So, I have a couple 1/48th Monogram P-47Ds lying around, but what to do? Finally, after months of on-again/off-again pondering, I ran across a photo of some Jugs waiting for the "Axe to Fall" at Chino, CA, ca. 1947... I said to myself, "Self.. I gotta do something like that..." Now since both Jugs are the same kit, I think, "Why not do a Before/After VE-Day diorama set?
So here's some shots of the "After" in production, a raid on the spares box, some cutting and sanding, then add some sheet, strip, and round styrene, along with brass & aluminum tubing, some fine wires, and the lug-nuts offa Sherman drive sprocket, this is what I've come up with so far, a beheaded P-47...
While not a bolt-for-bolt reproduction by any means, the firewall looks fairly accurate according to the few grainy B&W ref-pics I could find, along with line-drawings of the supercharger, carburator intakes, & exhaust/waste-gate system... About 75% so, IMHO... This's quite close, and although I'll never fool a P-47 mechanic or someone with the manuals stored in their computer, once it's painted & weathered I think it'll look pretty busy in there... After all, that's what the Gizmologist does... Suggestion, rather than reproduction. While there are probably after-market kits of this area done in resin with painstaking attention to detail and loads of PE parts for 80.00 bucks or more, this little baby cost me about a nickel in materials...
Anyway, thanks fer lookin' and now I'm off to the left wing's gunbay, then it's onto the battery/radio compartment and supercharger facade...