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Kit
No: 1221 Decal options: 2 (USAF) Comments: The usual minor T-Bolt errors but the kit has lots of detail and you get a lot of plastic for your money. |
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Academy
- 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt
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| A natural follow from their highly acclaimed P-47N from a couple years
back, Academy's new P-47D has updated sprues for the fuselage and wing to
depict the standard 'bubbletop' version of the 'Jug' as well as new decals.
L.D Yon's superb artwork graces the lid and the plastic inside is no disappointment
either - five light grey sprues, moulded in a hard styrene, fill the box
and feature sharp detail and superb recessed panel lines.
Like the P-47N kit, the wings are moulded in separate left and right halves, top and bottom. Originally, I didn't like this idea - though it presented no real problems in construction - but having juggled with the one-piece lower wing on the Hasegawa T'Bolt, I actually now prefer Academy's approach. Like the P-47N kit, the wings also feature some interior gun bay detail and separate access covers which is a nice touch. Other new parts include a pair of spoked wheels, the 'flat' 200 gallon belly tank and a one-piece 13' Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller. The rest, including the cockpit - which was always more applicable to 'D' - and weapons sprue are carried over from the P-47N kit, the latter providing a pair each of 500 and 1000lb bombs, 75, 150 and 180 gallon drop tanks, ten HVAR 5 inch rockets and a two 4.5 inch rocket launchers. Careful research should help you chose a warload appropriate to the aircraft you are modelling. The kit does have a couple of weak spots. Unlike the old Monogram and recent Hasegawa kits, Academy split their cowling in two halves which makes for some awkward seam filling and filing on the inside. The intercooler doors by the engine are also moulded solid and need cutting out and replacing with plastic or brass sheet for a better effect. The printing of the decals too fails to live up to the quality of the rest kit, though the choices are interesting - 'Eileen',an Olive Drab/Neutral Grey bird of then 84th FS, 78th FG - and 'Rabbit', an overall natural metal T'Bolt of the 527th FS, 86th FG. As the aftermarket sector is awash with P-47D sheets, finding other alternatives isn't hard. But these are small matters as the kit captures the brutish lines of the Thunderbolt and falls together relatively easy. Comparisons to the Hasegawa 'D' are inevitable - they both have their strengths and weaknesses - though the Academy kit has the edge when it comes to price. After having seemingly come off the rails a little with their hit-and-miss Spitfires and Hunters, it's good to see Academy back on track with this kit. The breakdown of parts leave the option of adding a 'razorback' T'Bolt to their range in the future - here's hoping. Well detailed and easy to build, Academy's P-47D gives you a lot of
plastic for your money. |
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