I think this is the fourth time I've tried to build this kit. The three previous attempts all ended up FUBAR. There is a page on ARC with a build of this kit, and the guy who built it says, and I quote, "The kit went together perfectly." He is obviously a much better modeler than me.

After assembling the cockpit, using care to remove the seat frame from the sprue (I've broken this part in the past), I had to use clamps to get the fuselage to close up. On the wings, as on previous attempts, I had issues with the gun covers on the wing tops and the inserts where the gun barrels protrude. Both fit poorly in my experience, with large gaps.

I have several aftermarket sheets for 1/48 P-47N's. I was going to do Red-E-Ruth, which was stationed on Ie Shima. According to Tom Cleaver's build of the Trumpeter 1/32 P-47N, the P-47N's used on Ie Shima were P-47N-1's, and so did not have the rocket stubs. I believe I have seen other sites indicate that Red-E-Ruth was a P-47N-5, and so would have the rocket stubs. I wish I had sanded them off, as they interfered with the underside insignia decal.

The exterior was primed with Krylon 8608 2-in-1 Primer. The exterior was Krylon 1403 Dull Aluminum. I had used this same combination - or what I thought was the same combination - on the 1/32 Oscar, but this did not turn out quite as well. I think I used a different Krylon primer on the Oscar. I sprayed samples of several different blues to see if I could match FS35102, which is what the Superscale decal sheet says the blue matches. I ended up using Polly Scale St. Lawrence Blue, which is a railroad color. I think it is a bit too light, and also has a bit of a teal tint to it.

When I went to apply the decals, I decided to go with Lovely Leo from Superscale 48-576, saving Red-E-Ruth for a future build.

Page last updated June 15, 2023.