1/48 Tamiya P-47D
from Workbench to PhotoShop 

by Bob Aikens

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Just  about every serious modeler has built or at least has this beautiful Tamiya kit. Jug fans probably have both versions. Even a merely competent builder, such as your correspondent, can do a decent job on this almost faultless   gem; for the average modeler  'straight-from-the-box'   is just  fine for this one. The only 'extras' I added was some    wiring at the instrument panel, and some ignition wiring.  Eduard belts were used to enhance the kit seat.  

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Alclad  Duraluminum and Dark Aluminum were used for the overall metal surfaces. Tamiya Khaki Drab covers the upper surface stripe paintovers. The kit decals are neat and colorful, offering Lt. Col. Ben Mayo's  checkerboard-nosed  WZ-P, and Maj.Gen. Bill Kepner's eagle-nosed VM-P. The only kit decals I used were the Invasion Stripes for the lower surfaces-they lined up and went down surprisingly well!

I had bought AeroMaster sheet  48-578 'T-Bolts of the 404 th  Pt. 3' long before I got the kit. Hal G. Shook's "RAE' looked interesting, and a bit of a challenge. In fact  it takes a bit of care to get the overpaints lined up correctly to correspond with the decal placements.

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On the AeroMaster instruction sheet is a b/w picture of 'Rae' with the wheel coverings off.  Also of note; Tom Cleaver politely informed me that the P-38 style 150 gal. tanks were seldom if ever seen on European Theatre Jugs.  In the attached  Adobe PhotoShop 7 composite images the tanks have been removed .The pictures were taken with an Olympus C-720  digital camera.  It was fun building 'Rae', and just as much fun trying to bring her back to life in pictures.

Bob

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Photos and text © by Bob Aikens