Review: MiniArt P-47D-28RE "Free French Air Force"

Amazingly enough, the first one started and completed in 2025. I had to push to get "Bloody Skies" delivered (comes out next February). Then there was the discovery that a good friend of 10 years is actually The Love of My Life, which discovery has taken up a fair amount of time. And than other "serious matters" in the past 100 days.

The Airplane:

Following the decision to equip the P-47D Thunderbolt with underwing pylons that could carry either drop tanks or bombs up to 1,000 pounds, the Thunderbolt underwent a metamorphosis from high altitude air superiority fighter to low level fighter bomber. The airplane's legendary toughness meant that those who flew it in this role suffered fewer losses than those flying other types; the radial engine would keep working even with as many as three cylinders blown off and pilots frequently walked away from crashes. This is not to say the Thunderbolt made the fighter-bomber role safe - the highest losses among Allied aircraft were those engaged in low level ground attack where they were always the subject of withering defensive anti-aircraft fire.

Free French Air Force units in the Mediterranean Theater began exchanging their Spitfires for Thunderbolts in the summer of 1944, preparatory to the invasion of Southern France. GC II/5 - the heirs of the legendary Lafayette Escadrille of World War I - was based on Alto airfield in northern Corsica, where they operated alongside the USAAF's 57th Fighter Group. As the Americans began re-equipping with the “bubbletop” P-47D in May 1944, their P-47 “razorbacks” were transferred to the Free French unit, who were trained in the art of low level ground attack by the Americans.

Free French air units moved into southern France following the invasion in mid-August and flew as part of the 1st Allied Tactical Air Force through the end of the war. While the American units in 1ATAF moved on into Germany in support of the advancing Allied army, the Free French units became involved in the effort to pry the Germans out of the French Atlantic ports, which Hitler had declared should be turned into “fortresses.” What eventually defeated the Germans holding Bordeaux and Le Havre, Brest and Ste. Nazaire was the overall German surrender in May 1945

After the war, the P-47s were primarily operated in North Africa, where they took part in the Algerian War of Independence during the 1950s, the last major combat experienced by the Thunderbolt.

The kit:

MiniArt first released the P-47D-25RE in the fall of 2023. They have followed up with further sub-types of the “bubbletop” version. The P-47D-11 “razorback” will be released next month. The kits are far more detailed than the Tamiya P-47s, with superb surface detail similar in quality to the recent Eduard series of kits. Decals are provided for three Free French P-47D-28RE Thunderbolts. Unlike the first release, the decals in the kit are very accurate and useable.

Construction:

Like all other modern kits designed with CAD, parts fit is very precise, and a modeler must be certain all mating surfaces are “as clean as a hound's tooth” to avoid cascading fit problems in construction. The kit is detailed with lots more pieces than the Tamiya kit has, and a modeler is well-advised to undertake the revolutionary act of reading and following the instructions; they are not “somebody's opinion.”

Construction starts with the cockpit, which is much more detailed than the Tamiya kit. I painted the main parts with Tamiya Dark Green (RLM-70) a good replacement for Dull Dark Green, then painted all the other small parts before assembling them. I departed from a fully OOB build by using Eduard seatbelts. Once the cockpit was assembled, I installed it in the right fuselage half and proceeded to assemble the other detail parts for the fuselage, then glued the two halves together. Fit is so tight that all I had to do to lose the centerline seam was a light scrapedown, followed by rescribing rivet detail across the seam with my pounce wheel.

The gear well in each wing is made up of individual pieces. I painted these Yellow Zinc Chromate before assembly. Unlike the Tamiya kit, the gun barrel assembly is attached at this point before further assembly. All the control surfaces are separate, and the flaps cannot be dropped; this is actually the proper way they should be. The wings do not have carry-through spars like the Tamiya kit, but the extended spar on each side will help align them properly and the part design won't allow a close fit without the wing being properly aligned. If you are going to have the underwing pylon and the rocket tubes, be sure to open the alignment holes before gluing the wing halves together. The best way to assemble the wing is to follow the kit instructions and assemble the flaps and ailerons, then glue them to the upper wing part; applying glue from inside will insure that you have the proper spacing between the wing surface and the flaps and ailerons.

The R-2800 engine in the kit is the best I have seen as an injection-molded plastic part. There is more detail in the engine and the assembly of the cowling than in any earlier kit. For this kit, one only uses the two piston rows and the front parts of the engine, leaving the very complete exhaust system on the sprue since that is for the “advanced” kit. I had no problem assembling the engine cowling accurately, following the kit instructions as to the sequence of attachment.

My research resulted in discovering a poor-quality photo of the specific airplane I was doing, which revealed it did not use the assymmetric Curtiss Electric propeller, but rather the symmetric-blade C-E prop. I sourced that from my supply of P-47 spare parts from Tamiya kits, using the MiniArt spinner hub, which is more accurate in size than the Tamiya part.

Painting and Decals:

The French P-47Ds were given a camouflage of Olive Drab and Light Grey, applied at maintenance units prior to being issued to squadrons.

I painted the cowling red and masked it off, then used Gunze Sangyo “Olive Drab 1" and Tamiya “Royal Light Grey for the camouflage.

I used the kit decals, which are thin and went down with no problem under Micro-sol.

Final Finish and Assembly:

I used a silver pencil to create “dings” in the paint, using a photo of the specific airplane I found on the Internet. I then attached the landing gear, unmasked the canopy and positioned it open, attached the propeller and called it done.

Overall:

I really like the MiniArt Thunderbolts. To me they are a more accurate representation when finished than the Tamiya kits. Recommended for mid-level experienced modelers and beyond.

Review kit courtesy of all you book buyers.

10 additional images. Click to enlarge.