Republic P-43 Lancer

Dora Wings, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Republic P-43 Lancer was a single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter aircraft built by Republic, first delivered to the United States Army Air Corps in 1940.

While not a particularly outstanding fighter, the P-43A had very good high-altitude performance coupled with an effective oxygen system.

Fast and well-armed with excellent long-range capabilities, until the arrival of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the Lancer was the only American fighter capable of catching a Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-46 "Dinah" reconnaissance plane at the speeds and heights at which they flew.

Lend-Lease P-43s were delivered to China through Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers. Pilots involved in the ferrying flights commended the P-43 for its good high-altitude performance compared to the Curtiss P-40, good roll rate, and a radial engine without a vulnerable liquid cooling system.

The USAAC considered the P-43 and its variants obsolete from the start and used them only for training purposes. In Autumn of 1942, all surviving USAAF (transitioned from USAAC in June 1941) P-43s were redesignated RP-43, indicating they were unfit for combat.

Most of the aircraft that were not sent to China were modified for photo-reconnaissance duties and used for training.

Eight P-43s (four P-43A-1s and four P-43Ds) were loaned to the Royal Australian Air Force in 1942 and served with No. 1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit. The RAAF flew many long range, high-altitude photo reconnaissance missions before the six survivors were returned to the USAAF in 1943.*

Lancer fans have been left in the lurch as far as 1/48 scale kits are concerned. As far as I am awre, the only 1/48 scale Lancer kit was Classic Airframes limited run offering from the previous century.

It was therefore very nice to see that Dora Wings has stepped up to bat with a brand new 1/48 scale Republic P-43 Lancer.

The kit comprises 116 parts in medium grey plastic, seven parts in clear, 14 photo-etched parts on a single fret, die-cut masks and decals for four marking options.

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Thumbnail panels:

Surface textures are made up mainly from very fine, recessed and consistent panel lines. Fabric texture on the control surfaces are subtly done with narrow raised rib tape depicted.

The cockpit comprises 16 plastic parts and a photo-etched instrument panel and harness straps.

The cockpit layout is not surprisingly very reminiscent of the P-47 Thunderbolt, although the instrument panel is very different. A decal is supplied for the instrument dials. An alternative solid plastic instrument panel is included too.

The engine is nicely detailed with two rings of pushrods, two sets of finely detailed cylinder banks and crankcase. The cowling is made up from four plastic parts plus two sets of photo-etched side cowl flaps.

The wings are made up from a full span upper and port and starboard lower parts. All control surfaces are separate parts and may be posed neutral or offset.

Each main undercarriage assembly includes separate retraction struts, oleo scissors, covers and two-piece wheels with radial tread pattern. A DF football housing is included, but is not required for any of the four marking options in this box. Parts for the photo-reconnaissance variant are not included either, but they will be offered in a future release.

Clear parts look good. The canopy is made up from three separate parts so you should be able to pose the centre section open.

Dora Wings has very thoughtfully included die-cut, self-adhesive canopy, window and wheel masks, which will save some time!

Moulding quality is very good, but being a limited run kit, you won't find little luxuries such as locting pins. Take a little extra time with preparation and test fitting before you apply glue.

Also, the sprue attachments extend onto the mating surfaces of the larger parts. This is good news because it means that the sprue attachments won't scar the visible outside surfaces, but it also means that you have to take care not to gouge out too much plastic when removing the waste.

Instructions are supplied on a 12-page, glossy booklet. There are 27 illustrated construction steps.

The marking guide is in full colour.

Markings

The decal sheet is printed by Decograph from Ukraine. The decals are satin in finish.

Registration and printing look good.

Markings are supplied for a four options, one in overall silver and the other three finished in Olive Drab upper surfaces and Neutral Grey below.

This is a nicely detailed kit and a worthy replacement for Classic Airframes' vintage 1/48 scale P-43 Lancer.

As a limited run offering, some modelling skills will be required for parts preparation and alignment, but I don't see anything at all scary here.

Dora Wings' 1/48 scale P-43 Lancer will be warmly welcomed by WWII US fighter fans

*Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia

Thanks to Dora Wings for the review sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by Brett Green
Page Created 24 August, 2020
Last updated 25 August, 2020

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