1:48 P-47M

The fastest Thunderbolt

The P-47M version was created at the close of the war as an answer to the V-1 flying bombs and to the jet machines that the fighters then in service could not catch. It was given a more powerful engine with water injection and lightened armament, only about a hundred were built and in combat it was used by practically a single unit. This set offers two machines from its 63rd Squadron: one with a personal name referring to a girl and the other nicknamed after the ugly duckling.

What the set brings to the surface of a model

• national markings and numbers in the right sizes for 1:48 scale
• personal markings, which turn an anonymous machine into a particular aircraft
• a thin carrier film which, once dry, follows rivets and panel lines
• an alternative to masking and spraying, where crisp edges are hard to achieve

Keeping the design from silvering

What decides is the base. A decal is laid onto a smooth gloss surface, because in a flat surface air stays under the film and a light border appears around the design. Once it is in place the excess water is pressed out with a soft cloth from the center toward the edge, then comes the decal softener and finally a matte varnish over the whole machine, which absorbs the edge of the film entirely.

Why a sheet from a different manufacturer pays off

The markings enclosed with a kit tend to be coarsely printed and their carrier film reaches far beyond the design. On a finished model that shows as a glossy rectangle around a star or a number. A separate sheet solves that problem in two ways: the film ends close to the artwork and the printing is finer, so even small numbers stay legible under a magnifier.

Box contents

The sheet is intended to complete a finished kit. There are no plastic parts, paints or masks in it.