1:48 P-47D Bubbletop

When they cut the Thunderbolt's decking down

The Republic P-47D flew at first with a raised decking and a framed cockpit in which the pilot could practically not see to the rear. From the D-25 batch the airframe received a cut-down decking and a sliding teardrop canopy taken over from the British Typhoon. The difference was immediately apparent: all-round vision turned a heavy machine with a radial engine of over two thousand horsepower into an opponent that could defend itself even where it had previously only escaped in a dive. Modelers notice the new cockpit at once, because it changes the whole silhouette of the fuselage.

Escort as far as Germany

The teardrop Thunderbolts formed the backbone of the escort squadrons of the Eighth Air Force in 1944, before Mustangs replaced them on long-range missions. The best known of them, the 56th Fighter Group, was the only one in the formation to persevere with Thunderbolts to the end of the war and gathered the highest number of aerial victories. Half-inch machine guns in the wing could bring an opponent down with a single burst.

How to use the set

The material enclosed masks the outer surfaces of the sliding section and of the windscreen, so the framing stays crisp after spraying and free of overruns. Two separate masks serve for spraying the national insignia straight onto the skin, which looks more convincing than a decal and carries no risk of silvering under a clear coat.

The film peels off shortly after the paint has dried, when the edge is at its crispest. The box is an accessory to a kit; neither the model nor paints are in it. Fine-tipped tweezers and a sharp scalpel come in handy for the build in case one of the pieces stays stuck to the sheet.