I've got quite a stack of Tamiya 1/48 P-47's in the stash, so I decided it was time to tackle a P-47M. I had originally intended to build this as a P-47D with the dorsal fin, but decided to try the M version instead.

The kit went together well, especially as I've built several of these already. For the colors, I used Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red for the cowling ring and the rudder. The underside is Hataka C078 Aluminum and the top is Hataka C041 Night Black. The aluminum went on very grainy, but it was slightly less grainy around the cowling ring, which I had primed with Tamiya Gray Primer (from the 40 ml bottle). The rest of the airframe was primed with Mr. Surfacer 1000, which went on very rough. Even sanding with a 1500 sanding sponge didn't make it smooth enough. I'm thinking I should prime with gloss before a NMF. The black, on the other hand, turned out to be just the hue I was looking for. Night Black has a hint of red, which is what I wanted.

Decals came from the kit. I used Tamiya Mark Fit on the decals, so I got a little less silvering than usual. An Eduard EX 166 mask was used, which fit very well. The canopy frame is Createx Silver, which looked much better than the underside, perhaps because the canopy frame was smooth.

Page last updated June 15, 2023.