Subject: Re: from Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog) P-47 C
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Jerald Thomas Hawhee" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 16:07:36 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jerald Thomas Hawhee 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2007 10:28 PM
  Subject: from Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog) P-47 C

  Gallery Template #04

  1/72 Academy  P-47 (C-5 RE) Razorback

  by Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog)
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

  This is the very-nice-for-the-price Academy 1/72 P-47 D Razorback. I'm an inveterate bargain hunter (or a cheapskate depending on your point of view) and this kit is definitely a power-shopper's dream!  As such, I've built several of them over the last few years, experimenting with a variety of building and painting techniques. While the fit is quite good with excellent molded in surface detail there are a number of glaring flaws that need to be dealt with on a serious build. Among these are; 1. a very basic cockpit with somewhat poor detail and an instrument panel that sits way too low in the fuselage, 2. a serious and very-difficult-to-correct seam/gap in the wheel bays precisely at the wing roots, 3. wheelbays themselves are very poorly rendered with the incorrect structural pattern and no real detail molded in, and 4. main landing gears that are far too tall, thus giving the finished model an unrealistically steep stance.   

  I used the excellent (and cheap!) True Details resin cockpit that was originally designed for the Revell kit; it fit quite well with a bit of trimming and sanding and was a great improvement over the OOB pit. I also purchased a set of Aires resin wheel bays specifically designed for this kit, which require a fair amount of careful trimming and sanding to fit properly but effectively solve all the major problems with the kit's sub-standard wheel bays. Placement can be rather tricky so care must be taken to position and cement the bays just right. The kit's landing gears were simply cut off at the right point (using a pair of gears from a Tamiya bubbletop as a guide) and the major difficulties were all dealt with!

  Click on images below to see larger images

         Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg   Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 04.jpg  

  As is my usual standard operating procedure, Polly Scale water-based acrylics were used to paint everything on this model. Cockpit, wheel bays and interior gear-bay doors were hand-brush painted with PS US Interior Green. Polly Scale US Neutral Gray was airbrushed on the underside and PS US Olive Drab topside. I airbrushed Polly Scale Reefer White (from their Railroad Colors line) for the cowl. Two coats of PS Clear Gloss were applied before and after the decals were put in place, and a couple coats of PS Clear Flat to finish things off. An Eduard Kabuki-tape die-cut mask was used for the canopy and windscreen.

  Markings on this razorback represent a P-47 C-5 RE; "Wela Kahao" flown by Captain William Hollander 334th FS in May of 1943. These come from the excellent Aeromaster sheet, Debden Jugs Part I, which I highly recommend!  

  This was a lot of fun to build; but next time I think I'll shell out a few extra bucks and spring for the Tamiya kit-now that's a bargain!  

  Jerry

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here  

  Photos and text © by "your name goes here"