The Impossible Appears: P-47N Part 15

And so the “impossible thing” appears.

I’ve been adding rockets and drop tanks to show this aircraft as it was, flying out of Iwo Jima in what must have been a very dusty and unpleasant tour of duty. The “three bags full” configuration gave the Thunderbolt the range it needed to get to Japan. The two large tanks on the wings came from the Revell kit and the solo tank under the belly came from the Airfix P-51D. The rockets came from the Hasegawa P-38, after I carefully nipped them off of the rocket launcher tree.

The tires and prop came from the Revell kit. The prop decals came from the Hobby Boss P-47D kit, They had to be toned down using the same future+food coloring wash I used on the cockpit and engine.

This is a good example of what can be done without an airbrush. I didn’t touch an airbrush, spray can or any other atomizer while building this model. The fumes in the household (I work right next to the kitchen, because my work-space is in what used to be the pantry) were never noticeable.

Most of the decals came from the High Planes kit and they worked great. I replaced the national insignia with some from a Microscale P-47 sheet. I now have two P-47 kits waiting to be built and a bunch of decals. I guess I’m a bit of a fan of this airplane.

I should mention that the main landing gear came from the Hasegawa kit–and it required some modification to be accurate. Three large pins extend from the gear leg and you’re supposed to glue the door to those pins. Well, the pins are much too long. You should cut them down so that they barely extend from the gear leg, then attach the upper door. Check any photo of a real P-47 to see how it should look.