In April 2024, I decided to build a birthday present, for somebody whose B-day had already come-n-gone!  It was finally finished by mid-November 2024!

Shenanigans part-1:

Shenanigans part-2:

Shenanigans part-3:

Can I use original made in U.S.A. parts to fix the made in China parts, how about some pancakes?:

Why do I have so many P-47 kits?:

The brother of my Great Uncle, Lloyd Hutchins,  is the birthday girl-Jenny’s Great Grand Father O.G. Hutchins.  I found color film of Lloyd Hutchins’ U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) unit, the 365th Fighter Group (FG, of the 9th USAAF)/386th Fighter Squadron (FS) Hell Hawks:

Great Uncle gets into trouble:

Whoa, whose side are they on?:

It’s working:

More warpage:

More bits:

While my motivation for a full-size file-cabinet stuffed full of P-47s is related to my relative, the markings for the birthday build are based on the gift receiver’s name: Jenny. The decals came from Eagle Strike’s (Cartograf) Early Birds of the 353FG Thunderbolts, #48171, welcome to decal hell:

P-47D 42-76280 ‘Jenny’ was flown by Lieutenant Chauncy Rowan of the 353rd FG/350th FS (of the 8th USAAF), from 1943-44.  In May 1944 Rowan became a prisoner of war (PoW), and accused by the Germans of shooting at civilians.  More decal hell:

As good as it’s going to get, whose got the best prop? Part-1:

Best props, Part-2:

Anorexic pilots and the magic of clear flat spray paint:

Finally! Be careful with that clear spray paint:

Another gift build: Airfix Birthday Bomber

1949-50 Mercury: Joker’s wild neon Gotham City cop car!