Valiant Wings Publishing continues to expand its “Airframe and Miniature” series. This installment, number 25 in the series, is devoted to the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. The book is divided into the following sections:

Airframe Chapters

1. Evolution – Prototypes to P-47C
2. Main Production – P-47D to M
3. The Long Range Thunderbolt – P-47N
4. Camouflage and Marking and Colour Profiles

Miniature Chapters

5. P-47 Thunderbolt Kits
6. Building a selection
7. Building a collection
8. In detail: The P-47 Thunderbolts

Appendixes

Tamiya kits are known for their ease of building and detail. There are some tradeoffs that come with that philosophy, particularly with engine screens and other small metal parts on the real vehicle. While the base Tamiya kit is great out of the box, there is always room for more detail, and this Hauler kit does not disappoint.

This PE set fills that void and takes the Tamiya 1/48 M5A1 Stuart (Kit No. 32606) to the next level. This set includes two PE frets (A (1 ⁵/₈” x 2 ¼”) containing the M1919 MG mount, ammo can, periscope cages, spare track hangers, light guards, grab handles, etc.; and B (1 ³/₁₆” x 1 ⁵/₁₆”) containing the four engine screens and tool tie downs, and a resin sprue with onboard tools and M2 HMG.

Frenchman Sylvain Hautier founded Syhart Decals (SY (Sylvain) HA (Hautier) , ART (design)) in 2006 with the aim of recreating in model form the special aircraft paint schemes that have been developed to celebrate anniversaries, participate in Tiger Meets, and for last flights. He also issues decals for regular schemes for lesser-known and unusual air forces for kits that offer limited decal options.

An example is the 1/48 Rafale C, with the kit issued by Revell offering limited choices. Sylvain’s answer was to release several decal sheets for various air forces, and these two sheets give the modeler four choices between them.