1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt" of the Arizona ANG, 1952

Dizzyfugu · February 05, 2018, 09:47:37 AM

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941 and 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds (1,103 kg). When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons (tonnes) making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was also used by two U.S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, the bubble canopy introduced on the P-47D in particular offering good visibility. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the World War II European and Pacific theaters.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. were equipped with the P-47.

With the end of World War II, open orders for 5,934 fighters were cancelled. The P-47 continued serving with the U.S. Army Air Forces through 1947, the USAAF Strategic Air Command from 1946 through 1947, the active duty United States Air Force until 1949, receiving the designation F-47 in 1948.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The P-47 was not deployed to Korea for the Korean War, instead the North American P-51 Mustang was used by the USAF, mainly in the close air support role. Since the Mustang was more vulnerable to being shot down, (and many were lost to anti-aircraft fire), some former P-47 pilots suggested the more durable Thunderbolt should have been sent to Korea. However, the P-51D was available in greater numbers in the USAF and ANG inventories.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Arizona ANG operated the P/F-47 from 1946 until 1953, and the following year the 197th Fighter Squadron was reassigned to Air Defense Command (ADC), with a new mission of Air Defense of the Phoenix area. The prop-driven Mustangs and Thunderbolts were quickly replaced by F-86A Sabre day fighters, and the squadron was re-designated as the 197th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 9 in (12.42 m)
Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
Wing area: 300 ft² (27.87 m²)
Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,535 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,731 lb (5,774.48 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 17,500 lb (7,938 kg)

Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney R-2800-59B twin-row radial engine, rated at 2,600 hp (1,938 kW)

Performance:
Maximum speed: 433 mph at 29,000 ft (697 km/h at 8,839 m)
Range: 800 mi combat, 1,800 mi ferry (1,290 km / 2,900 km)
Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
Rate of climb: 3,180 ft/min (16.15 m/s)
Wing loading: 42.43 lb/ft2 (207 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.204 hp/lb (335 W/kg)

Armament:
8× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (with a total of 3,400 rounds)
Up to 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of bombs
10 × 5 in (127 mm) unguided rockets

The kit and its assemby:
Not much to say here; it's the Hobby Boss P-47 kit, built OOB. Even though it's a simple kit, I find it to be a sound representation of the Thunderbolt. Main weaknesses are the lack of cockpit detail (e .g. a missing dashboard, bleak sidewalls) and the lower rear fuselage intersection between the upper hull and the lower part with the wings - the shape of this section is pretty fishy. Otherwise the kit goes together well and quickly, and fit is very good, too.

The characteristic, flat 200 gal. drop tank under the fuselage is OOB, and I mounted the underwings pylons. Even though the kit comes with optional cardboard drop tanks from WWII or 500 lb. iron bombs I left them empty, though.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting and markings:
Well, this is also not very spectcular - but the reason for the build. I found a surplus decal sheet set from Matchbox' F-86A Sabre, which traditionally features a Korean War aircraft and, as option, a machine from the Arizona ANG: bare metal, with yellow trim and a highly decorative cheatline that starts with a prominent lion head. The basic idea was to transfer this design on an earlier, post WWII piston aircraft.

The P-51D or H was my first choice, but due to the size/length of the cheatline decal and a whiffier approach, I settled for a P-47D (which was actually operated by the Arizona ANG in the late Forties). Another argument for this type was simply a lone Hobby Boss kit in the stash...

The livery is very simple and straightforward, with NMF and yellow trim, inspired by the Matchbox F-86A and contemporary Arizona ANG aircraft. First, the kit received an overall coat with Revell's acrylic aluminum (99), plus some panel shading with Humbrol's Polished Aluminum Metallizer. Some panels and access hatches were treated with different Metallizer tones for more variety.

Next, most of the yellow trim on wing and propeller tips, the fin and on the cowling were painted with Humbrol 69 (Gloss Yellow) and shaded with Tamiya X8. An anti-glare panel in olive drab (mix of Humbrol 66 and 155) was added in front of the cockpit. A light black ink wash was applied, too, for more contrast of the lightly engraved details and panel lines.

Once the basic paintwork was done, the decals followed step by step. First of all came the black 2mm stripes (generic material from TL Modellbau) which limit most of the painted yellow trim.
Then came the USAF roundels, which were gathered from the spares box and chosen in relatively large size, suiting a colorful peacetime aircraft. The wing markings come, IIRC, from an Italeri RB-66, and the fuselage roundels were taken from a Hobby Boss USN A-7E, even though they had to be adapted to the air outlets with small cuts.

The eye-catching cheatlines (praise to the original Matchbox decals: they might be thick, but they remain useable for ages!) were cut into two pieces, leaving out the original Sabre roundels, which were rather small for the bulky Thunderbolt, and placed in front of and behind the new fuselage roundels.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The BuNo, not matching the real world production numbers, though, came from the scrap box and was placed on the fin onto a silver decal base for better contrast. The respective National Guard codes on the wings were created with single US 45° letters from Colorado decals.
Cockpit and engine interior were painted with green chromate primer, while the landing gear bays received a yellow zinc primer coat. As a little individual detail the wheel discs were painted in the trim's yellow, too.

After some light soot stains around exhausts, cooler flaps and gun nozzles with graphite, the model received a coat with semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri), only the anti-glare panel became matt.

1:72 Republic F-47D-30 "Thunderbolt"; aircraft 44-41415 of the 197th Fighter Squadron, Arizona ANG (Air National Guard); Luke AFB (Arizona), 1952 (Whif/Hobby Boss kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A relatively simple whif, but a decorative and effective one. The colorful Arizona 'Bolt looks pretty convincing, though – a simple build, done in a couple of days.

su27rules · February 05, 2018, 10:06:01 AM

Scotaidh · February 05, 2018, 10:54:31 AM

sandiego89 · February 05, 2018, 03:08:26 PM

Great paint job Dizzy!

I am a bit surprised the P/F-47 didn't have a longer and broader post WWII career with a number for air forces.

Dizzyfugu · February 05, 2018, 11:58:55 PM

Oh, it had, e .g. in France, Ecuador, Peru (the last operator until 1966!), Italy, Iran and many more.
AFAIK it was not used for a long time anymore in USAF or ANG service, though, the P-51 had a longer life.
But this could have been different if the P-47 had been chosen for Korea?

Rick Lowe · February 06, 2018, 12:01:56 AM

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on February 05, 2018, 11:58:55 PM
Oh, it had, e .g. in Ecuador, Peru, Iran etc.. AFAIK it was not used for a long time anymore in USAF or ANG service, though, the P-51 had a longer life. But could have been different if the P-47 had been chosen for Korea?

Or if the Air Force had been willing to use the F4U...

(Squealing like a Girl Mode:) "Eewww, it's BLUE! Get it away from mee!"

zenrat · February 06, 2018, 01:11:11 AM

Good job Dizz.

comrade harps · February 06, 2018, 01:18:16 AM

QuoteI found a surplus decal sheet set from Matchbox' F-86A Sabre

Thought I recognised the snake thing from the Matchbox Sabre!

Nice work

Dizzyfugu · February 06, 2018, 01:42:57 AM

Yup, highly decorative, and something that drives away the winter blues...

AS.12 · February 06, 2018, 02:20:31 AM

Looks great!

There was a short post-war period ( pre-USAF I think ) when some ANG units had their own insignia rather than the star-and-bar. I've only seen one photo though, New Mexico ANG. But lots of whiffy potential based on state birds & emblems.

Dizzyfugu · February 06, 2018, 02:59:19 AM

I know these, there are decal sets for ANG P-51's available. These machines had normally only their fuselage stars-and-bars replaced by something else.

NARSES2 · February 06, 2018, 07:08:17 AM

That's just glorious

TheChronicOne · February 06, 2018, 11:50:11 AM

That hits the spot right there!!!!

I want to grab the B&W pic and go see how many people I can utterly confuse with it!!!!

Snowtrooper · February 06, 2018, 02:35:22 PM

Always loved that Matchbox cover art of the Sabre, and despite my ophidiophobia the snake looks striking also on a well-done Jug

Considering that the prop jobs were used almost exclusively as mud movers in Korea (with the rare exception of F-82), the Jug or the Lightning would have made much more sense than the Mustang as the primary type, but alas, the Mustang was the cheapest of the three to operate, causing it to be the type the USAAF consolidated to after VJ-Day.

Captain Canada · February 06, 2018, 03:22:22 PM

Beauty. Nice and colourful ! Great selection of pics as usual. Cheers !