1/32 Hasegawa Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

Gallery Article by Steve Negley on Apr 10 2012

 

 

I was commissioned by a gentleman to do this project whose Uncle was a pilot in the 79th F.G., 85th F.S. in the MTO in the later part of WW II.  He was KIA over Italy after being engaged by some Luftwaffe FW-190's.  After the project was started it was learned the P-47D he was actually flying was the Razorback version of the P-47D but it was decided to go ahead with the project because had his Uncle survived this engagement he certainly would have eventually flown the bubble top version of the P-47D.  One of the most gratifying parts of my hobby is presenting an accurate and detailed piece of history to a member of our armed forces or to a family member of someone who served.  The 8th and 9th Air Forces got so much of the publicity in Europe you don't really hear or read to much about the Air Forces in the MTO, but these guys were just as much in the mix of it all as anybody, certainly just as many paid the ultimate price. 

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This 1/32 scale P-47 by Hasegawa is just a piece of engineering and mold making marvel.  I built this model literally out of the box with only a few added details and I don't make that claim very often in my model making especially when the model is 1/32 scale, but the model fit together perfectly and the only sanding was just to remove the adhesive off the seams. I just couldn't seem to find any faults with this kit at all. 

Enjoy the photos.

Steve Negley

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Photos and text © by Steve Negley