Italeri P-47N Thunderbolt

[Smudge]

Hello Guys,

I was in my local model shop and on impulse picked up the 1/72 Italeri P-47N Thunderbolt. Mainly I think the nose art of '2 Big and too Heavy' suckered me in, but I was interested in the 'N' version as I didn't really know that much about it.

 

Reading a few reviews of the kit online, I think it is fair to say that it is not that well regarded. The main feature of the 'N' version over the 'D' appears to be the different, larger wing, with the squared off tips. I was surprised that when comparing the kit wings to my Revell 'D' that the span was about the same, as I was expecting something much larger. I did find some measurements online and I think the 'N' was only a couple of feet wider in wingspan. Is the Italeri kit wing an accurate rendition?

 

Also, the fillet in front of the fin seems to come in for some criticism for being too thick. Would it benefit from being replaced or thinned down, or is it not really that bad?

 

Your thoughts please, Gentlemen.

 

 

[BS_w]

The wingspan of N is 22" (7,76mm at 1/72)longer than D model (2x 18" at each root but the wingtip is shorter)

[Chuck1945]

I too have acquired that kit. In my case it was 15-16 years ago when it was released. In it's defense and as you noted, the decal option is nice and it is probably an improvement of the horrid ancient Heller 'N'.The wing is the big issue with the Italeri kit. The 'N' had the wing lengthened by the insertion of an 18" stub between the fuselage and gear bay on each side, moving the bay outboard accordingly and increasing the span. Approximately 6" of that extension was lost on each side by the reshape of the wing tips so the overall increase in span was about 2'

[Smudge]

Ok guys, that's great. Thank you.

 

Looking at the Italeri kit wings, I would say that they had done a reasonable job of interpreting that. There is an extension of the wing inboard of the main gear, leaving a gap between the bay and the fuselage. 

The Italeri wing is shorter/thinner in chord at the root to fuselage join in comparison to the Revell 'D' model, but the difference seems to be in the flaps. It should be a reasonably straightforward fix to the flap, if indeed it is incorrect. 

[72modeler]

Smudge,

 

When the Italeri kit came out, I did a lot of research and comparison with all of the 1/72 scale drawings that I could find in several highly regarded publications; as a result, I decided the kit  would take a lot more work than I wanted to do to correct all the errors, and I figured out a way to use two Tamiya kits to make a much better detailed N or to wait for somebody to release a better kit, which Sword has done. Because I was not going to proceed with the Italeri kit, which I sold,I didn't save my research, but as best I can  recall, the problems I saw with the Italeri kit are listed below. The Sword kit is very much better, and can be made into a very good N, but the detail parts are a bit soft; since I snagged several of the outstanding Tamiya P-47 razorback and bubbletop kits a few years back when they were on sale in Japan, I'm going that route- basically like Republic did it, by cutting  an 18" extension out of one kit's wings, grafting it to the other kit's squared-off wing roots, filling in the inner wheel bay recess in the fuselage, squaring off the wingtip and reshaping the trailing edge of the ailerons at the outer end; the dorsal fin strake can be made from plasticard, and the Tamiya kit already has the correct symmetrical paddle blade prop, which the Italeri kit does not. Need to also to rescribe a few different panel lines on the wings and locate the landing light to the correct position- the Tamiya kit has allowed for this, as they engineered the kit to do later D's or an M, but never got around to it.

 

Fin strake is not correct in chord for an N, but looks correct for an M

Prop shape was not correct, as I recall

R2800 engine in the kit is not correct for an M or an N, as it is not a C-series engine with the cylindrical crankcase with all the bolts- the Revell P-47M kit has the correct engine

The intercooler opening or exit door is not correct- IIRC, it was too narrow in width

The cockpit floor was corrugated, which is correct up to the D-25, but should be smooth.  

Wheel hubs had 6 spokes, IIRC and should have 8

Wing chord was off, but I'm sorry I can't recall by how much- IIRC, it was too narrow

Turbosupercharger housing and exit were poorly shaped and soft in detail

 

The Sword kit got all the details listed above correct, and has a very nice resin cockpit, wheels, and C-series engine. I'm not wild about the cowling, but was going to use the one from the Tamiya kit, as the cowlings for all versions from the D on were the same.

 

Hope this helps- sorry I don't have all the measurements I made of the kit and the drawings,  but don't go by the drawings in Detail in Scale, as they are not very good. One of our resident Jug experts will be able to be of more assistance, I think. After the horrible Heller kit, I think the expectations were high when Italeri released their N, but it looks like a rush job or the result of poor research, which is a shame, as the N is the nastiest-looking Jug of them all! Good luck!

Mike

Edited August 10, 2017 by 72modeler
corrected information

[Smudge]

Hi Mike,

 

Thank you for all of that, a very comprehensive list of issues. I guess it's worse than I thought!

 

I think I will try and seek out a Sword kit of the 'N'. I have been having a look, but it seems to be out of production and out of stock everywhere. Maybe one will turn up at a show or a second hand dealer.

 

(I have a post in the wanted section )

 

Cheers.

 

 

[72modeler]

2 hours ago, Smudge said:

Hi Mike,

 

Thank you for all of that, a very comprehensive list of issues. I guess it's worse than I thought!

 

I think I will try and seek out a Sword kit of the 'N'. I have been having a look, but it seems to be out of production and out of stock everywhere. Maybe one will turn up at a show or a second hand dealer.

 

(I have a post in the wanted section )

 

Cheers.

 

 

Oh, don't get me wrong- all of the issues are fixable, and some are fairly minor or wouldn't take a lot of effort to correct, but I was just very disappointed that

for  a kit in this day and time with all of the technology available to engineer a nicely detailed and well-fitting model, to have so many errors turned me off of putting in all that work. It's not like there isn't a ton of  resource and reference material out there on an N, as well as several original examples to scan, measure, photograph, etc. Some short run as well as major kit makers seem to have taken advantage of enthusiasts and modelers in regards to providing the references and information necessary to produce an accurate model, or at the very least, to allow examination of CAD illustrations or test shots to seek out subjective and accurate assessments; I think most of the modelers I know or know of would gladly assist if it meant getting a state of the art and accurate model; seeing an outstanding kit appear on the shelves would be the only reward I would ask for, speaking for myself, of course. Anyway, I hope you can find a Sword kit, and you might even contact them to see if there are any plans for a re-issue.  Why Tamiya didn't go through with doing a D-30, M, or N using their outstanding 1/72 P-47D bubbletop  is beyond me, especially as the kit was obviously engineered to be able to do a late D or M with the existing tooling and an extra sprue with the necessary parts. An N would have required a new fuselage and wings,, but if they had engineered the fuselage of their bubbletop differently, they could have gotten by with just a new set of wings, inserts to fill the old inner wheel bays, and a C-series engine and larger turbosupercharger housing. (Hey, I can dream, can't I?) Don't give up- it's such a handsome airplane that it's worth the effort!

Mike

[theplasticsurgeon]

Builds like this - unmodified, and straight from the box - so all issues exposed.

The issues became well known as soon as the kit appeared - just after I acquired it.