Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Part 9

Lifelike Decals, 1/48 scale

S u m m a r y :
Catalogue Number:	LifeLike Decals Item No. 48049 - Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Part 9
Scale:	1/48
Contents & Media:	One full size and smaller sheet/s of waterslide decals; colour instructions.
Price:	Available on-line from these stockists:
	Stockist	Price
	Lifelike Decals	¥1,700
	Hannants	£11.99
Review Type:	First Look.
Advantages:	Clearly printed and in register; Detailed stencil data supplied; Excellent colour reference; Very high quality presentation.
Disadvantages:
Conclusions:	Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by Floyd S. Werner Jr.

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

The P-47 was a natural canvas for unit artists and this decal sheet just proves how colorful it could be. 

The decal set comes in a ziplock bag with two single sided A4 sheets of instructions in full color.  There is a half-page of stencil marking instructions as well.  On the instructions are the three marking options.  Two of the markings have markings for two different timeframes so there are actually five aircraft depicted. 

The decals themselves are perfect.  They are printed by Microscale and Cartograf.  Microscale prints the main sheets and Cartograf does the nose art.  Those two company’s are known for their thin and in register decals.  These are no exception.  Everything is beautifully rendered.  The main sheet has the markings and stencils.  The next sheet has the star and bars.  The smallest sheet contains all the nose art and the prop logos. 

The first subject is the famous ‘Little Chief’ of Lt. Frank Klibbe of the 56th FG.  There are actually two renditions of this aircraft shown on the sheet.  The first is without the white outline on the nose and rudder.  Later these area have a thin white stripe added.  These are represented as decals for those that don’t want to paint it, like myself.  Also the early style of kill markings as white outlines and the later full color kill markings are included.  The level of research that Lifelike does is remarkable.  They let you know when the red to the prop hub, wheels and white outlines were added.  How many other decal makers do that?  Not many. 

The third aircraft is a P-47D-30 flown by Col Frank Perego of the 368FG.  This ‘Slick Chick’ is a beautifully colored P-47.  Again there are two renderings of this aircraft during its history and markings are provided for both time frames.  The aircraft had a red nose and swoosh, as well as, a fillet that was painted red.  Cowl flaps were painted red and black.  The rudder on the later markings was red on the bottom.  A yellow tip to the fin and rudder adds even more color.  The early markings have the mission markings which add quite a bit of character to the aircraft.  The later markings had a red spinner, canopy framing, wing tips, horizontal stabilizers and lower rudder.  No matter which version you go with you can’t go wrong.  

The final aircraft on this sheet is another D-30 out of Italy in April 1945.  This aircraft has the bazooka tubes fitted under the wings.  This aircraft features unit nose art and a Vargas pinup below the cockpit, ‘The Reamer’.  The unit codes and the Red “A” on the tail makes for a unique looking P-47.  This particular D-30 did not have the aft fuselage fillet. 

I love the unique artwork on each aircraft as well as the research that went into them.  The world class printing just exemplifies the professional quality of these decals. These are another winner from Lifelike. 

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Lifelike Decals for these samples.

Text and Images Copyright © 2016 by Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Page Created 2 November, 2016
Last updated 2 November, 2016

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