P-47N Thunderbolt

Well, here she is. The Killer Blonde. Ever since I first saw a beautiful image of a P-47 N being boresighted on Ie Shima in 1945 (reportedly an original image taken by Lt James Weir of an aircraft from the 19th FS – many thanks for the info Norris Graser), I’ve wanted to build an N, and build it big to capture it’s brutal, beautiful lines, the wonderful colour scheme of the 19th FS in 1945, and just the sheer bulk of one of these planes. The colour scheme in the photo was incredibly eye-catching and attractive to me, but knowing my limitations, I didn’t want to build a specific aircraft (such as Red-E-Ruth), as I know I can get a little crazy with weathering, and don’t like feeling the constraint of having to conform to a particular photo. What can I say? It must be the artist in me.  

A big challenge in these planes is always the NMF, and I have to say I have sweated a bit on this one. I have laid down gossamer thin coats of different tones of silver, with a few layers of clear cote as well. There have been moments of panic as different patches have worn unevenly, and a not inconsiderable amount of swearing, but in the end, I think my “fiddling and fart arseing around” has paid off, with a lot of – to my eyes – realistic looking wear and tear on the finish, with a variety of subtle textural variation evident if you look closely.  

One of my big joys in painting aircraft is the application of exhaust stains, as I think this helps bring these birds to life, and “Killer Blonde” is no exception. I dilute a dark brown mix about 30/70 paint to thinner (Vallejo air), and slowly build up layers, at first invisible, but becoming clearer as the work progresses. Over the top I then pass some NATO black, again highly diluted, again in very fine layers until I have something that looks ok. The purists may say I’ve overdone it, and that the Jug never blew that much smoke, but I have photo’s that suggest otherwise. Anyway, it’s my plane, so I’ll make it as smokey as I want????. 

There are flaws a-plenty. I am lazy with seams and filler, and hardly ever re-scribe panel lines. My sprue cutters sometimes take off more than I want to, and I can never be quite arsed to correct my slip of the hand. The mascot decals have gone on too thick, and the edges are evident to me, even if no one else sees them. Still, they look ok from arm’s length, and they’ve taught me to trim them closer next time I use them so that their outline is not so obvious. Every model teaches me something about the next one I do.  

So there you have it. A bit rough in parts, but as she sits on the desk in front of me, I can’t help but smile.  

Thanks for looking, as always comments and thoughts are welcome.  

Until next time, Happy modelling!