Hasegawa 1/32 P-47D
By Sean Thackwray
Inspired by a painting in the book The Aviation Art of Keith Ferris, I decided to replicate the very P-47D-40 he had captured so well, glistening in the skies above Texas.
Should you feel like seeing how it all came about, here is a link to the build thread in the Work in Progress forum.
The kit itself is a lovely bit of modern Japanese engineering, that captures the lines and essence of the Thunderbolt very well. There is enough room to add one’s own level of detailing, and apart from the madness of riveting the entire thing, I was much helped by adding Quickboost's engine and propeller, Master guns and pitot, Eduard Brassin wheels and the incredible Yahu instrument panel.
There are some strange difficulties to solve on the kit, and they are detailed in the build. The major effort went into achieving a realistic polished aluminium look, and I discovered some really pleasing aspects about Alclad II paints, that I hadn't experienced before.
Montex masks are very handy for general masking and national insignia, but there is nothing quite as useful as a friend with a Silhouette cutter in one's hour of need. Thank you Nick!
I took the photos, some with a black background, some with white - just to highlight different tones in the metal finish. I also took some with a darker, slightly moodier tone.
Enjoy!
© Sean Thackwray 2023
This article was published on Thursday, March 30 2023; Last modified on Sunday, April 02 2023