1/48 P-47 D 353rd FG "Butch II" (Finished)
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2022 12:16 am
Hello, this is the second of the two 1/48 Tamiya Thunderbolts I built. It’s a 353rd FG machine named Butch II, flown by Lt. William Bailey. Bailey flew 186 combat missions and had 3 air kills and 3 destroyed on the ground. This machine apparently got around and had several different names throughout it’s service life. I further learned that the 353rd pioneered the P-47 ground attack which I thought was interesting as the 56th tends to get all the Jug glory. These men were all heroes to me.
The Tamiya P-47 is heaven in styrene. One of their true masterpiece kits. Always pure bliss. I added photo etch seatbelts and Ultracast resin wheels. I wired up the R2800 with lead solder and added brake lines.
The main markings were done with Maketar vinyl masks. I had a little mishap on the fuse letters (SX-B) and the stars and bars, as they left glue residue behind when I removed them. I had to repaint these with different kabuki tape masks I had in the stash. I normal don’t have issues with these and I suspect I didn’t let the paint cure long enough before masking. Decals used were from Eagle Strike and performed great. I also painted the cowl checkers pattern with squares of Tamiya tape. It was tedious but so much better than decals. The paint was Tamiya’s RAF colors as it was surmised to have been painted like a Spitfire.
Here is Butch II fitted with two 500 pounders ready for a ground attack.
A few in-progress pictures.
The Tamiya P-47 is heaven in styrene. One of their true masterpiece kits. Always pure bliss. I added photo etch seatbelts and Ultracast resin wheels. I wired up the R2800 with lead solder and added brake lines.
The main markings were done with Maketar vinyl masks. I had a little mishap on the fuse letters (SX-B) and the stars and bars, as they left glue residue behind when I removed them. I had to repaint these with different kabuki tape masks I had in the stash. I normal don’t have issues with these and I suspect I didn’t let the paint cure long enough before masking. Decals used were from Eagle Strike and performed great. I also painted the cowl checkers pattern with squares of Tamiya tape. It was tedious but so much better than decals. The paint was Tamiya’s RAF colors as it was surmised to have been painted like a Spitfire.
Here is Butch II fitted with two 500 pounders ready for a ground attack.
A few in-progress pictures.
