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P-47D bubbletop 1/48 which kit?


Harrier/ViperFan

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Hey all been a while, all moved and unpacked and settled in now. Just need to start building again. Well I thought I start with something American before I think about trying to finish myJapaneseZero and Eduard Spit (which was causing me trouble). So I already have a P-47D Razorback so I thought I have a look at that the P-47D Bubbletop, there is so many kits out there from Tamiya, Hase, Revell. Italeri, etc etc. So what is the best kit to go with in 1/48? I looked at various reviews and in box shots to instructions they all seem similar to me in one way or another. So advice here would be great, it wouldn't be the first time I brought a kit because reviews said it was great or in box shots looked good and the instructions looked easy and the kit turned out to be a nightmare. But I trust the advice I get here as it's always been honest and to the point which is what I like.

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Tamiya is well detailed, accurate and well engineered. It's the kit of choice of money isn't an issue and you want to build straight out of the box, and at under £30 is good value for the quality you get.

 

You can also make very nice things out of the Hasegawa kit, Academy and old Monogram kits, which are generally available at progressively lower prices, especially second-hand, but which will require more effort.  I can't say anything about the Bobby Boss kit as I have not had my hands on it.

 

My love of the P-47D is strengthened by the fact that there are so many great colour schemes and decals out there, so I want to build a lot of them without going into the final level of detail on each one. I have a couple of Tamiya kits but I've also got a bunch of Monogram ones I 've picked up at shows as bagged shots and in shabby boxes for around £5 or £6 a time, and if you seek that kind of thing out they're outstanding value.

 

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Tamiya to the third power, in both 172 and 1/48. They have released both the P-47D bubbletop and P-47M in 1/48, IIRC. Even though 1/48 isn't my scale, I have a quarter scale Tamiya bubbletop and razorback just because the kits are so darned good! Planning to do the razorback as one of the colorful 5th ERS Jugs, and the bubbletop as my late father's 354th FDW C.O. Francis Gabreski. You might look at Hobbylink  Japan for a good price on the Tamiya P-47, as many BM'ers have stated you can save a significant amount, if you order one kit at a time to dodge the tariffs. You can build the Tamiya kit out of the box and have a very well-detailed model- might invest in some etched harnesses or make your own out of foil or tape. Good luck!

Mike

Edited by 72modeler
corrected spelling
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3 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

 

Tamiya is well detailed, accurate and well engineered. It's the kit of choice of money isn't an issue and you want to build straight out of the box, and at under £30 is good value for the quality you get.

 

You can also make very nice things out of the Hasegawa kit, Academy and old Monogram kits, which are generally available at progressively lower prices, especially second-hand, but which will require more effort.  I can't say anything about the Bobby Boss kit as I have not had my hands on it.

 

Agree with everything here 110%. The Hobbyboss kit has one flaw the cockpit opening is elliptical like the canopy. Where the real deal has a squarish/rectangular opening. 

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4 hours ago, canberra kid said:

It's got to be the Tamiya kit, I've got one in the stash waiting to be built as one of my dad's T-bolt's

John 

A No. 79 Squadron bubbletop, by any chance? One of my English  modeling buddy's uncle flew Hurricanes and P-47's with No. 79 squadron- they sure are pretty airplanes in that scheme, aren't they? Also flew Tomahawks and said Neville Duke was one of his advanced instructors! I have no idea why Tamiya didn't do a P-47N in both scales- if they had engineered the fuselage halves intelligently, and  had used a one piece lower wing assembly, it would have been so easy!

Mike

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18 hours ago, 72modeler said:

A No. 79 Squadron bubbletop, by any chance? One of my English  modeling buddy's uncle flew Hurricanes and P-47's with No. 79 squadron- they sure are pretty airplanes in that scheme, aren't they? Also flew Tomahawks and said Neville Duke was one of his advanced instructors! I have no idea why Tamiya didn't do a P-47N in both scales- if they had engineered the fuselage halves intelligently, and  had used a one piece lower wing assembly, it would have been so easy!

Mike

How the heck did you guess that Mike! 🙂 My dad missed out on the Hurricane, he did get some Spitfire time though but given how much he liked the Thunderbolt I think he would have enjoyed the Hurricane. It is odd about the engineering of the kit they could have got more miles out of the kit.

 

John  

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23 minutes ago, canberra kid said:

How the heck did you guess that Mike! 🙂 My dad missed out on the Hurricane, he did get some Spitfire time though but given how much he liked the Thunderbolt I think he would have enjoyed the Hurricane. It is odd about the engineering of the kit they could have got more miles out of the kit.

 

John  

Well, sometimes I get lucky, John! My friend said his uncle really liked the P-47 after switching from Hurricanes- said it was BIG and roomy! I told him about the quote I had read in an Air International article on the Thunderbolt years ago that said that to take evasive action, the pilot was to "unfasten his harness and run around inside the cockpit!" Those were the days!

Mike

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13 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

Well, sometimes I get lucky, John! My friend said his uncle really liked the P-47 after switching from Hurricanes- said it was BIG and roomy! I told him about the quote I had read in an Air International article on the Thunderbolt years ago that said that to take evasive action, the pilot was to "unfasten his harness and run around inside the cockpit!" Those were the days!

Mike

Yes my dad used to say the same thing Mike :) I think one of the things he didn't like about the Spit is it was a tight fit and my dad was built like a racing snake!

John

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