AOA Decals has filled another void in the decal world by producing a set for VF-143 Pukin’, and covers one specific airframe, BuNo 155887, call sign “Taproom”. The decals cover three cruises:

• USS 1969-70
• USS 1971-72
• USS 1972-73

One note directly from their web site caught my attention. For the 1972-73 cruise, this aircraft also bore the name of VF-143's XO, CDR Harley Hall, who sadly become the last Navy combat loss on 27 January 1973 flying Taproom 113 and last American to be listed as POW. While his RIO was later released, there is still controversy and contradictions surrounding the ultimate fate of CDR Hall. CDR Hall was previously Blue Angels Officer-In-Charge/Flight Leader (Plane 1), he and his Blue Angel team were featured in the 1975 documentary Threshold – “The Blue Angel Experience.” One of the first things you note about all AOA decals is the depth of the research and passion which they devote to it.

The Kingfisher was the result of a competition in the late 1930s to replace the SOC Seagull, a biplane battleship & cruiser scout plane. The new airplane was a radical improvement over the SOC in performance and maintainability. The aircraft proved so popular with both the aircrews and shipboard crews that its immediate replacement, the SO3C Seamew, was often left behind due to "maintenance issues", and the OS2U & SOC served far longer than the Bureau of Aeronautics wanted, with most of the aviation-capable ships still using them at the end of the war.

The decals provided give the builder the option to build one of several Kingfishers:

The Ki-67 was a very robust aircraft, able to withstand heavy battle damage and employed good defensive armament. Its high maneuverability allowed it to carry out dive bombing attacks and escape from a low level. Japanese troops nicknamed it the "Flying Dragon," while the Allies gave it the code-name "Peggy." This limited edition kit features resin upper panel and drop tank parts, side panel parts and three marking options to represent the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force's 14th Flight Regiment in August 1945.