Decals

The Japanese F-2A fighter is loosely based on the General Dynamics F-16, and if one did not know any better, you would think that is what you were seeing. The F-2A is the single seat fighter of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF).

This sheet is in Platz’s NBM21 Decal line – “Natural Born Modellers” and arrives in a clear plastic package slightly larger than the standard decal sheet we have come to expect.

This great set of decals shows the 50th Anniversary scheme of the F-2A from Tsuiki Airbase 8WG 6SQ in 1/72 scale. The decals were printed in Italy by Cartograph and are in perfect registration, and seemingly contain every stencil mark on the real aircraft! I am not joking here, folks – there are a ton of decals on this 6x9 inch decal sheet!

History

In the years prior to WWII, the US military had some very colorful aircraft that helped christen the era “The Golden Age”. These brightly colored aircraft were undoubtedly a carryover from the WWI where aircraft were often painted in bright schemes that reflected the pilots own tastes. This was also a transitional period that saw military aircraft evolve from bi-planes to monoplanes. Between the wars, both the US Army Air Force and the US Navy were painting the upper surface of the upper wing with a highly visible orange-yellow that was used for search and rescue in the event that the aircraft was forced down. The US Navy carried this even further and painted their aircrafts’ tail surfaces in different colors that indicated the carrier group it was assigned to. Navy aircraft also had the engine cowling painted different colors that indicated the section within the squadron. The top wing had a chevron the color of the section and the section leader’s aircraft had a belly band also the color of the section. All this made for some very colorful aircraft that have become the favorite subject for a lot of modelers.

Yellow-Wings Decals have again filled another gap with this release of the U.S.A.A.C. P-39D Headquarters Aircraft 31st, Pursuit Group, Carolina Maneuvers of 1941. According to Yellow-Wings the 31st Pursuit Group were made up of the 39th, 40th and the 41st Pursuit Squadrons. Even though each squadron had their own color markings: 39th Red, 40th Yellow and 41st White, it was the general practice to incorporate all of these colors and have them painted on the spinner or cowl which is printed on the decal sheet. Other markings on this sheet include our National Insignias, fuselage stripes and wing walk stripes. The 31st pursuit Group Icon and numbers are also included.

Also contained in their package are drawings of the P-39D aircraft, which show the locations of the decals on the aircraft and another sheet with the instructions for the recommended way to lay them down.

Airscale, a British company, has really been cranking out the instrument decals of late, and they are really very well done.  On this particular sheet there are fifty-one separate instruments for World War Two Luftwaffe aircraft.  There are many instruments that I have never seen before, and sadly, there is only one of each instrument.  They are crisply printed in black and white, and each instrument is a separate decal.  There is a considerable amount of excess film, when you consider just how small that instrument bezel is going to be.  In this scale, the instruments can easily be trimmed from the film.  Of course, they can always be punched out, using your favorite punch set, but I never seem to get them lined up perfectly.  The sheet is small, but there is a lot on it.  You also get instructions that give you a map and list of each of the instruments.  You also get a nice clear plastic sheet that you can use in a couple of ways. 

The decal set consists of one 4.75 x 7.5 inch sheet accompanying by a color glossy 8.5 x 11 inch instruction and placement page in a ziplock plastic bag.  I always appreciate the resealable bags, for storing unused decals afterwards and protection from coffee.  The decals themselves were printed by Cartograf.  Markings for two aircraft are provided, BuNo 162224 of VAQ-135, and BuNo 163527, VAQ-137.  Very well-done and unique unit art is included for each aircraft, as well as numerous decals for some ECM pods and drop tanks.  The formation light panels appear to be a reasonably accurate color.

Thanks to Gary Newman of Squadron/Signal and IPMS/USA for allowing me to review this decal sheet.

Yellow Wings Decals has released two new decal sets that provide optional marking for Special Hobbies’ 1/32 scale Curtiss P-36A kit. Each of the decal sets is packaged in a typical zip-lock sleeve along with a comprehensive color 4-view instruction sheet with supplemental sheets that include application and placement instructions, and brief historical information. These sets exhibit the same high level of quality as all of the other decal sets currently available from Yellow Wings Decals.

Twobobs Aviation Graphics continues to release decals to celebrate the special paint schemes that the US Navy is using to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Flight (Centennial of Naval Aviation or CONA). Each decal sheet contains markings for these special aircraft, and a 3” sticker with the CONA official logo is included in the packaging. Twobobs actually has an official licensing agreement with the Navy to bring these decals to us in the hobby world! As always, this Twobobs release features decals that are thin, crisp, and in perfect register.

Packaging is the usual clear zipper bag we see decals in, and inside is a one page, double sided, full color sheet which contains color information, the decal placement directions, and some images of the actual aircraft. This package contains one “standard size” decal sheet as well as a smaller insert sheet, along with the 3” sticker mentioned earlier. Decals are printed by Microscale Industries for Twobobs.

Tail code markings for the Imperial Japanese Navy in WWII are some of the more difficult things for a modeler to replicate accurately. Aviaeology has come to our rescue!                          

A few years back, I saw that Aviaeology had issued some WWII Japanese tail markings. I was excited at the prospect, but waited too long to order them, and missed out on the offering. They were sold out before I could see what they were like. Aviaeology has reissued their series of IJN Tail Code markings, and has made some improvements in the process. This review is for their RED and YELLOW 280mm markings, but they also sell markings in White and Black. The 280mm refers to the size of the tail markings on the actual aircraft – in this case the markings are scaled down to 1/48 and are about 6mm.

This comprehensive decal sheet covers nine F-104Gs, four TF-104Gs, and twelve F-16As. A couple of the F-16 schemes are for the same aircraft serving with different squadrons, so although the serial number on the tail is the same, the squadron badge is different. The title of the sheet indicates that it contains markings for both the F-16A and B, but there are no F-16B aircraft depicted in the instructions. Color density and registration appears to be very good. A full set of stencils is provided for the F-104 and a four-view drawing is included to aid in placement. There are no stencils provided for the F-16s. The recommended kits are the Hasegawa (F-104, TF-104, F-16) and Kinetic (F-16) offerings, so F-16 stencils should be available from those kits.

The markings offered are: