Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

AIRCRAFT

SCALE & KIT

1/48 Tamiya Model Kit

MODELER

René Van Der Hart

HISTORY

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 pounds (1,103 kg). When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons (tonnes) making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was also used by two U.S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the World War II European and Pacific theaters.

The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U.S. also flew the P-47.

The armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable and the bubble canopy introduced on the P-47D offered good visibility. A present-day U.S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, takes its name from the P-47.

MODEL REVIEW

This time l’d like to show Tamiya’s wonderful 1/48 P-47D. It took about less than a week to build from start to finish. Such an easy kit to build with fantastic fit and engineering.
The Modeler wanted this plane to look very well used with chipped invasion stripes on wings and fuselage.
The plane was painted it in Alclad polished aluminium over a black primer from Alclad, masked the parts for painting, put a bit of water with a brush on the places the paint needed to be chipped and sprinkled salt on those spots. After painting, the salt was wiped off and presto, chipped paint effect.
The kit decals are as perfect as the kit itself. Even the checkers on the nose go on without a problem.