P-47D-30, FAP (PoAF), Esq. Nº5 Guarda Nacional Aérea, BA2 Ota, 1956

[DogfighterZen]

"With the Battle of France in full swing, the U.K. and it's allies needed all the help they could get. With the early involvement of Portugal by the secret reactivation of the Windsor Treaty in May of 1940, some PoAF pilots soon found themselves going to England to help out the tired pilots of the RAF. Comprised of 22 pilots of the 1st FSW of Tancos's BA3, this help would be much appreciated by the the British pilots, as was the help of other voluntary pilots from other countries from Europe and around the globe.
As the war came to and end with the defeat of the Nazis, the return of troops to their nations began almost immediately and the Portuguese Expeditionary Forces was no exception so by the end of 1945, most of the troops were back home.
In early 1946, a major restructuring of all Portuguese armed forces began to bring all services up-to-date with the new technologies and tactics recently acquired, but the PoAF was already equipped with recent aircraft, most of them acquired during the war years, as it had been more directly involved in combat than any other Portuguese armed forces branch.
Aircraft such as the NA P-51 Mustang, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt , Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire, these aircraft were mostly of the latest models, as most of the older versions were almost completely replaced by the end of the war.
One of the best fighters the war brought forward was the mighty Thunderbolt and with such a weapon in their hands, PoAF war veteran pilots brought back their combat experience to the academy and the PoAF was never the same.
The 5th Fighter Squadron was formed in July, 1946 when the Portuguese National Air Guard, the GNA(Guarda Nacional Aérea) was established at BA2 at Ota, and flew the Jugs till their retirement in 1956.
The pilots of the 5th FS would soon travel to the U.S. to start training for the transition to the F-86F that was already being negotiated with the USAF."















Well, that's my 4th finished model this year and that matches my total output of 4 in 2015! On top of that, it's also my 4th whif of the year...
It's the excellent Revell 1/72 P-47D-30, which had been in my stalled builds pile since i decided to halt the build and wait to finish it later after i got my modeling skills a bit more advanced. There are a lot of blunders but i'm happy with it, it was a fun build, no problems with most of the kit, except for the canopy which didn't fit well in the closed position, so i had to sand the canopy's bottom framing to get it to conform to the fuselage when closed.
Other than that, only my mistakes and lack of a decent fingertip set on my hands...
It also came out of the pile to be another build for my alternative PoAF since WWII, in which Portugal joined the Allies in the effort against the Nazis, since early 1941.
Tried some paint chipping for the first time on the anti-glare panel, which is the only painted area on the fuselage and was a good test. I can see in the pics that i overdid it a bit but i don't think it's very bad, it's just bad... maybe next time!
Also, the smoke stained areas didn't come out very well as the humbrol pigment just didn't wanna stick to the surface of the model. Another material that i have to properly learn how to use.

Hope you like this simple whif, thanks for looking! ~

[Tophe]

Hope you like this simple whif, thanks for looking! ~

I like your model, so perfect, while I am not sure this is a whif: maybe this is just "top secret"

[DogfighterZen]

Hope you like this simple whif, thanks for looking! ~

I like your model, so perfect, while I am not sure this is a whif: maybe this is just "top secret"

Thanks, Tophe! 
Glad you like it, it is a whif because the PoAF was only formed in 1952 and no known Portuguese pilots were in combat in WWII. The P-47 was ordered by the Portuguese Army Air Core in 1942 but was only delivered in 1952, so, a pre-1952 PoAF P-47, flown in WWII, with mission and kill markings to prove it, and a pin-up painted on, all together make it a whif.

[Dizzyfugu]

Nice - and the simple things are frequently the most subtle "under the radar" whifs.

[zenrat]

Cool.  Good job young zen

[NARSES2]

I like that, looks good 

[Army of One]

Oh.....i like this lots.......

[DogfighterZen]

Thank you, Sires!
Very good to know you like this young whifer's simple idea! You guys are to blame for that!  
So, after reading the backstory again, i've changed it a bit as there were a few things i wanna do differently with my alternative history, so i had to change it to keep the space-time-continuum flowing smoothly in this parallel timeline. With the new date of Portugal's entry in WWII, i can now build a few other kits that i can easily include in this scenario...
This one is indeed a subtle whif, and it seems like i was able to fool a few on facebook, nobody said anything about the kill markings...



Edit:
Just because i wanted to make sure i wasn't offending anyone, i looked up the definition of Sire/s... Although i was right in the form i used it, i didn't know it can also be, among other things, the male parent of a quadruped animal... not the meaning i intended, you can be sure of that.
From this day forth, i shall refer to ye as "The Elders"... 

[Old Wombat]

Sure thing, Pup!

[DogfighterZen]

Sure thing, Pup!

[NARSES2]

Just because i wanted to make sure i wasn't offending anyone, i looked up the definition of Sire/s... Although i was right in the form i used it, i didn't know it can also be, among other things, the male parent of a quadruped animal... not the meaning i intended, you can be sure of that.
From this day forth, i shall refer to ye as "The Elders"... 

Ah but we are all pedigrees here 

[DogfighterZen]

Just because i wanted to make sure i wasn't offending anyone, i looked up the definition of Sire/s... Although i was right in the form i used it, i didn't know it can also be, among other things, the male parent of a quadruped animal... not the meaning i intended, you can be sure of that.
From this day forth, i shall refer to ye as "The Elders"... 

Ah but we are all pedigrees here 

And all Thoroughbred too!