Review

Dragon puts out some of the finest die-cast World War II aircraft on the market. Two of its latest examples, the F4F FM-2 Wildcat and the P-47D-40 Thunderbolt continue that tradition.

One of the best-known aircraft of the war, the Wildcat is most likely the plane you'll see if watching any WWII movies about Pacific air battles, or tune into any History Channel tale of dogfights or the Battle of Midway.

More than 7,200 Wildcats were made in various forms for the war. This one is the White 29 that Lt. Hatherly Foster III (now there's a name!) flew from the escort carrier U.S.S. Petrof Bay near the end of WWII in 1945. It was a support aircraft in the invasion of Okinawa.

Wildcats were made by Grumman and General Motors; GM making the FM-1 and FM-2 versions through the end of the war, while Grumman stopped in 1943 to turn its attention to other types.

This model is one of the later FM-2 versions built by GM. It has a taller tail to compensate for a stronger engine than in earlier models.

The bigger P-47 Thunderbolt, commonly called the Jug, was the largest single-engine fighter in the U.S. arsenal and was the mainstay of the U.S. Army Air Force because it had a long flying range, a ceiling of 40,000 feet and a top speed of 440 mph.

Made by Republic Aviation, the P-47 carried eight .50-caliber machine guns and had a maximum bomb load of 2,500 lbs. It could also carry 10 5" rockets beneath its wings. With more than 15,600 planes made, it was the most heavily produced fighter of WWII.

This particular P-47 was flown in 1944 and '45 by Howard M. Park, 9th AF/406th FG/513th FS. These were good in combat, but most valuable for attacking ground targets and were considered pursuit planes.

These 1:72 planes are beautifully executed, with flawless paint jobs and fine detailing. All markings are crisp and look authentic, plus they have a certain heft to make them seem much more like collectibles than toys.

Dragon makes propellers that turn, weapons that can be removed, detailed cockpits with gauges and controls and a canopy that slides open and shut. In addition, there's good detailing around the engine opening and where the landing gear attaches, if you choose to pose the plane at rest. A black plastic stand is provided to pose the plane in flight.

Adding to their collectibility is the authenticity of each specific model and the fact that even if you buy several similar planes, they have individual markings, which can create a stunning display. These are the cream of the crop for collectors of this scale.