Aviprint 1/72 Francis Gabreski P-47s

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Most aftermarket decal sheets provide markings for a wide range of subjects, with the common theme being mainly the aircraft type. This sheet, while maintaining the aircraft type category, narrows it even further and provides markings for just one pilot throughout his Thunderbolt career. There are few more famous Jug pilots than Francis Gabreski, and those interested in WW2 modeling probably have toyed with the idea of building one of his P-47s. With this sheet, you have no less than eight choices to work from, so if you have been thinking of building a Gabreski Jug, you now have no excuses left.

Razorback, bubbletop; camouflaged, natural metal: they’re all here. Starting at the beginning the first Jug is a P-47D-1, 42-7871. Coded HV-A, it carries all the standard markings used by the P-47 at that time: white cowling, white bands on the tailplanes, and red outlined national insignia. Gabreski achieved 2 kills in this aircraft in September of 1943. It was damaged by flak a month later, and after repair Gabreski got his sixth kill in this plane.

The second aircraft was the loaner Gabreski used while the above aircraft was being repaired. As it was a loaner, it did not carry his HV-A codes, but was rather coded HV-F. It was a P-47D-5, 42-8458, and it had the blue outlined national insignia. Three more kills in this aircraft made Gabreski an ace. Other than the national insignia, the basic finish is the same as the previous aircraft.

Number three in this long list is a P-47D-11, 42-75510. Returning to the HV-A code, this plane carries eight kill markings, and in January of 1944 it still had the white cowling and white tail bands. However, in February of 1944, this changed, presenting option number four. The white bands were painted over with olive drab (neutral gray on the undersides of the stabilizers), and the cowling was painted red, along with the rudder. The kill tally has crept up to 14 now, presented in a scoreboard under the canopy.

Removing the camouflage brings us to the fifth choice. Still a razorback, this is a P-47D-22, 42-25864. Gabreski flew both the above P-47D-11 and this aircraft at this time (May of 1944), and the scoreboard on this aircraft had 19 victories. The black HV-A codes are outlined in red, and the red cowl and rudder markings remain.

By the end of May, 1944, Gabreski made the change to the bubbletop P-47. This aircraft, number six in the lineup, is finished in natural metal, with the requisite red rudder and cowling, along with black bands on the tailplanes. There is some question as to whether the fuselage codes were just black, or black with red outlines. The scoreboard stands at 22 with this aircraft, a P-47D-25, 42-26418.

Rounding the last corner and heading down the home stretch, the seventh choice says goodbye to natural metal and hello to D-Day invasion stripes. The same aircraft as before, it now has the upper surface camouflaged in a random pattern, most likely using RAF Dark Green and Ocean Gray. The undersides are a bit more challenging, as it could either have been Medium Sea Gray or left in the original natural metal. The invasion stripes at the end of June 1944 are complete, wrapping entirely around the wings and fuselage. The scoreboard stands at 27 victories. The tail serial number is now in yellow, with significant overspray over the edges of where the mask lay.

The final example depicts the same aircraft, 42-26418, as it appeared when Gabreski crash landed in German territory and was taken prisoner. The invasion stripe had been painted over on the upper surfaces, and the scoreboard is complete at 28 victories.

Out of all eight of these options, this decal sheet provides complete markings to allow you to build five. By sourcing some of the generic markings such as national insignias, and scrounging for additional victory flags, you could build all eight, giving you an incredible collection of Gabreski Jugs. The decals are beautifully printed, although on this sample there are some omissions. For a couple of the scoreboards, there are missing pieces. The clear film is there, but the actual decal is not. Hopefully Aviprint has caught this and in other releases it is corrected. Overall, though, this is a great decal set and will go well with a stack of Tamiya P-47s. My thanks to Eduard for the review sample.