Overview
LPS Hobby has released a trio of new decal sheets aimed at the venerable Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Designed for the Tamiya kits, these decals offer markings for American and British subjects, camouflaged and natural metal, razorback and bubbletop, so there's something for everyone in this trio. Printed by Microscale, these decals feature good color density and overall high quality.
1/72 36th & 48th FG Thunderbolts
Starting with the American options first, this 1/72 sheet has two razorbacks and one bubbletop P-47. The first option is "Sandy", a razorback P-47D-22-RE, s/n 42-26010 from the 22nd FS, 36th FG at Le Culot, Belgium in November 1944. This plane features a red cowl and red canopy framing and is coded 3T-L. Next up is "Maj Mac", a bubbletop P-47D, s/n 42-28947 from the 23rd FS, 36th FG at Le Culot, Belgium in February 1945. This plane has a yellow cowl and fin, with the label "Easy's Angels" on the fin tip. Finally we have "Sweet Louise", a razorback P-47D-22-RE, s/n 42-25777 from the 492nd FS, 48th FG at Paris, France in June 1945. This plane has the front half of the cowl solid red and the remainder in red checks, as well as a red rudder.
1/72 RAF Thunderbolts in SEAC
The first British sheet looks at RAF Thunderbolts in Southeast Asia. Like the above sheet, this one provides two razorbacks and one bubbletop, with all three camouflaged in green and brown over gray. The first option is a Thunderbolt Mk I, HD173, a P-47D-22-RE, s/n 42-26228 from No 135 Squadron RAF at Chittagong, India from May 1944 to June 1945. This aircraft has a white A on the fuselage sides. The second razorback is HB975 and is also from No 135 Squadron RAF at Chittagong, India. This option has blue WK-L codes. The final option is a Thunderbolt Mk II, KJ194, a bubbletop P-47D-28-RE, s/n 44-19832 from No 134 Squadron RAF in Burma during 1944-45. This aircraft has a white serial on the fuselage and a blue serial on the tail, and white GQ-N codes.
1/48 British Thunderbolts
This sheet is a scale-up of their 1/72 sheet and offers one razorback and two bubbletops. The razorback is HD176 from 73 OTU based at Fayid, Egypt in late 1944. Camouflaged in gray and green over light gray, this plane features a playing card motif on the cowl and a white 36 on the rear fuselage. The second option is also from 73 OTU at Fayid, Egypt and is finished similarly with the card motif on the cowl. This plane is a bubbletop, though, and has a white 30 on the rear fuselage. The last option is a rather striking Thunderbolt Mk II from 73 OTU at Fayid, being finished in overall black with a red scalloped cowl front and red lightning bolt running down the fuselage side.
Conclusion
As noted, all three sheets are printed by Microscale and the quality reflects that. Coupled with the interesting subject matter and the fact that the decals are designed to fit the Tamiya kit, these decal sheets will make for simple yet colorful subjects for the build shelf. My thanks to LPS Hobby for the review samples.