Having just finished up a build for the NMF GB that Clemens is hosting, I’d love to join up with you all for my next effort:
I picked up a set of Barracuda’s “Hell-Hawks” P-47 decals a few months ago, and am planning on building Neal Worley’s Razorback, “Mortician’s Delight” as it appeared while operating out of Chièvres, Belgium in October, 1944:
Welcome aboard Blue. Look forward to seeing your build. I seem to recall someone else who built an aircraft with different patterns of tires, not sure if it was a P-47 though.
Welcome, Blue! This particular Thunderbolt kit is the best aircraft kit out there IMO! It just has NO fit issues at all and the amount of details is awesome! It’s even a bit better than Tamiya’s Bubbletop Jugs! I’m building this one for the Reich Defenders GB right now (with German markings and all lower surfaces painted in yellow).
The different tread patterns are quite interesting indeed. The right tire seems to have the “diamond” tread pattern, but I have no clue about the left wheel.
There are 3 common P-47 tire styles AFAIK:
Diamont tread (seems to be the most common):
Block tread:
Cross tread:
The tire in the picture doesn’t seem to match any of those versions…
Bish: Plasticjunkie built a 190 D-13 for the Butcher Bird GB a short while ago. It had one smooth tire while the other one had a tread pattern on it. Maybe you are referring to his build?
It came to a screeching halt for a while. I am growing increasingly tired of the airbrush I’m using; a Paasche H. It is a proper pain in the behind to clean, so spraying little parts takes a long time to accomplish.
I’ve spent the past few days poking around the web looking for a double action gravity feed airbrush that is easier to clean.
If it is any help to you Allen, might I suggest the Badger 155 Patriot. Just a great all purpose airbrush that is very quick and easy to clean. I love mine for that very reason. You can usually find them at a fairly reasonable price. Here’s a couple of sites to check for airbrushes and supplies that I use:
Clemens, I have looked at the various resin offerings as well, and agree that none seem to match that left wheel’s tread. It may be a cool detail that I can’t replicate perfectly… my build may turn out to be set prior to blowing the diamond tire out.
Turns out that I have both block & diamond tread resin wheels here on my desk (I am planning on at least one more build from the phenomenal Hell Hawks decals), but both sets have open spoked wheels and the photo clearly shows the covered versions! Oh well.
I’ve heard good things about the 155 as well. I have a 150 and I’ve done everything to it and never got it to work. It’s a fluke and been around a long time so lots of info on it. I use an aztek 470a for my work. Owned it for the last 10 years and started using it as a real rookie. I like it and it cleans easy. You’ll find people hate it as it’s different than other brushes, but I like it alot and have no problems except my own incompetence, which I work through. Based on the info out there though, I’d go the 155. I just had the bad experience with the 150 so I’m where I am at.
just fat finger typing. i look back at a post and am embarrassed about some of the typos though i’m sure most folks here understand. still haven’t decided what to nuild for this but the 251/17 FLAK or 88mm GRILLE are at the top.
Yes indeed Clemens. The first would be Squadron’s “P-47 Thunderbolt in Detail and Scale”. There is also a Squadron P-47 Walk Around out there but it is hard to find and rather pricey. The other book I have that I really like is Mushroom Models Publications “P-47 Thunderbolt, Bubbletop”. It’s a Polish publication and is a terrific book. Provides great detail photos, color profiles of some unique foreign Jugs and 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scale plans. If you recall I posted a pic of the plans for you a while back when you had a panel line question. Although I do not have it I’m sure the Aero Detail book would be an excellent one also. But, it may be a bit costly. I would love to get my hands on the Aero Detail book for the Corsair but, it is difficult to find and when I do find one it usually goes for around $100.00.
Allen: Another Airbrush I’d recommend is the here.
Cleaning takes only 5-10 minutes once you get the hang of it. I’d either get the 2in1 set (0.2 and 0.4 needles included) or the same set of the “Silverline” (basically the same as the normal one with an adjustable trigger stop)
Joe: Thanks a bunch for that info! Are these the right ones?
I found the Aero Detail book at Hobbylink Japan for 21€, so i think I’ll order it there together with one of the more rare Hasegawa 1/32 kits (maybe a P-40?)
You’ve got it Clemens. What I like about the Detail & Scale book is there is some color photos of a P-47 cockpit in the dark green color prior to restoration. I used those photos to compare to when I mixed my own dark green on my, still unfinished[:(((], P-47.
Thanks for the welcome and kind words. It was very nice of you to say.
Clemens, I’ll concur about “Detail & Scale”. I have it and find it very useful as well. I also have “Walk Around” and “In Action.” I go to both D&S & WA ahead of IA because they focus on specific details which are useful for modeling, but all three have a place.
I purchased mine used off of Ebay, and saved a decent bit of money.
Also, since I know you are a Jug man, I’m sure you’d enjoy having this one as well:
Not a pure P-47 modeling reference per se, but more like deep dive history of that particular group. The stories and pictures are great. If you do pick it up, you may as well order the Barracuda decal set that goes with it; you’re definitely going to be inspired. The decals are beautiful.
EDIT:
(Completely forgot to say this)
Allen, I use an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and have been happy with it. I don’t have much experience with anything else to compare it to, but any limitations I’ve found are due to the operator rather than the tool. Very quick and easy to clean.
Blue: Thank you very much! I have the “In Action” book as well, but I use it more as a source to get some nice pics of the Jugs in the enviroment they were used in (with the object of interest not always being the plane in this book) and for some short info on the development. It’s not as great as a reference book as it is a source of inspiration…
That Hell Hawks book looks great! I thought about buying it before, but the price kinda put me off. I’ll have to take a look at it again.
I have heard a lot about those aero detail books, but they don’t seem easy, or cheap, to get hold of. Seen some on Amazon for a lot of money, but Hobby link seems decent, just have to wait for more to come back in stock.
Clemen’s, I have finally made a decision. Put me down for AFV Club 1/35th 251/3 Ausf D. I need to make a dent in my rather large 251 collection, and this is one of a couple that suits 44.
