1:48 P-47B Thunderbolt propeller, engine (P&W R-2800) & engine hood for Dora Wings kit

The heaviest single-seat fighter of the war

Republic built an airframe around the eighteen-cylinder radial such that the turbocharger and meters of ducting leading to it would fit into the rear part. The B version was the first production form and weighed a full seven tons, which made it a heavyweight among single-seat machines. Pilots complained about the rate of climb, but in a dive nobody got away from it, and the eight machine guns in the wings left nobody in any doubt.

The contents of the replacement

The set covers the whole nose: a propeller cast blade by blade, the front radial with its cylinders and fins, the ring of cooling gills and the outer cowling. In injection-molded plastic it is precisely the ring of cylinders that is the weakest point, because the engraving between the fins cannot be got into the mold without an undercut.

Two sources in one package

The engine itself is drawn from the real unit, so its shape does not depend on the box. The cowling around it, however, is designed to follow the outline of the fuselage of the kit named. In one bag there therefore lies a piece derived from the machine and a piece derived from the plastic, and it is the second that decides where the set can be used. That is why the name of the kit maker is not a dispensable detail.

Notes on the build

Glue the ring of gills on only after the paint has dried, otherwise paint gets into its gaps and the gaps disappear. Leave the propeller free to turn by not gluing the shaft but securing it with a drop of wax. Pick out the cylinders with a dark glaze and then go lightly over the edges with a dry brush carrying a trace of silver, so that the metal rubbed bare in service stands out.