Vital Stats
- Manufacturer: Revell Monogram
- Scale: 1:48
- Aircraft: Republic P-47D-20 Thunderbolt
- Markings: “The Bug” | Capt. Arlie Blood | 510th FS | 405th FG | 9th Air Force | Summer 1944
- Aftermarket: Ultracast wheels | Blast tubes and bazooka rockets lifted from Tamiya kit
Mini-Review
If you’re looking for the best P-47 in 1/48, buy the Tamiya kit. If you want something a bit less spendy, or presenting more of a challenge to pull off, you can’t go wrong with the old Monogram kit. Simple, sturdy, it may not be as “sharp” as the Tamiya, but it gets the job done. In my opinion, Academy, Hasegawa, and the others are almost pointless buys trapped between the superior Tamiya kit and the excellent value the Monogram represents.
Detail – 3
If there’s one area where the old Monogram kit stumbles, it’s in the detail, which just isn’t anything close to more modern offerings. Short the control stick and instrument panel, the entire cockpit is a single tub. The entire engine and intake assembly the same. The blast tubes are just sticks of plastic.
Engineering – 3
There’s honestly not much “engineering” to a kit this simple, but what’s there works pretty well. There’s very little that’s confusing or sloppy.
Fit – 4
The fit is actually rather good for a kit of this vintage. The stabilizers presented some minor headaches, and the canopy was far too thick, but apart from those pitfalls, the fit is solid.
Instructions – 3
Simple, but simple is all that’s needed.
Markings – 3
The Revell decals were all over the place. Color register seemed at once too bright (blue on the stars and bars) and too dark (yellow tailcodes). The decals were thin, grippy, and did not silver, but the insignia had issues with white slivers along the borders, and the cowl flap decals were completely off-base size-wise.
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Posts
Build Log 1 – Cockpit + Engines
Build Log 4 – The Home Stretch
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Doogs Models 
Just thought I’d share with you that the pilot of “The Bug”, Col Arlie J. Blood USAF retired, has passed on to the big hanger in the sky. He died on May 14th 2024 at the tender young age of 98. Just thought you would like to know this.
Thank you very much for sharing! One of the things I love about modeling is learning a bit about those who flew and drove these machines, and Arlie Blood’s story is a particularly fascinating one!
Arlie’s story is indeed fascinating! He had an amazing life!! Thanks for letting him know Mike. Just a correction of course on the date. May 14, 2014. Doogs thought you might like to know that Arlie was also an avid bowler and just a few months ago bowled a 203 game at the tender age of 98. He would also love to say he was not competitive. HA! The ones that had the 25 cent bet per game with him would disagree!! I’m going to miss my dear friend! I’ll miss those stories! Here is the link to his online memory book if you’d like to leave a message for his family. http://www.miller-jones.com/book-of-memories/1870728/Blood-Arlie/index.php
Best regards,
Valarie
Arlie Blood I knew very briefly about 10 years ago, when I was researching the 405th FG. We spoke on the phone; me in London calling at midnight and Arlie in California enjoying a sunny afternoon. He was a true gentleman and to help me out he posted me a copy of his book without wanting any money or anything in return. RIP. Larry