Hasegawa 1/72 P-47D Thunderbolt 'D-Day Markings'

Initially disliked by pilots due to its size and slow rate of climb, the P-47s ruggedness in combat along with its ability to easily dive won over crews to the extent that many were less than thrilled to transition to the Mustang. The only reason the type was able to do well against the Luftwaffe was in part due to US crew training and the lack of such by many of its opponents. Where the Thunderbolt really shone was in the ground attack mission. Where a single bullet could bring down a liquid cooled aircraft, P-47s were often able to return home with cylinders blown away from the engine.

The aircraft saw fairly large use with Allied nations in the last part of the war and well after the war was over, where it was popular with the smaller air forces that received it.

One of the first kits by Hasegawa to embrace the engraved panel line revolution of the early 1980s, the P-47 kit has held up rather well. This kit arrived from a major retailer with all the sprues out of the bag and some other issues mentioned later. Though not mentioned in the item description, the condition of the box and contents made it obvious this was a 'used' kit.

Typical of what you find even today on Hasegawa 1/72 kits, there are decals for the instrument panel and not much else in the way of detailing for the cockpit section. Sure, there is a seat and instrument panel, that that is about it. It is very much a transition kit and even includes a small plastic placard that were found in all the older kits.

The gear doors are not separate and need to be cut . There is no real wheel well detail either, aside from a retraction strut molded into the inside of the upper wing. The kit comes with a pair of bombs for the molded in wing racks, or you can use the cylindrical 'paper' drop tanks that were used in Europe. One issue with every Hasegawa 1/72 P-47 kit I've ever built is that there are fairly large sink areas on the rear of the wing along the aileron/flap hinge area. Easy to fix, but it shouldn't be there.

Instructions that I got with this kit from Kitlinx are those of the base boxing, which are not what should come with this kit. Not only that but the decal sheet is complete trash as it looks like it was stored above an engine exhaust so is unusable. The supplied decals are also the wrong ones and from a base boxing. To say I'm disappointed in what I got and that I'll never give my money to Kitlinx again would be about right. Fortunately, I have a fair number of aftermarket decals that I can use, but I certainly don't appreciate being scammed.