Mk1 Design Republic P-47D Thunderbolt detail Set for Hasegawa 1:32

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Republic P-47D Thunderbolt detail Set

Mk1 Design 1:32

The Hasegawa 1:32 P-47D Thunderbolt has been released in various guises for some time now, in fact the first release was in 2007. Whilst there has been a fair few update sets released, Mk1 Design have decided to release one of their own. The clear poly sleeve contains two sheets of etched brass, one large unpainted sheet and one small sheet which comes pre-painted. The etch is accompanied by a pair of white metal main undercarriage legs, turned brass barrels and a full set of resin wheels. The instructions are very clear, and are mostly a series of photographs showing the parts fitted to the actual plastic of the kit.

The small pre-painted etched sheet provides items for use in the cockpit and provides a selection of placards, console faces, auxiliary instrument panels and separate switches. As with the Corsair set reviewed HERE, the main instrument panel is painted in a black crackle finish, although in this instance it appears a little more restrained and looks much better for it. The backing plate with the instrument faces printed on is glued to the rear of the instrument panels, but will be much improved with a drop of Aqua Gloss or similar to represent the instrument glass. As per their other sets, a full complement of seatbelts is provided each with separate buckles and clasps which have to be carefully threaded onto the pre-painted belts.

The much large etched sheet contains a range of new panels for use on various points on the wings and fuselage. The supercharger vent doors on the sides of the fuselage are replaced and the modeller has the option of posing them either open or closed along witht eh vents that are fitted to the lower cowling. There are a lot detail parts that some manufacturers miss, such as the intake grilles fitted at the bottom if the inner cowling and the visible plates that close of the flaps moving sections and the fixed wing sections. The main wheel bays are detailed with the numerous flange plates that are fitted to the forward edge of the bay. The engine is provided with a new wiring harness which will need a fair bit of care to get positioned and folded correctly, whilst the cowl flaps are completely replaced and can also be posed either opened or closed.

The resin wheels are very nicely moulded with a well slightly softer block tread pattern than those found in the Corsair set, but unlike that set the bulges moulded into the tyre is much more restrained and therefore look a little more realistic, particularly for such a heavy aircraft using a rough airstrip. The tailwheel also looks better than those found in the other Mk1 Design sets. The main wheels are quite deep dished, with some nicely moulded detail and finished off with the fitting of the separate outer hubs. The metal main undercarriage legs are pretty well moulded, but there is still a seam that needs removing and a fair bit of flash on one of them that needs to be cleaned off. They are finished off with a pair of scissor link parts which just slot into each other and the undercarriage leg/oleo. The turned brass barrels are only used to replace the outer sleeves seen on the aircraft and don’t include any gun detail, but they’ll still look a lot better than the styrene ones found in the kit.

Conclusion
This is probably the best of the three sets that I’ve seen from Mk1 Design. The amount of detail included is just right for those who don’t want to do too overboard with their model, but also enough to bring the model up a level or two. The replacement cowl flaps and vents do bring much more of a scale thickness to the finished models and the options to have them open a closed are a nice touch. Even the wheels look better than the others I’ve seen, which all in all makes for a very nice package. Very highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of