Building Revell's P-47D "Thunderbolt" in 1/72nd ScaleBy Michael Kendix |
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Background
There is little that I could add that has not been written about this well-known World War Two fighter aeroplane. Affectionately known as the 'Jug', this was a large fighter for its time, first appearing in combat in 1943. Ruggedly built, it could absorb considerable punishment while remaining airborne. An excellent overview can be found online.
In the Box
This
kit comes in one of those end-opening boxes and is moulded in a silver
plastic, neither of which I tend to like but don't be put off. Closer
inspection reveals four well-moulded and clean plastic sprues, one of
which contains the clear parts. The instruction booklet contains clear
instructions for assembly and painting and the decals were clean and in
register. I don't usually build such mainstream subjects but this was
our IPMS chapter's choice for the annual "Build the Same Kit" contest
and since the kit was recommended by yours truly, I felt honour-bound
to build it. My objective in choosing this kit was to encourage as many
people as possible to build it for our competition, and in that I was
quite successful: so successful that five others built it and I was well
beaten in the competition! Now, although I was compelled to build it,
I was certainly not going to the trouble of doing a natural metal finish!
Fortunately, Revell provides markings for two schemes: one natural metal
and the other a French scheme in olive-drab-over-grey.
Minor Alterations
The
correct description for the French option in the kit is GC II/5 "LaFayette",
4ème Escadrille - Armée de l'Air Luxeuil-Les-Bains (France) - January/April
1945. The P-47D-28-RE did not have underwing airbrakes and the underwing
landing light is in a different position to that of the kit's. Thus my
first task was to sand off the brake detail, fill in the hole for the
kit's landing light and make a new hole in the correct position for this
version.
Construction
I
used 'Medium Green' for the interior then I painted up the instrument
panel and the various details in the cockpit. The interior detail is excellent:
I believe aftermarket details are available but in my view, they are not
really necessary. The seatbelts are molded to the seat - perhaps the only
less-than-ideal interior feature but preferable to seatbelt decals.
The instructions recommend making a hole in the top of the fuselage and installing the pylon before closing the fuselage. That might be fine for some but I left that off until later because I would have knocked it off during the sanding and filling process. After giving the interior a burnt umber oil wash, which darkens up the interior nicely, I glued the fuselage halves together. The fit was good with the only problem being the mating of the little louvers on the rear underside of the fuselage, and I could have made a better job of that if I had persevered with the small rat-tail file.
The
engine was next. The detail is excellent, though no doubt one could add
more wires and such if one wanted. I painted it engine grey and highlighted
it by drybrushing with silver. The engine sub-assembly fitted well and
I glued the cowl to the fuselage. The wing halves fit together well and
contain excellent detail for the wheel wells. I had no problem gluing
these and the tail parts to the fuselage.
Now
it was time for the filling and sanding. I started the seam filling using
Mr. Surfacer 1000 applied with a brush, sanding, and finally spraying
Mr. Surfacer thinned with lacquer thinner. A couple of rounds of this
sequence of events saw the seams disappear and after some minor re-scribing,
it was ready for its coat of paint. The scheme is a straightforward "Olive
Drab 41" over "Neutral Gray 43". However, first there was the issue of
the yellow strips on the wings and tail parts. The kit provides yellow
stripe decals but I decided not to use these because I thought it would
be difficult to get the decals to lay down over some of the detail, especially
on the underside of the wing. I simply sprayed Insignia Yellow enamel
and masked off the stripes. I then sprayed the wheel wells with the same
Medium Green I had used for the interior: this was the colour shown in
the "Walk Around" publication's example but perhaps that was incorrect
for this particular aeroplane, I then stuffed moistened Kleenex into the
wheel wells and I sprayed the underside with grey enamel and masked that
off. I used Model Master Olive Drab for the upper side.
The
propeller, canopy and landing gear went on without any problems. The clear
parts are excellent and I masked off the windscreen and sprayed the canopy
frame with Olive Drab. I sprayed the propeller yellow, masked off the
tips and sprayed it Scale Black. After everything had a chance to dry,
I gave the whole model a coat of Testors Clear Gloss and then several
brushed coats of Future floor polish (it is not really a "Polish", it
is an acrylic varnish) in preparation for the decals. Ideally, to be more
accurate, I should have painted the area around the side roundels in a
newer-looking olive drab in the shape of U.S. insignia because the French
painted over the U.S. markings before adding their own roundels: similarly
on the wing. However, I needed to finish this model so I omitted that
bit of accurate detailing.
The
decals are sturdy, in excellent register and colour, though perhaps a
little thick. They went on without any problems though I did trim them
where I could to cut off the excess clear decal, for example, the '32'
on the side of the fuselage. I also drilled a hole in the top of the fuselage
for the pylon, cut off the square thing on the end of the kit's pylon
and inserted the remaining part into the hole. I made the radio wire from
0.005-inch straight wire from Small Parts Inc. and attached it with Elmers
white glue.
Once this dried, I gave the model a coat of Testors Clear Flat to prepare for the oil wash. I used a burnt umber oil wash, which sort of soaks into the olive drab and, of course, into the panel lines.
The
French generally used 2 x 250lb bombs: one under each wing and I used
the smaller drop tank, which all went together easily: yellow decal stripes
around the bombs (no way I was going to mask these) were easy to apply.
I gave the model a final coat of clear flat to seal everything in.
Conclusion
This is a first rate kit and more so when you consider it costs under $8, and there is a P-47M version for the same price. The kit is well made, easy to assemble and there is a myriad of aftermarket decals, resin and photoetch products should you want to go the extreme-detail route. I highly recommend this kit for modelers of all abilities.
Acknowledgement
My thanks to Jean-Luc Dubert for helpful information and reference material on the P-47D-28-RE.
Reference
Lou Drendel, Don Greer and Ernesto Cumpian. "Walk Around P-47 Thunderbolt." Squadron Signal Publications Inc., Carrolton Texas. 1997.
