1:72 P-47 Thunderbolt wheel bay plugs (for Tamiya)

Omask landing gear bay plugs - P-47 Thunderbolt (for Tamiya kits)

A masking accessory from the Czech brand Omask. The package holds fillers of springy foam, shaped exactly to the landing gear bays of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt model in 1:72 scale from Tamiya. The principle is simple to the point of being obvious: the plug goes into the bay before spraying and comes out again afterward. Note, this is not a model. The kit itself is not included in the package.

What the plugs are good for

The Thunderbolt had massive landing gear, and its bays are deep and busy even in small scale. Inside they also carry a different shade from the outer skin, often an interior color. If paint gets into them while the camouflage is sprayed, putting it right is essentially out of the question: the space is deep, hard to reach and any intervention with a brush there does more harm than good. A foam plug removes the whole problem before it arises.

Use

• Paint the interior of the bay and let it dry completely.
• Push the plug into the bay; the springy foam fills the space and holds with no glue and no tape.
• Spray the outer color and the camouflage.
• Take the plug out once the paint has dried, and the inside of the bay stays free of overspray.
• Reusable, not a single-use item.

The real subject

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, nicknamed the Jug by its crews, was an American heavy fighter with a radial engine and an armament of eight wing machine guns. It made its name for exceptional toughness, as it could come home even badly damaged, which made it a favorite machine for attacks on ground targets.

Who the plugs are for

For modelers building the P-47 in 1:72 from Tamiya who want their landing gear bays clean and do not want to spend more time on masking than on the painting itself.

It is neither a kit nor an aircraft model. The package contains only foam plugs for the landing gear bays; the model, paints and glue are not part of it.