WIP Revell P-47D Razorback (Complete)

Brandon that's a fine-looking bird!   You really did a beautiful job on her and thanks for the in-progress thread too. 

Gary

Gary,

Sorry, I thought you meant the yellow stripe. I can't explain that in the photo but it is a bird from the 58th squadron.

Take a look here http://www.pacificvictoryroll.com/page11.htm this is where I found that photo. I have attached some others. All these planes are in the same squadron, the 58th. The Piper was in the 58th according to Revell, which makes sense with the cowl paint nearly identical between the two. BUT, there are other planes with slight variations in paint in that squadron. The cowls were also painted different on other planes in his squadron and I'll try and find that info again. SO, why the tail stripe on that plane? I have no idea to be honest. I DO strongly believe that it is the PIPER in that photo because it has H5? and a tail number that is on my decal set of 276653 which is said by Revell to belong to the Piper. Is that correct? I do not know, but I think so with all the clues in the photo. Markings, paint, location, squadron, its hard to not see the tie in there.

My decal set was Thundercals. They had good images of how to paint what where and which decals are specific to my bird. She does not have that stripe. No mention of it. They made notes to the fact of how his prop did not have CE labels as it was 12' 2" prop. And he painted his wheel covers yellow. Thats it. No mention of tail stripe. I can also say that my bird is supposed to have 3 mirrors, one on top, and one on each side as he was jumped by a zero and had them added. So that's about all I can say. 

The link above has a lot of cool info and great pics. 

I did wonder a bit on my paint just for artistic purposes but I would have included that stripe if it called for it but I can't locate a tail pic of my bird. 

Brandon,

She came out great!  Wish mine looked that good.  You did a splendid job with the paint and decaling and overall appearance.  Good job!  Even the exhaust pipes look great, and I like the colors you did with them.

But being a nitpicker, ,  and since she's done now, I'll ask about the tail stripe again.  I think I didn't make myself clear when I asked, so please pardon my vagueness.  The stripe I was referring to is shown in the picture you posted and is on the horizontal stabilizer.  Here it is with the red oval around it.

I was wondering if the decals made mention of this, or what it was for.  I had not seen it on the profile of the Pied Piper, though it's possible it's a latter addition, or an earlier one.  I need to get out some reference materials to check.  I do know that some of the P-47s in the Pacific did have stripes like that, but don't know the history or significance, though I think it was a squadron code and not a Pacific Theater one.

Well, interesting tidbit of research coming up. On the other hand, this photo is one that shows the gun powder staining on the wing (green square) and it looks a bit heavy, which makes me feel better about the overly stained wings I did on Pied Piper.   

Thanks!

Gary

Thanks guys. I really put a lot of heart into this one. I really fell in love with this kit and scheme. It was a true pleasure to build.

A beautiful finish, Brandon!  This is one of my favorite kits, and you'd done a great job with it.  I love your finish, too, nice weathering, not too much, not too little.  I just saw a decal set in the past few days with this subject on it, by the way, and your build makes me want to pick it up.

Nice detailing, too--the wing guns, the gun sight, the wingtip lights.  Nice job enlivening this venerable kit!

Brandon -

A very nice, clean build on your Thunderbolt. Loving the paint scheme.

That is a very nice build Brandon - I'd be happy too if my jugs looked like that!

That's a sweet looking build Brandon.

Gorgeous Jug Brandon.  To echo other sentiments, I wish my first build looked that good.  You should try the Tamiya Jug next...pure modeling bliss.

Joe

Well done! I love it !

The Nav lights are really quite simple on this type. Cut out the portion of the wing assembly that is raised to outline those lights and then drill a small divot in the rear of the cut out for a drop of color to be added, red and green. Then superglue a chunk of clear sprue in the whole and sand it down to size and polish like you would a canopy. The affect is lights that are only visible head on or from the side. They remain clear when viewed from the top or the bottom. You can actually see, not in the photos so much, right through the clear like a windscreen. It really looks very cool.

On mine I made one larger than the other by accident but I was able to correct for the error when I masked for paint. Now they are the same size.

Nice job indeed Brandon, you did that classic kit proud.  Perhaps you stated earlier but how did you do the wing lights?

Great kit and great job! I just started doing preshading on my models, literally on my second model where I've used preshading and it really does make the difference! Great job and I hope you post more threads!

Very well done Brandon. Nice and clean. Bob

I guess I should give the build details huh?

I used Tamiya paints, future and final coat of MM Semi gloss clear, which I love. The decals were not the kit supplied ones, they were Thundercals. They went on very nice and the silvering I got on the small ones was my doing and not that of the decals set. (Still working on getting that smooth finish before I start.) I used a light touch of black oil pin wash followed by a turpinoid cleaning to add a subtle weathering job as I didn't want the plane to look too used, but more like a recent restoration. I was able to build with very little filler as the fit was quite nice. As a matter of fact I probably would not have used any accept for my mods that needed some help. But, overall I had a good time on this one and it's a somewhat unique bird as I have only found one other like it.

Hell.  This is a great job Brandon. =]  My very first forays back into modeling didn't look anything like this.  How did you feel about the decals with this Revell kit?

Well after many hours and more mistakes than I care to count it is done. It's not perfect by any means but I am pretty happy with how it turned out. Enjoy.

I don't know if other units used that same markers for flight leaders. I've seen other stripes completely different from this one, so your guess is as good as mine. I think the stripe and name plate really make this color scheme pop.

Nice looking build.  I like the colors.

I didn't know that about the yellow stripe.  Was that true for all Army Air Force units?  

Ya, the yellow stripe indicated Flight Leader. Capt Lee Roy Chadwell, for San Antonio TX.

Really nice work, Brandon!  Gonna be a beauty when finished.

BTW, any idea what color the stripe is on the tail?  Probably for the squadron commander as the Pied Piper didn't have it.

Gary

I REALLY like that scheme Brandon.

Whoohoo!! Decals showed up today. Big ones are applied and MicroSol is setting now. Small stensils to be done Sunday. Now she's starting to look good.

It will be the Flight Leader's bird from the 310th Fighter Squadron, 58th Fighter Group. It is supposed to have white leading edges, but I've been goofing off with this build all along so I altered the scheme a tad. I believe that Pied Piper was in the 58th, not certain though. This plane I'm pretty sure was a member of that group, but the tail number is not correct for my build, but close. VERY CLOSE.

That's coming along nicely, Brandon.  I'm glad you didn't have any problems with fit on this one.  The fuselage actually gave me a bit of trouble (not a great amount, but noticeable).  I chalk it up to "kit variation".  Your kit may not have been stored in a 130 degree F warehouse.  :)

As for guessing what aircraft it is...     I would hazard a guess with the yellow nose and multi-colored flaps it's in the same squadron as the Pied Piper.  Strangely, I've never seen an actual photo of the real "Pied Piper".

Gary

Added some hydraulic lines to the landing gear and chromed the shaft that is exposed to the elements for just  touch more realism. The lines came out nice I think.

Well, I'm basically waiting on my decal set now. Most of the work to this point is done. Here is where it sits now. Anyone care to guess the name of the plane when its done. FYI, I haven't been able to find any other examples on line. It may be a first.

Painted the NMF on the leading edges, it came out pretty nice. I am very pleased. I have also decided that this plane will no longer be the Pied Piper, but will retain 95% of the same paint scheme. I will be painting it to tribute a different plane that I have not seen anywhere else. The decal set just came out and are on their way here. The change is really good and I think you guys will love it, but I'm holding off on what it is until I post the completed build. Stay tuned.

So, I clear coated it today because my finger prints were showing up as wet spot in the OD and it was bugging me really bad. It didn't hurt it any, just looked really bad so I cleared it to protect it while I worked on it further. While I was doing that I looked at the very few spots that were chipped from pulling off with the tape and I've decided that they are small enough and random enough with so few that it will fit into the weathering nicely. It should look like a plane that is just starting to show some wear, but not much. I was kind of concerned about touching it up as sometimes that is worse that leaving it alone and I think I will roll with the punches and just make it part of the overall appearance.