This is the awesome 1/48 Tamiya P-47D Razorback kit, pretty much OOB, with A/M decals. A HUGE “thank you” to Lee Mitchelltree for kindly sending the decals from an older, OOP Superscale sheet. He even went so far as to let me know the tail number were incorrect, so I cut the numbers up and re-arranged accordingly. Thank you, Lee.
I wanted a worn/faded look, and hopefully I haven’t taken it too far. I need to tighten the aerial and add some future to the canopy “glass”, but other than that, she’s done.
DUDE!!!
That looks great, mate! I’m glad you were able to make good use of those decals - I wasn’t going to use them to make that particular airframe.
Miss Mutt is certainly faded enough to look realistic…but maybe not as dirty or stained as you’d expect to see - oil stains, fuel stains, gun soot, scuff marks - especially on top of the wings…
BUT…having said THAT, it’s a very clean, well presented build, and the wash is great - nott too little, not too much - she’s a beauty.
NIce one, mate - thanks for sharing the pics!
Lee: You’re right…I’m now thinking of playing around with some pastels and powders…at minimum some soot under the wing where the shells eject and around the gas tank. I’ve never really dabbled in these areas so I’m a little nervous…I know how easy it is to overdo it, but some stains here and there would really complete the “wear and tear”. Thanks for the comment.
Go for it, mate. Dirty Miss Mutt up a little…
But you’re right - it really IS easy to go too far and ruin the effect.
Soot stains on the wings were almost always there, as were scuff marks around the gun bay access panels…also, it was almost universally accepted that if a great big radial engine WASN’T leaking oil, then it was OUT of oil. Big round engines spit the black stuff.
I always apply my weathering little by little…remember, you can always add MORE if you decide you need it, but it’s hard to take it off when it’s already there.
If you’re in doubt if you’ve done enough, take a break - come back in an hour - or maybe the next day - and then view your work and THEN decide if you need to go further.
You might save yourself from a big heartache.
Remember, LESS is MORE when you’re weathering an aircraft.
Ditto. That is an outstanding job on that P-47. I vaguely recall that aircraft being modeled by either Hawk, Testors, or Lindberg many years ago. I think someone did it in 1/72nd scale as well. I also recall an article in one of the aviation magazines about the aircraft and the pilot. I think the pilot lived his life out in Lodi, Ohio (Southwest of Akron) after the war. Do you know anything about the pilot?
Is he still alive?
I believe a relative of FS Forum member Wayne Baker actually knew the family, who did spend a good amount of time in Lodi. Personally I don’t know too much about the pilot (Lt. Rowland) but I’m eager to find out as much as I can. As a Cleveland native, Lodi is close to home, which adds to the degree of interest.
I like how it turned out. Did you fade the neutral gray underside any? Personal preference, I have been using an early war O.D., that seems to fade to a brown shade. I got the formula through Pactra Paints, who got it from an IPMS chapter in the '70’s.
Wayne, I didn’t go as heavy on the Clear Flat on the underside, but did try to fade it some. My logic was that the sun probably hit the upper surfaces a little harder than the undersides. I’m in the middl eof shifting my basement around, but I would like to go back and add some oil, gun powder and even fuel stains…very subtly is the goal.
Any other information you can share on the pilot’s family would be very weclomed.
Are you saying that the Pactra formula paint actually fades to brown? I know what you mean about the real OD fading to a brownish color…Can you share the Pactra # or which formula you are using? I’d like to try that on a future build.
This is the full blown mix of faded O.D. I use it and kind of trust it because it matches the anti tank gun in front of the American Legion building in town. I’ll give you the formula as soon as I make sure which one it is. I have the fresh O.D., and the faded one. The chart is for Army, Navy, Lutwaffe, RAF, Japanese aircraft, Russia, Finland. Unfortunately, there are no color chips and I don’t know where to get Pactra paints any more. They were bought by Testors.
I’m not sure how well my brother knew the family. They were customers more than friends.
Very nice, Wayne. I’d definately like to hear the forumula…I’ll try to duplicate it in acrylics. I do remember the old Pactra paints in the funky shaped bottles.
And you can’t go wrong by comparing tthe color to the real thing!
