied to the vertical stabilizer to a lesser extent. This should not be done in such a way that it is immediately apparent at a distance. Any study of period color photographs of E.T.O. aircraft shows that the effect is subtle. As with any weathering on a model, less is likely to be enough.
Once everything was dry, I removed the drafting tape and shot the model with three thin coats of Future floor wax to obtain a glossy surface for applying the decals.
Decals
The sheet I used was Aeromaster, need I say more? Everything went down easily with Micro-Sol and was allowed to dry overnight. I used the stencil decals from the kit sheet, remembering not to put any on the invasion stripes, which were painted over such things. The next morning I washed the model to remove any decal solvent stains, allowed it to air-dry, then shot another coat of Future. I then shot the model with a dullcote made of 2 parts Tamiya Flat Base to 3 parts Future, applying it in three thin coats that left a bit of "sheen" to the surface, which duplicates what would be seen on an airplane that had been waxed by the groundcrew, a common practice among USAAF fighters in the ETO while the 9th A.F. squadrons were still based in England.
Final Details
I
painted the canopy with Metalizer aluminum, as this had been replaced
on Rarey's aircraft. Tires were painted a combination of Flat Black with
a bit of dark grey and brown, and then when dry a lighter color was dry
brushed over to bring out tire detail and simulate dirt. I used a Tamiya
108-gallon paper tank from their P-51B kit instead of the kit-supplied
drop tank. I also used the Hamilton Standard paddleblade propeller,
since these had replaced the Curtiss Electric props on ETO P-47s in the
Spring of 1944. I airbrushed a thin wash of the "tire color" to
simulate oil staining aft of the engine cowling on the forward fuselage,
and exhaust staining underneath and also shot "gunfire stains" aft
of the gun barrels on the wings. I used clear nylon emergency repair
thread - widely available at your local grocery store - for the antenna
wire. The clear light lenses were attached and the airplane was complete.
Conclusion
The new 1/48 P-47 kit is easily built by a modeler of average ability and will result in a model you will enjoy having in your collection. There are literally hundreds of possible aftermarket kit decal options, which make this a kit you can do several of if you have a mind to.
