P-47D Thunderbolt
Decal Sets

LPS Hobby, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a true classic and a justifiably popular modelling subject.  LPS Hobby’s latest three releases are pitched to take advantage of this fact.

Each set of decals comes in a zip-lock plastic bag. An A-5 sized header is printed in colour, as are the painting and decaling guides. These are I think ink-jet and have a matt finish. The instructions have quite a few useful notes on markings, as well as covering markings and stencil locations (The two USAF sets has a separate page covering stencil locations). The instructions are clear and thorough; giving the impression of being well researched. Colour call-outs use military colour names but not refer to FS-595 codes.

The decals are printed by Microscale and appear to be of excellent quality, with superb registration and what looks like good opacity. The sheets advise in each case that the sets are designed for use with the Tamiya P-47 kits. There are no decals that would be specifically sized for these kits, so obviously they will suit any brand of 1/72-scale P-47 kit.

Three subjects per sheet is fine as such, but LPS’s sheets are fairly small and lack sufficient national insignia and stencils to complete all three options. In the case of the USAAF set reviewed here, I do have to admit that there are more decals than is usual for a LPS release, but this is in part due to the additional national insignia worn by P-47’s on low-level missions. I feel that these sets are a rather expensive compared to brands with equivalent quality decals using the same size packaging, but offering either more subject choices and/or complete markings sets for each subject. I would still buy them because of the subject choices, but for the money I would like to be able to complete each subject without resorting to other decals sources for national insignia and stencils.

The Subjects

LPM72-15 “8th Air Force Thunderbolts Part 2”:

• P-47D-11-RE, 42-75242, 61 FS/56 FG, Halesworth, UK, 1944, as flown by Capt. Michael Quirk.

• P-47D-11-RE, 42-75572, 375 FS/361 FG, Martlesham Heath, UK, 1945, 'Isabel', as flown by Maj. Charles Keppler.

• P-47D-10-RE, 42-75120, 334 FS/4 FG, Debden, UK, 1944, 'Mike IV' as flown by Maj. Winslow Sobanski.

LPM72-16 “Malcolm Hood Thunderbolts”:

• P-47D-20-RE, 42-76594, 361 FS/356 FG, Martlesham, UK, 1944, 'Zombie' as flown by Capt. Ronald Upp.

• P-47D-22-RE, 42-26250, 509 FS/405 FG, St. Dizier, France, 1944, 'Turtle', as flown by Lt. Charles Dooney.

• P-47D-22-RE, 42-26261, 511 FS/405 FG, Zima, Italy, 1944, as flown by Lt. Walter Gabrowski.

LPM72-17 “RAF Aluminium Thunderbolts”

• P-47D-30-RE, KL315, 42 Sqn, AW-F, Burma, 1945, as flown by Sqn Ldr MM Soutter.

• P-47D-30-RE, KL339, 81 Sqn, FL-O, Java, 1946.

• P-47D-30-RE, KL-328, 73 Sqn OTU, 14, Egypt, 1945, as flown by Sqn Ldr DH Clarke.

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The quality of the decals in these sets appears to be excellent, and that obviously counts for a lot. The subject choices are also interesting and attractive, and appear to be well researched.
 
The sets are in my view a bit expensive compared to similar sized packages from other producers, and would offer more justifiable value if full sets of national insignia and stencils were included for each option.

Despite my concerns regarding value, the subjects and the decal quality would still tempt me to buy these sets. I’m happy to recommend them as value perception can vary widely amongst different people.

Recommended.

Thanks to LPS Hobby for this sample.

Text and Images Copyright © 2014 by Mark Davies
This Page Created on 5 May, 2014
Last updated 6 May, 2014

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