Kits-World makes a number of very nice decal sheets in both 1/72nd and 1/48th scale for modelers who are building either the 1/72nd Academy or the 1/48th Monogram Boeing B-29A Superfortress.

A relatively small number of B-29s of the from the 497th and 498th Bomb Groups (73rd Bombardment Wing) bombed Iwo Jima on November 5, 1944 and November 11, 1944. https://iwojimamodels.com/2024/06/22/photos-of-the-week-xxi-bomber-command-b-29s-bomb-iwo-jima/

Decals for one of those B-29s, Thumper (Serial Number 42-24623), are provided in both 1/72nd scale (KW172133) for the Academy kit and in 1/48th scale (KW148142) for the Monogram kit.

The other set of decals on these sheets are for Sic ‘Em!, a 343rdBS/598th BG B-29 while stationed at Yokota, Japan during the Korean Conflict.

As can be seen from the photos below, Thumper’s mission symbols were a smaller version of the cartoon character nose art with the name of the target location printed on the bomb. Aerial victories were noted by a Japanese flag on a flag pole carried by cartoon character.

Missions with multiple aerial victories were noted by the same number of flags on one or two flag poles. By the end of its tour, the crew of Thumper would claim 26 aerial victories. I could not find a photo of the right side of the nose during Thumper’s time in the Marianas to determine if the nose art was on both sides of the nose. Kit-World provides two decals of the nose art so if you are so inclined to put it on both sides of the nose, you can. Nice touch on Kit-World’s part.

As you can see, the art work for both sets of markings looks really good. In addition, the printing of the decal sheet is very well done and in register. A complete set of national insignia are provided for both planes.

Thumper was also significant in that it was the first Marianas based B-29 to complete 40 bombing missions. In late July of 1945, Thumper and its crew were sent home for a short-lived war bond tour. The two photos below are of Thumper while on the war bond tour. Please note a few changes. First, the mission and aerial victory symbols have changed to the traditional mission and aerial victory symbols. Gone are the mini-Thumpers riding a bomb and holding flag poles with flags to denote the missions and aerial victories.

Second, the plane number “21” has been painted on the nose. I could not find any Marianas based pictures that showed the plane number painted on the nose, so it is difficult to determine when that change was made. Third, in the picture below, it shows that both the nose art and the mission and aerial victories symbols are on the right side of the nose, as well as the left side of the nose. The Kits-World decal sheet only provides the mission and aerial victory for one side of the nose of the war bond tour Thumper.

This is a very nice decal sheet with only one short coming as noted above. Highly recommended if you intend to build the Marianas based Thumper.