Duo Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 1/72 Tamiya
I built the following models in honor of the recently passed away Mr. Shunsaku Tamiya. The early Tamiya company was established in 1946. However, in 1984 Mr. Shunsaku Tamija took over the management from his father and under the newly established Tamiya, Inc. began to develop the company’s world-renowned name. In my opinion, Tamiya is the best company in the world of plastic modeling. This is not only due to the precision and quality of the kits. Tamiya offers a complete system, from glues and tools to variety of paints.
That’s why I really enjoyed building not only this pair of “Bolts” out of the box. This even includes applying decals, which are famous for their typical “unique handling feature” that we all know about 🙂
The only modification I made was to extend the landing gear legs and covers by about 1 mm. The P-47’s pose was relatively low, but by undercutting the wheels, I would have reached too horizontal pose.
The first kit represents the plane of 551st FS, 495th FG. It belonged to Lieutenant General William E. Kepner. Kepner commanded the 8th Fighter Command from September 1943. He flew 16 escort missions out of 24 in this plane. There are some very nice color photos, e.g.HERE
On the photos can be seen some differences from other standard P-47. I painted the engine ring and top with light green according to the instructions and other informations. However, there are also opinions that it was standard Olive Drab, which appears relatively light in the photos. Well, after some time of additional study I think that option is more probable.
The second P-47, nicknamed “Sleepy Time Gal”, comes from the Pacific theater. Namely the 5th AF, 58th FG, 69th FS. Here I deviated from the instructions and, based on photos of actual aircraft from the field, decided that part of the stabiliser was not in light gray, but was in the original metal color.
I put the models in a display cabinet alongside with three other Thunderbolts. Thanks to its easy building it is not the last P-47 I plan to build.
Translated with help of DeepL.com (free version)
What an excellent way to honor the honorable Mr. Tamiya-san—with a pair of superb P-47s! One of my favorite Tamiya offerings, beautifully represented here.