1:48 P-47D Razorback

The razorback Thunderbolt and glass you can see through from behind as well

The Republic P-47D in its early razorback form carried a raised deck behind the seat with side windows. The glazing therefore does not end with the sliding canopy but continues to the rear, and the modeler looks at the frames from outside and through them to the inside. It is for exactly that reason that it makes sense to deal with both sides of the clear part, not only the one the camouflage is laid on.

Razorback machines flew above all in 1943 over western Europe and their weak point was the view to the rear. Experience from those fights led to the teardrop canopy that later batches received.

The sheet contains two masks of the whole glazing, each time in a form for the outer as well as the inner face, and along with them a pair of masks for the national markings. The inside of the frames on American fighters was given interior green, the outside the olive finish of the upper surfaces. Without an inner mask that boundary cannot be led cleanly and every run of paint is visible through the clear plastic.

Procedure: degrease the part, stick the mask on from outside, overspray with the interior shade from inside, then cover the inner face and only at the very end lay on the top camouflage. After removal the frame stays sharp on both sides and the area of the glass completely clean.

The rear part of the deck calls for special attention: the windows behind the seat are small, they have narrow frames and covering them with tape by hand usually ends in a wavy edge. Die-cut film is faster as well as more precise in such a place.

The cut is calculated for the kit of the Hasegawa brand in this scale. The package contains neither the model nor paints; it is an accessory for a modeler who has the cockpit part-built.