Caracal Models “Heroes of the Kosciuszko” Mig-29 (CD72010)

This sheet was kindly offered to me by Caracal Models as a raffle prize in the Grumman Ironworks GB over at ARC. The sheet is beautifully printed by Cartograf and Caracal went into great lengths to get the colours and the markings (especially the polish stencils!) right.

Source: Wikicommons

It contains stencils for one full aircraft (with some spares) and markings for three stunning schemes of the polish AF in 2012:

1. “56”, MiG-29 with a back logo in colour
2. “111”, MiG-29 with a back marking in gray
3. “15”, MiG-29UB with a back logo in colour

The scale of the drawings is not exactly 1/72 but the scaling factor (1.33) is given so it will be very easy to get the camo scheme right (very similar to what Hasegawa does on their instruction sheets).

Now I look forward to seeing Zvezda’s announced release of a Fulcrum, hopefully it will come soon and be as good as their Flanker SM! Until then it seems your best bet is the Italeri kit.

 

Hi-Decal Line Su-27S Flanker B (HD 72-024)

This decal sheet was kindly offered to me by Diego from Hi-Decal Line as a prize in the Bad Boys GB over at ARC.

It contains russian stencils for one aircraft and markings for five different schemes, all in 1992:

1. Blue 24, 582nd Regiment, Chojna AB, Poland
2. Red 10, Russian AF training center, Lipietsk
3. Blue 06, Russian AF, Ukraine
4. Blue 06, Ukrainian AF, Ukraine (Same as 3, different roundels)
5. Chinese AF, Hainan island

Premier Xtradecal World Air Power Update (XP72-001)

I picked this very comprehensive sheet when I visited The Aviation Hobby Shop in London some months ago. A great place with loads of stuff crammed in a tiny room which sadly closed shortly afterwards as the owners retired.

The options are very colorful and diverse, which make it very attractive but also challenging as most modellers may not be interested in all subjects. The Mig-29A is a great scheme but my impression is that the Caracal Decals offering is quite superior, including all polish stencils and three options for this series of special markings.

EDIT: I used this sheet for my Harrier II build and I must say I am quite disapointed: Some decals, although numbered and mentionned in the instruction sheet, are plain missing (probably forgotten in the last layout they sent to the printer) and some others are inkjet/laser-printed on transparent decal paper, which is not very nice as 1/ you can do this at home 2/they go on rather dark surfaces and are thus nearly invisible when applied.

Aeromaster Yellow Nose Mustangs (AM 72-207)

I bought this sheet for the Bare it all GB on ARC. It will go on an 1/72 Tamiya P-51D. The decals are very nicely printed and full sets of markings/stencils are provided for all schemes.

Model Alliance F/A-18A Hornet “RAAF 20th Anniversary” (MAS 729015)

I traded this sheet a while ago for a couple of Hornet intakes sets I scratch-built and casted.

Credits Ken Bowes

Fightertown Decals NSAWC F/A-18A/C (FTD 72001)

This sheet was kindly given to me by Brian at Fightertown Decals when I bought some kits from him. You get full markings for three nice camo schemes (Two “iranian style” and one grey) and, while I am not sure if it is standard or just another generous gift from Brian, markings for two VF-24 F-14A Tomcats including the black-and-white tail scheme, one of the best-looking Tomcat schemes.
Note that the set contains two versions of the brown markings: Light brown/dark beige and dark brown (Almost chocolate). I think the lighter shade was not good enough for Brian and he had these markings reprinted, typical of the standard of quality you can expect from Fightertown Decals!
For the kit itself I strongly recommend the Academy offering. If you can, get the -A boxing as it contains all the parts for the -C and is often cheaper 🙂


Credits Fightertown Decals

PrintScale Sikorsky Hawks (72-017)

After seeing a build on ARC using the scorpion scheme, and having two Hasegawa SH-60Bs in the stash, I had to get this sheet 🙂
It contains full markings for four USN Hawks, one Gulf War desert scheme MH-60 and one of five US Army hawks including a camouflaged MH-60.



Credits WikiCommons

Authentic Decals VFA-211 “Fighting Checkmates” F/A-18F (72-38)

This sheet was kindly sent to me by Oleg from Authentic Decals. It provides markings for one out of six schemes, both hi- and low-viz.
A nice touch is the decals provided to decorate the intake covers. These would be tricky to replicate with paint and intake covers are a good option if you don’t want to get/make proper intakes for the Hasegawa kit.
Note that all VFA-211 aircraft have the new type of ECS exhausts (“Bard pipe”). This can be found on the Revell of Germany kit as well as on the newer Hasegawa kits (My personal favorite). If you have an older Hasegawa kit you can still upgrade it with the Res-Im set. I will post more information on this set soon!

Authentic Decals Atlantic Fleet Hawkeyes (72-24)

This sheet was kindly sent to me by Oleg from Authentic Decals. It features no less than siy colourful schemes for two versions of the E-2C: 4-blade and 8- blade props. There is no Hawkeye 2000 on this sheet, decals for these are available on the Pacific Fleet sheet though. The set contains three sheets: One for the main markings, a generic stencils sheet and a third sheet contains the rotordome spiral of the Screwtops, which will probably be the most used 🙂

Note that these decals have a well-identified issue: The support film is defective and will shatter in water!! brush on a thin layer of Microscale Liquid Decal Film or equivalent and you will have no problem at all. I heard Future work also but I never tried it so can’t guarantee the results.

Credits US Navy

TwoBobs F/A-18A/C Hornet CoNA (Centennial of Naval Aviation) (72-095)

This sheet contains full markings for four single-seater Hornets decorated to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US Naval Aviation. Printed by Microscale, it contains some of these two-part decals most modellers really don’t like. Considering how thin the carrier film is these should not be a problem for the average modeller though, it’s just a bit more work. I can’t figure out why this annoying issue is specific to Microscale though (I have yet to see it on any other printes’ sheets).