This all started when I just had to have a P-47 Bubble Top. I don't know what it is but something about these just grabs me.
So I grabbed a 1/72 Academy P-47D Bubble Top for cheap and if that box art doesn't grab you, nothing will.
What's inside the box might grab you too. This is a very nicely detailed kit with some neat extras as the sprues show.
My only criticism is that this kit isn't designed to be built "gear up" but having faced this challenge in
a prior build of their P-47 Razorback, I knew how to work around that.
Except for the landing gear, I was looking forward to a nice, simple project. I always wanted to see a navalized P-47 in a North Atlantic scheme and I figured this would be a breeze. Well, it's the simple things that get you sometimes. While the build went smoothly, I had to completely re-do the paint job because I spilled glue attaching the canopy. Then the prop kept coming off in the touch-up phase and it was crazy squirrel time until the stars finally aligned and allowed me to call it done.
The old hairy stick was loaded up with acrylics for that North Atlantic scheme, Model Masters White Primer and Light Sea Gray. The Canopy was tinted on the inside with Insignia Blue. The prop was done in Flat Black and Insignia Yellow with an Aluminum shaft & spinner.
The inside of the cowling was done with Polly Scale Weyerhauser Green filling in for zinc chromate. The engine hub and cylinders were painted with custom mixes as were the guns. I added a bit of light dry-brushed exhaust staining and I gave the tail hook some wear with a wash.
Decals were a mix. Those lovely mid-1943 red-surround stars-and-bars come from a 1/72 P-59 Airacomet (thanks, Bill!) and the codes are spares Mr Gimper generously sent. The Habakkuk squadron logo is a defaced badge from spares as are the belly landing lights.
Before I forget, here's a couple of "money shots" with a U.S. penny for scale.
I hoped to build this as a quick "slammer" but a bunch of goofs, weather too cold for modeling and a host of other things got in the way. Still it only took me about eight evenings of bench time all told to put this together.
I hope you enjoyed the Republic F1R-4-7 Navy Thunderbolt Habakkuk fighter and reading a little more forgotten aircraft history even if the so-called "experts" haven't exactly warmed to the whole thing.
Brian da Basher