Jean-Luc.
One of my reference books states that the 56FG "Bubbletops" were delivered to Boxted in NMF and painted there, so this would make your earlier photo the correct finish
Sorry its a late answer, it'll probably help future builders more than you as I guess youve already got the decals on

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Jean-Luc.
One of my reference books states that the 56FG "Bubbletops" were delivered to Boxted in NMF and painted there, so this would make your earlier photo the correct finish
Sorry its a late answer, it'll probably help future builders more than you as I guess youve already got the decals on

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Hi Nigel!

Yes, I'm afraid it's too late...



... but I will put the blame on you!

Jean-Luc

Actually its not too late as your P47 is a Razorback and would have most probably have been delivered in olive drab and is highly likely to be correct.

What colours did you use for the camouflage scheme?

My only complaint is that there is only one photo!,,Is a photo feature with plenty of closeups too much to ask for?

Jean-Luc, Ive found a photo which would make an interesting diorama for you.
It even features "your" P-47!,,so historically nobody would be able to dispute it

The spinning propeller does indeed look great - but I'd hate to be on any airfield with a P-47 left with the engine running, no wheel chocks and no pilot or ground personnel in sight!...

Did you manage to change the serial number?,,I cant quite see on the photos but it looks as though you got the correct one on.

Im actually thinking that my Halesworth Museum build might look nice on a Mark58 base

When will the magazine be published? Are you writing the text for the article as well, and where would I be able to get my hands on a copy?

Im very happy to have been able to help you out on the research Jean-Luc.

Hi again

I hardly dare ask, because it's the "elephant in the room" question! - but this is an S.I.G. - if Jean-Luc's "I Wanted Wings" was a P-47D-22, would the interior have more likely been Dull Dark Green? According to Squadron / D&S, only Curtiss used Chromate Green primer for their P-47Gs...

Cue sirens and flashing lights IQ-style ( a UK TV programme) as Stephen Fry grins smugly before he taunts the naive questioner and deducts 50 points!

All the best

Rowan

The subject of cockpit colours of the P-47 seems to have thus far defied conclusive analysis. Surviving P-47s and contemporary photos show a dark green shade in the cockpit, similar or possibly equal to Dull Dark Green. This is in contrast with the available Erection and Maintenance manuals which invariably call for green-tinted primer in cockpit areas.

The 1944 Erection and Maintenance Instructions covering P-47C, G and D state that "cockpits shall be finished with one coat of tinted zinc chromate primer to eliminate glare resulting from untinted primer." As can bee seen, the use of "tinted primer" is not consistent with the Dark Dull Green found in other evidence.

Perhaps an explanation is to be found in the formula of tinted primer given in the above manual. Nowhere in the above document is the tinted Zinc Chromate specified to match ANA Interior Green. Instead, the specifications include a rudimentary mixing formula, described as one gallon Black to one gallon Yellow Zinc Chromate primer. The formula is probably an error. If the intended colour was to be Interior Green, the document should have stated 1/10 gallon Black to 1 gallon Zinc Chromate, consistent with other Erection and Maintenance documents of the period.

A possibility remains that Republic followed the instructions to the letter, obtaining some sort of black-green colour for the cockpit areas. Other hypotheses claim that the colour used could be Bronze Green or Dull Dark Green. Another mystery.

Another conventional wisdom states that Curtiss-built P-47Gs differed from Republic-build P-47Ds by having Interior Green (actually, Curtiss Cockpit Green) in the cockpit and wheel well areas. However, this does not seem to be consistent with examination of wrecked P-47G parts, which show Dark Dull Green in the cockpit.

Since there were less than 200 P-47Gs made and they were only used for training in the US, this controversy is of limited interest to modellers, which would usually be interested in Republic-made Thunderbolts.

According to the Erection and Maintenance manuals, the fuselage decking under the bubble canopy of the P-47D from the windscreen to the area aft of the cockpit armour plating, was to be painted Dark Olive Drab 41, the same colour being specified for the anti-glare area of the forward fuselage. Armour plating was specified to the same colour as the interior finish of the cockpit.

Another yet unresolved mystery is the turtleback area beneath the rearmost cockpit window of the razorback versions. Many variants have been called for, but the most likely choices (based on the available contemporary colour photographs) are Olive Drab for the early camouflaged aircraft, and some kind of medium grey further down in the production.

According to factory instructions, the fuselage decking inside the canopy on bubbletop Thunderbolts was to be painted in Olive Drab, with the inside of the canopy framing in flat black. The rear armour plate in the cockpit was to be painted to match the cockpit interior colour.

Interiors of P47 aircraft cowlings were natural metal. The aluminium in this area was anodised giving a darker and very dull greyish appearance. The engine firewall was left unpainted. Engine mounts were primed in Zinc Chromate Green

How did you model the spinning propeller?

does the model itself wobble or move around at all when she is cranked up and running?

This is a build I'm doing for a French modelling magazine so I'm afraid it won't be an Aeroscale feature because of copyright. Once the project is finished, neither the model nore the pictures will be mine anymore.