1/72 Academy P-47D Thunderbolt

by Billy Calzada "Billbuccaneer"

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  Cinco de Mayo 2005 

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Mexico Air Force 201st Fighter Squadron, based on island of Luzon, Philippines, 1945. Flight Path photo etch sway braces, Aztec decals Mexican insignia, plus serial numbers and other decals created in Adobe Photoshop on a Macintosh computer, printed on inkjet. Fin fillet from card stock. I actually intended to depict a machine which carried the squadron's 'tulip' design on the cowl. After several failed attempts, I found, through internet research, pictures of one of the unit's planes which lacked the design. I used Model Master buffing aluminum plate for the finish. Weathering was done with chalk pastels and oil drips are diluted black enamel. The yellow bomb stripes were painted by mounted them on  my trusty black  and decker cordless screwdriver. As the bomb spun, I used a fine brush to apply the yellow paint.

The diorama consists of palm trees which I made using wood dowels, wrapped in twine and topped with greens from holiday potpourri. My lovely wife, Alicia, contributed breath for the spinning propeller. I made and dedicated this scene for my father, a U.S. Army Tech. Corporal Guillermo M. Calzada, WWII veteran of the South Pacific.

Billy

Photos and text © by  Billy Calzada