Trust the P-47 for some great nose art. It has to be that monster cowling that makes it so nice a canvas, as some of the more interesting work is done on Republic cowlings. This sheet, designed for the Tamiya kits, has two planes on it.

First up is a P-47C-5 from the 334 FS/4 FG and named 'The Missouri Kit/Sho-Me'.  IT was flown by Ralph 'Kid" Hofer, one of the USAAF's more colorful aces. This is an early plane of his and is in OD/Neutral Grey with Red surround insignia. As a C model, it will require the builder to modify the kit a bit to backdate it.

The other is an all dark blue or even black upper with bare metal underside scheme. This 61 FS/56 FG P-47M has a red nose and red rudder to add some additional color to it. Make sure your kit has the additional fin fillet on it. The nose art is named 'Lorene' and since the background of the artwork is uncertain, a mask (which somehow missed my sample, but no worries) is supplied.

Insignia for both, data markings for one and white backgrounds for all the nose art. Due to its fragility, one has to take care cutting the noseart from the backing sheet. A spare is provided if needed.

As with all Cutting Edge products, the research is quite thorough and all that information is provided in with the decals to ensure that you have the most accurate presentation that is possible. These sheets are extremely limited to 300 copies so if you want it, you need to get it soon.

April 2005

Review copy courtesy of