Heller 1/72 P-47N Thunderbolt
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 2:21 pm
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. 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.
The P-47N was the last Thunderbolt variant to be produced. It was designed as an escort fighter for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers flying raids on the Japanese home islands. Increased internal fuel capacity and drop tanks had done much to extend the Thunderbolt's range during its evolution, and the only other way to expand the fuel capacity was to put fuel tanks into the wings. Thus, a new wing was designed with two 50 U.S. gallon (190 l) fuel tanks, and this redesigned aircraft first flew in July 1944. The redesign proved successful in extending range to about 2,000 mi (3,200 km), and the squared-off wingtips improved the roll rate. The P-47N entered mass production with the R-2800-57 engine, and later used the upgraded R-2800-73 or -77. A total of 1,816 were built. The very last Thunderbolt to be built, a P-47N-25, rolled off the production line in October 1945.
The kit I am using was first released by Heller in 1974. My boxing comes from the mid 90s.
There are 6 silver and one clear sprues.
The small decal sheet only includes national marking, squadron marking, and aircraft identification numbers.
The instructions are in 13 steps, and printed on one large sheet.
I plan on using aftermarket decals, specifically, the Superscale 72-743 P-47N Thunderbolts: Bitter & They Satisfy
Paints to be used:
Testors: 1184 Yellow ZInc Primer
1124 Silver
Humbrol: 33 Black
24 Yellow
32 Dark Grey
Olive Drab
Blue
The P-47N was the last Thunderbolt variant to be produced. It was designed as an escort fighter for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers flying raids on the Japanese home islands. Increased internal fuel capacity and drop tanks had done much to extend the Thunderbolt's range during its evolution, and the only other way to expand the fuel capacity was to put fuel tanks into the wings. Thus, a new wing was designed with two 50 U.S. gallon (190 l) fuel tanks, and this redesigned aircraft first flew in July 1944. The redesign proved successful in extending range to about 2,000 mi (3,200 km), and the squared-off wingtips improved the roll rate. The P-47N entered mass production with the R-2800-57 engine, and later used the upgraded R-2800-73 or -77. A total of 1,816 were built. The very last Thunderbolt to be built, a P-47N-25, rolled off the production line in October 1945.
The kit I am using was first released by Heller in 1974. My boxing comes from the mid 90s.
There are 6 silver and one clear sprues.
The small decal sheet only includes national marking, squadron marking, and aircraft identification numbers.
The instructions are in 13 steps, and printed on one large sheet.
I plan on using aftermarket decals, specifically, the Superscale 72-743 P-47N Thunderbolts: Bitter & They Satisfy
Paints to be used:
Testors: 1184 Yellow ZInc Primer
1124 Silver
Humbrol: 33 Black
24 Yellow
32 Dark Grey
Olive Drab
Blue
You know I kind of miss those old kits, 20 or 30 parts at the most that you could build and paint on a rainy afternoon. Mind you my first kits were only two bob (10p), which I might add was a week's pocket money for me. It was either a model and the Valiant comic or the Valiant, two DC comics (9d each!!) and a week's supply of bubblegum.
I'm a big fan of the Jug so I'll be following your build with great interest!
