Thundercals 48-006: ETO Thunderbolts part 1

This is Thundercals' sixth sheet hand it provides options for five ETO aircraft. Most of these are in camouflage with a nice mixture of razorback and bubbletop aircraft. These are designed for the 1/48 Tamiya kit, but could fit others with a bit of fudging.

The Initial offering is a razorback with invasion stripes with the 387 FS/ 365 FG in June 1944. This plane is in OD.Neutral grey with the white forward cowling and white tail bands. It has a Curtiss-Electric prop. Turnip Termite has a fairly nice tally of mission markings.

Next three are all from the 84 FS/78 FG. Here one has to be careful. Two different sets of checks are provided for the cowling. These have to be properly assembled and you are provided full instructions with photos on just how to do it. Not shown is a small sheet of 'spares'.

Initial offering is 'No Guts No Glory from September 1944. This is in RAF dark green/sky grey. Invasion stripes only on the lower surfaces. Hamilton Standard prop.

'Ozark Queen is from the summer of 1944. It also has a Hamilton Standard prop with invarion stripes on the lower surfaces. This one is in OD/Neutral grey.

'Snafu' is a razorback in OD/neutral grey and you can do it either with full invasion stripes or with the partial ones. This aircraft has an unpainted canopy frame. It also has the asymmetrical Curtiss Electric prop.

The final option is a razorback that has been stripped of its paint save for the anti-glare panel. 'Ma Cherie was with the 336 FS/365 FG in Nov-Dec 1944. It also sports a Hamilton Standard prop.

The instructions are very helpful and in addition to info on the schemes, offers help with the stripes and checkers. A full data placement guide is also provided, though not all planes will need all the data.

This is a superb set for the T-bolt fan and very much worth picking up.

It has been pointed out that those planes in the 78th FG that were bare metal were undoubtedly re-painted with RAF colors as little in the way of US paints were available in theater. Factory painted P-47s tended to have a wavy demarcation line that swept up to the leading edge of the tailplane. It is up to you to decide if the OD/Neutral Grey planes were actually painted in RAF colors or not.

October 2019

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