Zotz Decals Gerald “Jerry” Johnson, Ace of the PTO has Arrived!

[Dennis7423]

All-

 

@Eli Raphael and I are pleased to tease the next release from Zotz Decals, a sheet that we’ve been really excited to put together for some time. This sheet, which will be released in 1/32 and 1/48, will cover the aircraft from Pacific Theater Ace Gerald R. “Jerry” Johnson, featuring his P-39D, P-38F, P-38H, two different P-47D’s, P-40N, and three different P-38L’s. In all, you’ll be able to depict 10 different aircraft using the sheet, covering the combat career of 22-kill ace Gerald R. Johnson from Adak, Alaska in 1942 through the end of the war. Never before have Gerald Johnson’s aircraft been depicted in kit or decal form, so it’s our pleasure to bring these to you! With help from several experts in the field, we feel we’re delivering an accurate, well-researched sheet that will be warmly welcomed by the model building community. A special shout out to Nathan Howland at HowdiColour Image Recovery and Colour for his collaboration on this sheet, as seen below.

 

More to come as the decals and profiles are completed and we move closer to the release!

 

 

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

Edited November 1, 2023 by Dennis7423

[firefly7]

A nice one, I'm very very happy that you guys are back in the game. 

[petrov27]

oh wow sign me up for this one! 

 

Curious - will his P-40N be included?

Edited September 5, 2023 by petrov27

[Eli Raphael]

17 minutes ago, petrov27 said:

oh wow sign me up for this one! 

 

Curious - will his P-40N be included?

All the a/c that he flew! Yes on the 40

[Dennis7423]

34 minutes ago, petrov27 said:

Curious - will his P-40N be included?

 

Thanks for catching my omission! I have amended the original post. Oops!

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[LSP_Ray]

Wow! Been trying to find the markings of his aircraft forever! Will you be including his aircraft with the scoreboard including the New Zealand flag for shooting down a Boomerang or Wirraway (I think)? I could never find the aircraft number.

[D.B. Andrus]

Any other scales besides 1/32?

 

Thanks,

Damian

[Dennis7423]

It will include the aircraft featuring his RAAF Boomerang kill. And these will be released in 1/32 and 1/48.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[JeepsGunsTanks]

That's really neat. It's a little Sad Jerry's planes have never been modeled, he was one of the studs of the 5th Air Force.  There is a great book about him called Jungle Ace, by John Bruning.  

[D.B. Andrus]

9 hours ago, JeepsGunsTanks said:

That's really neat. It's a little Sad Jerry's planes have never been modeled, he was one of the studs of the 5th Air Force.  There is a great book about him called Jungle Ace, by John Bruning.  

 

He's also featured in Brunig's fascinating book, Race of Aces, pub. 2020, along with Tom Lynch, Tom McGuire, Dick Bong, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and others. This book has certainly increased my appreciation of the desperate struggle in the skies of the SWPA in WW II. Have been so long focused on the war in Europe that I've completely overlooked other highly interesting areas of operation. The positive impact the P-38 had in the Pacific campaigns cannot be overstated, which is an eye-opener for me. My father was in flight school Class 43F and he and his classmates thought the P-38 was the cats pajamas....now I better understand why. Certainly wish Tamiya would introduce their P-38 series in 1/32, but until then I'll have to be satisfied with the 1/48 versions.

 

Thank you, Eli and Dennis, for your work on Johnson's a/c. I hope the sets are successful enough to enable you to cover some other SWPA aces as well.

 

Cheers,

Damian

 

[gaddied]

SWEET!!!!

[LSP_Ray]

14 hours ago, JeepsGunsTanks said:

That's really neat. It's a little Sad Jerry's planes have never been modeled, he was one of the studs of the 5th Air Force.  There is a great book about him called Jungle Ace, by John Bruning.  

Great book! Sad that he survived the fighting, only to die on a shuttle flight to Japan when their B-25 flew into a typhoon. He was being groomed to be a high-ranking officer due to his leadership skills.

Interesting how he learned to out-turn zeros by modulating his throttle between the two engines.

[Dennis7423]

21 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

Great book! Sad that he survived the fighting, only to die on a shuttle flight to Japan when their B-25 flew into a typhoon. He was being groomed to be a high-ranking officer due to his leadership skills.

Interesting how he learned to out-turn zeros by modulating his throttle between the two engines.

 

Unashamedly, reading Race of Aces was most of our impetus for making this sheet. We already had respect for Jerry Johnson based on his accomplishments, but getting to know him and his combat abilities by reading that book, really endeared him to us. An incredible pilot, and sounded like a standup guy, too. It's time to do him justice in our modeling community.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[JeepsGunsTanks]

8 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

 

He's also featured in Brunig's fascinating book, Race of Aces, pub. 2020, along with Tom Lynch, Tom McGuire, Dick Bong, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and others. This book has certainly increased my appreciation of the desperate struggle in the skies of the SWPA in WW II. Have been so long focused on the war in Europe that I've completely overlooked other highly interesting areas of operation. The positive impact the P-38 had in the Pacific campaigns cannot be overstated, which is an eye-opener for me. My father was in flight school Class 43F and he and his classmates thought the P-38 was the cats pajamas....now I better understand why. Certainly wish Tamiya would introduce their P-38 series in 1/32, but until then I'll have to be satisfied with the 1/48 versions.

 

Thank you, Eli and Dennis, for your work on Johnson's a/c. I hope the sets are successful enough to enable you to cover some other SWPA aces as well.

 

Cheers,

Damian

 

 

I was thinking about mentioning that book as well! It is a fascinating read. It really helped bring these men to life. I'm going to have to reread it!   Since I started reading about the Pacific a few years back, really digging into the Solomon Islands campaign, and how the Corsair was used there, the Pacific became my thing. One of the biggest influences was General Kenney's Reports, his book about the war. While not exactly fully accurate, it is a great look into the way they saw things while they were going on.  You can download it here. Kenney is my favorite Air Force General. He just had character, and the 5th Air Force did amazing things on a tiny budget.  I mean, come on, how can you not love a guy who came up with special teams to load and unload cargo aircraft at high rates to maximize loading and unloading speed. He even came up with a way to cut up trucks to fit them in C47s, and fly them out to forward areas!  I had to go buy his book on Bong and Pappy Gunn when I found out about them, and man, what a shame Pappy went the way Johnson did.  

 

The 8th Air Force seems so mundane in comparison! 

 

As to how important the P-38 was to the PTO, I think General Kenney convinced them to keep it in production!  The story goes, Bill Knudsen, the former head of GM, was doing a tour of the Pacific, and mentioned to Kenney the P-38 was slated to have production stopped in 1944. Kenney explained why the P-38 was so well-liked and important in the Pacific, and Bill assured him the P-38 would stay in production. Knudens was another one of those Iconic men, whose contribution was huge, and is now mostly forgotten. Bill had to fix Willow Run, it had so many issues and was not producing B-24s very fast. He also stepped in and helped Boeing get the B-29 program under control. 

 

I would pre-order a Tamiya P-38 right now, maybe two! 

 

3 hours ago, LSP_Ray said:

Great book! Sad that he survived the fighting, only to die on a shuttle flight to Japan when their B-25 flew into a typhoon. He was being groomed to be a high-ranking officer due to his leadership skills.

Interesting how he learned to out-turn zeros by modulating his throttle between the two engines.

 

He was an amazing young man and pilot for sure, and he stood out as also being a good officer and leader.  

 

[Eli Raphael]

23 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

 

He's also featured in Brunig's fascinating book, Race of Aces, pub. 2020, along with Tom Lynch, Tom McGuire, Dick Bong, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and others. This book has certainly increased my appreciation of the desperate struggle in the skies of the SWPA in WW II. Have been so long focused on the war in Europe that I've completely overlooked other highly interesting areas of operation. The positive impact the P-38 had in the Pacific campaigns cannot be overstated, which is an eye-opener for me. My father was in flight school Class 43F and he and his classmates thought the P-38 was the cats pajamas....now I better understand why. Certainly wish Tamiya would introduce their P-38 series in 1/32, but until then I'll have to be satisfied with the 1/48 versions.

 

Thank you, Eli and Dennis, for your work on Johnson's a/c. I hope the sets are successful enough to enable you to cover some other SWPA aces as well.

 

Cheers,

Damian

 

Bob De Haven and Bob Paris P-38's will later be also done. We have new color research done by Nathan Howland, that will amaze all of you!