1/48 Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt. Lt. Col. Francis Gabreski (Complete)

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Thanks!

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Thanks Radmax! For the interior I used AK Real Colors Dull Dark Green (RC 230). I’m by no means a Thunderbolt expert but my understanding is that Dull Dark Green and Bronze Green are both considered for the cockpit interior.

Here’s a reference I found online: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/interior-colours-of-us-aircraft-1941-45-part-ii/

Yes. the Tamiya seatbelt decal doesn’t cut it. No more decal seatbelts for me.

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Agreed!

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Woo hoo, Glossy baby!! :slight_smile: Tis great to see you both here and Scalemates, gives me more chances to drool over your work ;). Your turning out an outstanding museum/tribute to Mr. Gabreski, it would be great if you could present it to his family, I bet it would make them very happy :). Anyway, great job and carry on.

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Thanks sickdude! Much appreciated.

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Gabby’s jug is now complete.

After the gloss coat, the Techmod decals went on mostly without a hitch. I ended up tearing one of the stars and bars on the wing when I applied it but recovery was fine. I applied another gloss coat over the decals and then applied a dark dirt Flory wash. After some black/brown mix sprayed on selected panel lines, I added some random streaks. Two coats of Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer gave me the matte/satin finish I was looking for. After adding the guns, nav lights, and other doodads she was done.

This Tamiya kit really deserves its reputation. Wow, what a pleasure to build. And I’ve always been drawn to the 61 FS, 56 FG paint scheme. As a side note, I actually used the Hasegawa 1/32 profile as a guide for painting – I think it’s very close to the actual photos and much better than the Techmod profile.

This project represented a number of firsts for me: first US plane (this century), first P-47D (ever) and first invasion stripe project. There will be more. Enjoy the photos and thanks for following along.

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I rarely give compliments because its tough to impress me. But your P-47 looks amazing. You’ve captured the essence of Gabreski’s Thunderbolt. Well done.

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Seeing it first completed on scalemates, and again here, I say again, mighty fine work sir, mighty fine! It looks like a Tamiya 1/48 and 1/72 Jug are on my list of builds ;).

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Thanks Racer. Much appreciated. I’m glad you like how it turned out. Thanks.

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Thanks sickdude. I haven’t tried the 1/72 kit, but the Tamiya 1/48 jug is wonderful. Thanks.

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Hoss, the color looks great to me, I was wondering the brand. I’ve got some AK for just such a build, and mine looks pale in the bottle. Maybe I haven’t shaken it enough.

Your completed build looks amazing. The first photo looks like it could be real. Well done, sir!

Thanks for sharing!

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Oh wow, excellent paint job!

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Really nice!

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Beautiful! I hope mine turns out half as good. I have the same decals so I’m glad to hear they worked well. Techmod aren’t exactly the greates. I do intend to paint on the main stars though.

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Great work, came up a treat!

Must give Joe’s gloss coat a go on my next build.

Look forward to your next build.

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A very fine job you did there. Great work! [:D[

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Thanks again, Radmax.

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Thanks Madness!

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Thanks John! Much appreciated.

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Thanks Lawdog! I’m sure yours will be awesome. I thought the decals were fine but I don’t think Techmod did a good job on the color profile. It differs quite significantly from the actual photos, particularly the ocean gray camo pattern and the invasion stripes. I suspect you’ll paint the stripes instead of using the decals. I need to try masking the main stars at some point. The bars over the ports on the sides of the fuselage were a little tricky with the decals. Lots of touch up work there.