blkbird

I am in the planning stages of a Giant Scale P-47 Razorback build in either 1:5 or 1:6 scale. I want to reproduce a Tuskeegee Airmen's "Red Tail"as a tribute to their achievements and plan to use a G.I. Joe for the pilot.

I have put together a preliminary package and would appreciate any feedback. They include the following:

(1) Top Flite GS P-47 kit
(2) A ZDZ 80 or Saito FG57T engine
(3) Airtronics SD-10G radio w/ three Airtronics 94746 servos & seven 94755's.
(4) Robart Retracts 622-P47 for the front & either Robart's 160LWC or Century Jet's retracts for the tail.

This will be my first GS build and I want to build from a kit not plans so chose the TF GS kit. If there is a better choice in terms of ease of build, scale and flying I am open to suggestions. Engine, radio & retracts choice are also flexible as I presume it depends on which kit I finally choose.


Thanks for any assistance you may provide!!!

91zulu

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Here are a few other choices.

http://www.kitcutters.com/Vai/VaiP47Thunderbolt.htm

http://www.meister-scale.com/Thunder...underbolt.html

http://www.precisioncutkits.com/instock.html

All depends on your building skill. Also look at the Ziroli kit. The Meister is an easy build with oppositional glass parts , but its very big.

rwright142

Here's a website dedicated the the red tail project, but these are P-51s not P-47s:
http://www.redtail.org/airmen.html

blkbird

That's why I am reluctant to deal with plans. This will be my first GS build. I have modelling skills but want to tackle a fairly simple straight forward project for my first build. Which kit do you think will fit the bill??

prop wash

Go for the Top flite kits,very good kits and you can go as scale as much as you want. Tom

Warbird Man

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The Topflite P-47 is an excellent chioce for a first time GS warbird.

Although, ( and someone correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think the Tuskeegge airmen ever flew P-47s in combat.

rwright142

The term "Red Tail" actually started with their P-47s. FYI, the Airmen initially were equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, briefly with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944), and finally the fighter group acquired the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944).
When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47's red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined.

Here's a picture of Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., commander of the Tuskegee Airmen 332nd Fighter Group, in front of his P-47 Thunderbolt in Sicily:

Warbird Man

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Well there you have it. I stand corrected. My bad

That's the first I've ever heard or seen of this. Interesting.

Ram-bro

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here are a few pics . I am also doing the P47, already have the P51 done

mugenkidd

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Here's a couple of tuskegee diecast that I have. I did a semi scale version of the P-51 with a WM giant mustang (see my gallary) and was thinking that the ARC Top-Flite P-47 would be an excellent choice for a Tuskegee P-47. Please keep us updated on this project, you may have given me some motivation!!

Experten109/40

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group photo

Ram-bro

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Mugen, good to see you still out there. That is the P47 I plan onmodeling to go along with my P51B

91zulu

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When you say you have modeling skills what do you mean?

Let me put it this way , if you ever built a Sig or Direct connection kit you can tackle any of the designers above. Because those were builders kits. Now If you are an ARF, Great Planes, TF person then they CAN be a challenge for you. TF and Great Planes are basically puzzles you put together with the help of great instructions that tells you where every piece go. In that case go with TF. Also you have tons of help on this site where TF is concern.

ROGER RUSSELL

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Can you direct me to where I can get a DIE CAST of the P47?

Thanks

mugenkidd

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Roger I got it quite a few years ago. I have no idea where I finally found the P-47. I either searched on google and found a website or got it on Ebay. I'm thinking that I got it off of a diecast website though. I purchased those two and the commerative tuskegee F-16 diecast all about the same time, from various sources.

Ram-bro and Tom how's it going!! I'm still around just doing more with my jets than warbirds now a days. Good to see the same familiar screen names here on RCU!!

WhoDaMan

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Hi Michael
I was planning on doing my Aerotech P-51 in this scheme, I think its the D model but not sure, Do you have any good web sights I might look at

Thanks, Dave

91zulu

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http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...26tbs%3Disch:1


Diecast red tail P47

91zulu

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Now see what you started blkbird, make me want to do another Jug.

Shaun Evans

Hi,

Congrats on the project. I had the honor of knowing Dennis Beckton, who was a Tuskeegee Knight in bombers. He lived here in San Diego and used to build for other people, so I had him frame up my Dynaflite Spit and a Royal P-38. He was fast and cheap, but he did things his own way...regardless of how you said you wanted it done! He used wood glue, too! He didn't 'believe in' C.A. or kicker...

I would go over to his shop and listen to his stories for hours and hours. His wife would finally come down there and boot me so he'd go to bed. He had pictures of things you only WISHED you could see in history books. He was on a base when they hosted Joe Louis, and although the boxer was only a PFC (I think), all of the officers (including the Black ones) were habitually rendering their salutes first, as though he were Eisenhower himself. He showed me a picture he took of a little hole in the fabric-covered stab of some airplane that the boxer stuck his thumb through, apparently amazed that it was just cloth.

As you can imagine, all of Mr. Beckton's models (whether they were fighters or not) had the T.A. markings and the silly Williams Brothers plastic pilots with a really dark brown paint on the face. I miss those days of visiting him and sitting wide-eyed and silent while he told stories of WWII as though he were recounting something that had happened the day before.

Good luck with your project, and I'm looking forward to seeing it come to fruition. I'd steer clear of the CJM gear, though! Lots of threads about that.

ROGER RUSSELL

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Thanks
Although DICONTINUED, I can get some info on what the bottom looked like, etc..

IF to any DOCUMINTAION it does not look like any NOSE ART, etc........
Just what I am looking for, something different and something easy.

THANKS

rwright142

You're welcome to check out my P-47 pictures I took while visiting a local Thunderbolt. They are here:
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u...right142/P-47/

redtail

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Looking forward to carefully watching your build. The RedTails have been a very important part of my life. I am currently building a large scale "DAWG" and a Charlie Kellogg TBM Avenger on the WarBird thread. One day, I too hope to build a "RedTail" only I want to do a P-51B or a P-47 Razorback. Enjoy the build, I will certainly enjoy learning and watching your build. Chic White

prop wash

Hi again Mike!!
Yellow I wish that I could have been there with you.How lucky you are.
Tom

vallawyer

Get teh easytiger arf.  I have one, and I love it.  Then you can paint it the way you like.  They also have a P-51b.  I think you can order plain white if you want.

blkbird

LOL .