OK, I’ve been away from the model scene for more than a few years, but, today I just picked up a Revell 1/32 P-47D “Thunderbolt” (number 04722), and noticed…
. First off, the instruction sheet is Copyrighted 2002, but molded into the lower left wing is " Copyright (mark) REVELL INC 1982"… Luckily, the lettering is raised and shouldn’t be difficult to remove…
. Details. Surprisingly, the panel lines for a scale this size are raised and not engraved/recessed, and due to the number of them will challenge some to correct them; overall, finish is good to excellent, but the Cockpit details leave a lot to be desired. There are a few raised instruments/equipment, but for the most part, the rest are simply lightly engraved into the cockpit walls, and are in dire need of scratchbuilding (see below)…
This…
Looks nothing like this…
.Wheels. Molded plastic 2 piece, no tread, no nothing. Appears that hub detail is molded in, and is non exsistent…
I will be posting (editing really, to try and cut down on bandwidth and whatnot) progress results and reviews as time permits, but first impression is to me that if you want an accurate kit, you better plan on spending some time on this; for those looking for a true representation, this is not an OOB build…
First look makes me glad I have access to various “Touch Up” items, although I may have to mod the tires, as I don’t really want to drop $$ more for resin tires alone for what I spent on the entire kit…
Revell always has that raised lettering stating the copyright… or at least the kits I built all during the 1970s did.
I never fret the raised panel lines. All the old Revell kits have them and so do many of the classic Monogram kits.
I use a medium grey primer, then paint the overall scheme. After all is dry, a fine wet-sanding over the model will thin the paint on all the high spots revealing a suberb network of lines and rivits that are practically flush with the surface.
An exception I did was Monogram’s old P-61 Black Widow. I primered mine in WHITE then wet sanded. Shaaz-Zam! The panel lines and rivits pop!
Here is my Bubble top. I took the time to remove the raised lines and the rivets. I substituted the main gears wheels from a 1/48 B-29. Mainly because the looked about the right size. I tried to open the cowl flaps and was not totally happy with the way they looked. I just realized that there may be a dead spider just under the left stabilizer, that or else I have gremlins writing on the plane. Other than that it is straight from the box.
Thanks for the compliments. The P-47 is my favorite WW II fighter. I like the fact that she is not what anyone would consider sleek, but yet was able to work the Luftwaffe over in the long run. I have five done, 3Ds, 2Ns and 3 Ds, 1 N, 1 M waiting to be completed. I know what kind of challenge you are facing with the Revell kit that you are working on. I opted for the easy way out. I am anxious to see how the kit works out for you. Keep us posted and don’t get frustrated. You can make a good looking Jug out of the kit. [:)]
Tried to get clearer pics of the office components…
Instrument panel (the dark spots are from pen where I tried to highlight the depth of detail)…
And the sidewalls; as said, there’s surprisingly little detail represented on a kit this big…
IMHO, no way to salvage the dash; I thought of using HvH’s idea of scaling down photos of the details and adding them, but methinks I’m just gonna scratchbuild a whole new IP face and styrene details to the walls…
