Introduction
The P-47D-11-RE Thunderbolt was an early "razorback" variant of the American World War II fighter-bomber, known for its formidable firepower, ruggedness, and versatility. The "-RE" suffix indicates that it was manufactured at the Republic Aviation factory in Farmingdale, New York.
General characteristics
Engine: Like all P-47s, the D-11 was built around the powerful, turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine. Its turbo-supercharger system gave it excellent high-altitude performance for bomber escort missions.
Airframe: The P-47D-11 featured the original "razorback" canopy design, with a high fuselage spine behind the pilot. This was before the introduction of the later "bubble canopy" models, which provided better rearward visibility.
Durability: The rugged construction and air-cooled engine of the Thunderbolt allowed it to absorb heavy battle damage and still return to base, earning the trust of its pilots.
Review
This offering from MiniArt in 1/48th scale arrives in a cardboard tray with a separate card lid. Inside is a single plastic bag that contains all of the sprues. The photo etch and decals are placed inside a plastic bag with the instruction booklet. An examination of the parts reveals no obvious moulding issues, on what are very detailed parts. This is one of those models where breaking parts during removal is of a very high risk, despite having generally good access. However, with that said, some of the detailed mouldings have required a large number of gates that will require great care during removal. However, if you are careful, you have a very good chance of ending up with a visually appealing model.
With this release being an advanced kit, the detail is stepped up from the standard model. The seat alone is made up of no less than 12 parts, if you count both photo etch and plastic, and this t=gives you some idea of just how detailed this release is. The cockpit itself is built into a tub, with a very high degree of detail all around the pilot, which is not included in this release. The instrument panel is finished off well using colour call outs and decals for the instruments themselves.
Once you have constructed the cockpit tub, the fuselage of the model can be closed up, and makes you realise just what a formidable sized aircraft the P-47 was and is for a fighter of it’s time, and why it earnt the nickname of the juggernaut. An exceptionally detailed engine is included in this release utilising both plastic and photo etched parts, showing this detail in both banks of the radial engine pistons and the supporting cabling and injectors that feed those pistons. You also have detailed mounts for securing the engine to the model. The gearbox for the engine, which is the small coned portion at the front, has not been forgotten and is also very nicely detailed. Once attached to the fuselage, you realistically need to be thinking about weather you want to show all this engine detail off, as it will depend on how your build progress goes from here. You do have a further option of building the engine and installing it within the model using a basic assembly rather than the more advanced detailed offering also included. If you wish to show the engine off, and so have the cowlings open, this will make painting the model a challenging task.
The undercarriage of the model is another area where MiniArt has pulled out the stops, and I can almost argue that it is one of the best detailed undercarriage bays straight from the box, which as far as I can tell does not require any major additions. The legs struts also have nicely detailed options with the leg pistons having the option of being compressed or extended depending on how you wish to display the model - As you have different struts for each option. The tyres of the model, could be considered a weak spot, due to being moulded in 2 halves and so a seam-line will be present. “ tread patterned are provided within the kit, however the tyres are not weighted, and so that will need to be considered also. As a result, it maybe far less trouble to go down the resin replacement option for wheel replacement. Also in this release you have detailed machine gun bays, which are a nice aspects that could be easily displayed on the finished model - only requiring that the covers be placed during the overall painting and popped off to display the detail beneath. There are some nice suitably scaled ground crew figures that could be utilised with this release, that will give life to your finished model.
The flight surfaces of the model and the controls that are attached to them are provided as separate parts, and so can be placed as the modeller desires and while is some cases that flight surfaces in certain positions may not always be accurate is does make for an interesting look. Looking over all the external surfaces, the detail present as regards rivets and panel lines is truly stunning and does mark this release from MiniArt as a line of kits with exceptionally well detailed features. There are a number of after market offerings for this series of models, and I personally feel that weather you decided to add them or not, the potential for a very eye catching result really is down to your building and painting skills.
MiniArt has provided 3 finishing options for this release:
P-47D-11RE 42-75224 HV-0 “Pengie III” 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Airforce, May 1944 Pilot: Captain Boleslaw “Mike” Gladych
P-47D-11RE 42-75510 HV-A 61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Airforce, May 1944
Pilot: Major Francis Stanley “Gabby” Gabreski
Top ace of the European Theater: Gabreski achieved all of his 28 World War II aerial victories while flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt with the 56th Fighter Group of the U.S. 8th Air Force.
Prisoner of War: On July 20, 1944, after a strafing mission in Germany, Gabreski was forced to crash-land after his propeller blades struck the ground. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war until the end of the war.
Jet ace: Gabreski returned to combat in the Korean War, where he commanded the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing. Flying an F-86 Sabre, he achieved 6.5 victories against MiG-15 fighters, making him an ace for the second time.
Final commands: After the Korean War, Gabreski served in various leadership roles. His final command was the 52nd Fighter Wing at Suffolk County Airport, New York, which would later be renamed in his honour.
P-47D-11RE 42-75599 LM-G “Maximum Goose/Barbara Anne II” 62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Airforce, May 1944
Pilot: Lt William P. Gordon Jr
The last aspect of the kit, is that a large selection of drop tanks and bombs in 4 sizes are included and MiniArt has put a lot of effort into the stencil detail for these items as well as the model itself.