Starting a 1/72 scale P-47 Thunderbolt, any ideas???

The cockpit is a good place to start. Making the seatbelts is one way of sprucing it up. The instrument panel in a good project too. Find a pic of the instruments and reduce them on a copier. Drill open the faces. stick the instrument faces behind the panel and put drops of gloss to simulate glass. Here's a good souce for cockpit data http://www.zenoswarbirdvideos.com/P-47.html The wheel wells are a good place for improvement. Some wire for lines, etc. The wings had access panels on top for the machine guns. A few belts of ammo would really do wonders.
http://rwebs.net/avhistory/history/p-47d.htm <- a good view of the guts.
I'll look and see what i've got by way of resources.

Well, you said no PE or resin if you open the wing gun panels what are you going to put in there? Same with engine access panels. FSM has had some articles on modelers who have opened panels and scratch built the interiors, you're going to need a fair amount of hand tools (see the tool forum). Hope you're geared-up for it ..............
Go for it! G.L.

Is this the Revell-Germany kit? If it is, it's a pretty good detailed P-47, possibly the best in 1/72 straight from the box. If you want to open up the access panels and detail it without using PE and resin it means you are going to scratchbuild. Here, you have to be resourceful in finding the materials needed like wires, styrene strips/ sheets, sprues, needles, soda cans, etc. You have to be creative also in fashioning these materials into the required shape. Finally, you need a good reference guide. Try the Squadron's P-47 Walk Around. lots of useful detail shots. Good luck and happy modeling!

Try cutting out the ailerons, rudder etc, and positioning at a different angle, remembering not to drop both ailerons.

You could do the same with the flaps. I think that would give you a somewhat special P47 in 1/72.

Karl

Thanks for the tips guys, I plan to scratchbuild alot! Don't get me wrong, the kits detail is awsome, but you should all know that a model is extra important and rewarding to the builder if it is in some small way, one of a kind!!!!

i just started building a 1/48 scale P-47N from revell. the etail is horrible in the cockpit so i rebuit that section and i repositioned the rudder. check out fines scale's MAy 2003 magazine, great article on superdetailing a P-47. good luck