Monday, 18 June 2018

1/48 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Razorback" No. 73 OTU Royal Air Force


This is the third P-47 I've built, but the first Razorback. I liked the look of the P-47 in the RAF camouflage so it was a toss up between this scheme and the SEAC green, brown light grey scheme.

Since my last P-47 was a SEAC camouflaged aircraft I decided to go with the RAF day fighter scheme. These aircraft were painted in the USA using colours "equivalent" to the RAF colours of Dark Green, Ocean Grey and Medium Sea Grey.

The aircraft I've depicted is one operated by the No 73 Operational Training Unit (OTU) Roayal Air Force (RAF) based at RAF Fayid in Egypt in 1946.
I wanted to go for a well weather dusty  look as I figured the sand and sun would knock the aircraft around a bit. I'm pretty happy with the finish I achieved

The Kit 

  • Tamiya 1/48 P-47D Razorback (Kit No 61086)

    The Tamiya P-47's are still IMHO the best fitting 1/48 prop kits out there. 

Aftermarket

  • Ultracast Seat
  • Ultracast Wheels

Decals

  • Freightdog 1/48 'Brits Abroad' 
  • Tamiya kit decals for the stencils. The set in my kit were the older style and were unusable but a mate came to rescue with the newer style which performed significantly better.

Paint

  • For Dark Green  - Mr Color 12 "Olive Drab USAAF Aircraft
  • For Ocean Grey - Mr Color 305 (FS36118)
  • For Medium Sea Grey - Mr Color 315 (FS16440)
  • For Sky - Mr Color Sky
  • Other various Mr Color/Mr Hobby greens and greys for weathering
  • Various Vallejo Acrylics for details

Clear Coats

  • Gloss - Gaianotes Clear Gloss
  • Flat - Gaianotes Clear Flatt with a final coat of Testors Dullcoate

Weathering

  • Oil paints
  • AK/Mig Filters
  • Tamiya Weathering Sets

The Base

  • The surround is made from cheap skirting from Bunnings. I've made it so the ground section can be changed depending on the model.
  • The sand is the stuff left over from one of those kids puzzle fossils they have to dig out.
    I originally was going to use this for the entire base but some research into where 73 OTU was based, RAF Fayid in Egypt, revealed that the base had extensive tarmac areas 
  • The tarmac is just a sheet of card painted with machinery grey spray paint