Barracudacals 1/48 P-47 Thunderbolts Parts 1 & 2

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

A new name in the aftermarket decal game, Barracudacals has come out with a great starting pair of decal sheets (also available in 1/48) for the P-47. These all feature some great nose art and include both olive drab/neutral gray and natural metal Jugs, as well as razorback and bubbletop options. Part 1 covers three olive drab/neutral gray razorbacks, while Part 2 has all natural metal aircraft, one razorback and two bubbletops.

Starting with Part 1, this sheet provides decals for “Boise Bee,” “Wela Kahoe,” and “Dallas Blonde.” “Boise Bee” was the mount of Lt. Duane Beeson of the 334th FS, 4th FG in 1944. This particular aircraft is a P-47D-1-RE, 42-7890, and is coded QP-B. In addition to the “Bee” artwork on the cowling, the forward half is painted white.

The second aircraft, also from the 334th FS, 4th FG, is also coded QP-B. This is “Wela Kahoe,” a P-47C-5-RE, 41-6538, and was flown by both Capt. Bill Hollander and Capt. Stanley Anderson. Like the previous example, has the front half of the cowling painted white. The national insignia are yellow-outlined roundels.

The third option is Lt. Don Kearns’ “Dallas Blonde,” a P-47D from the 319th FS, 325th FG in Italy, early 1944. This plane is weathered, with a darker area on the nose and cowling. The front of the cowling is red, striped in yellow, and the cowl flaps are checkered black and yellow (as are the tailplanes). The plane has the number 81 on the fuselage side, and photos show it carrying two olive drab P-38 drop tanks under the wings.

Moving on to Part 2, this sheet has the natural metal aircraft. The first option is a very attractive P-47D-25-RE razorback, with a blue cowl front and blue canopy framing. Serialed 42-26742, this aircraft was flown by Capt. Howard Curran of the 510th FS, 405th FG in France during the fall of 1944. Named “Kansas Tornado II” and coded 2Z-D, this plane has invasion stripes and an impressive scoreboard on the fuselage side, in addition to the wild tornado artwork.

The second choice on this sheet is the well-known “Angie,” the P-47D-27-RE flown by Col. Anthony Grosetta of the 512th FS, 406th FG in early 1945. With invasion stripes, an olive drab tail with red, blue, and yellow stripes, and yellow cowl flash, this is an attractive aircraft even without the name and nose art. Yes, the tail is in fact olive drab, and not the black commonly depicted. This is based on new information, including unpublished photos, which clearly shows the olive drab.

The final choice presented is another P-47D-27-RE from the 512th FS, 406th FG, this time “Little Ann,” another well known Thunderbolt. However, all previous photos only showed the name of the aircraft, while the new research done by Barracudacals has turned up the rest of the nose. There is a nice piece of pinup artwork on the cowling, along with a fine pinstriping to the yellow trim. The blue band on the tail is also a darker shade of blue, compared to “Angie.” All of these details have been faithfully reproduced in the decals.

The research put into these two sheets is impressive, and makes for a great start for a new decal line. The nose artwork is beautifully drawn and nicely printed, and the rest of the decals are up to the same standard. With this start, I am looking forward to the next sheets from this new company. Their website is not quite ready yet, but you can contact Barracudacals via email.