1:32 P-47D Razorbacks

The Wolfpack over Boxted

The 56th Fighter Group was the unit that did not part with the Republic P-47 even when the groups around it were re-equipping with Mustangs, and that is exactly why it ran up the highest score with the type in Europe. The sheet offers two of its machines still in the original form with the decking carried back behind the cockpit, that is, the so-called razorback that flew before the bubble canopy was introduced.

• 42-26298, codes LM-A with a bar above the letter, named Button Nose and carrying the inscription Stalag Luft III. The pilot was Lieutenant Albert Knafelz.
• 42-7937, codes LM-Q with the name Triss, 62nd Fighter Squadron, pilot Lieutenant A. R. Carcione, based at Boxted, February 1944.

Details that matter

The bar above the code letter is not decoration: it distinguished the second aircraft with the same letter within a squadron, and it is easily forgotten during the build. February 1944 also means the period before the invasion, so Allied stripes on the wings and fuselage do not belong on these machines yet.

Laying decals on a large area

In 1:32 scale the code letters sit on the curved side of the fuselage and across riveted seams. It pays to work in sections, on a damp base and with a softening solution, so that the carrier follows the shape and is not left stretched over the edges. It also helps to cut long lettering along a panel seam: the cut disappears in the seam, whereas a bulging carrier shows under gloss varnish from every angle. The whole model is finally unified with a semi-matte overcoat, which brings the edges of the carriers level with the surrounding paint.