Tuesday, March 30, 2010

FineScale Modeler 07 2004


The passing of Francis "Gabby" Gabreski in January 2002 brought Hasegawas bubbletop Thunderbolt to the top of my "to do" list. I just had to model Gabreski's famous field-camouflaged P-47D. I chose Hasegawa's kit because it was well-detailed, fit nearly perfecdy, and was easy to build. I found only one error that had to be corrected: The supports for the belly tank were too long. If they were placed as intended, the tank would have touched the ground. I cut them down so the tank would sit properly. As good as Hasegawa's kit was, I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I added a True Details resin cockpit (No. 48483) and wheels (48009), and installed more detail on the engine and landing gear. To this day, it is uncertain whether the bottom of Gabreski's P-47 was camouflaged, but the fuselage and upper surfaces appear to have been painted in RAF medium sea gray and dark green. I decided to go with the unpainted natural-metal bottom. Let me show you how I detailed and painted Gabby's Jug.

Download from (hotfile.com)

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