As a Cobra pilot on the border in Germany during the cold war, the Mi-24 Hind was the boogieman. It is one big ugly and deadly helicopter. I’ve always wanted to fly one.

The Hind has sported some very colorful paint schemes, especially since the end of the cold war. Big and ugly can become somewhat beautiful when you put a nice paint scheme on them they become less ugly, kind of like putting lipstick on a pig.

The latest offering from the Hungarian company, HungAeroDecals, covers four Mi-24V Hinds in Hungarian service. The decals are printed on a 2 ½ x 4 7/8 (6.5 x 12.5cm) printed by BOA Agency so you know they are very thin, opaque and react well with setting solutions. Just make sure that you use plenty of water to slide them on. The instructions are on a single sheet of A4 paper with full color side view drawings of both sides of the four aircraft. Other than notes on the countries of the aircraft there is no other information on these aircraft or units.

The Aggressor schemes as applied to Air Force F-16s are some of the ‘coolest’ paint schemes applied to the light weight fighter. Whether it is the Artic, Desert Flanker, Lizard, Blue Flanker or the Blizzard scheme they add lots of color to the drab F-16. The most unique of the Aggressor schemes is the Blizzard one. This set is based off of the USAF F-16C Block 30 (or Block 32) #86-0269 from the 64th AS in 2012. The markings are available through Afterburner Decals Aggressor sheet (48-085). This aircraft is the sole aircraft painted in this scheme, however, it is the best of the bunch. It features squiggly lines of color in FS35109 (dark blue), FS36628 (light grey), FS36270 (dark grey) and FS36251 (mid grey).

A nicely detailed 1/72 USAF Fighter Pilot! He stands in a USAF flight suit, harness, helmet in his right hand, and wears a USAF flight cap. Missing is a g-suit and the distinctive “bulletproof” mustache worn by USAF fighter pilots during the Vietnam War. However, with some careful painting, you can suggest these things at this scale.

The figure arrived in a clear package with insert. On the insert you’ll find a simple color illustration with paint suggestions. No specific paint manufacturer is suggested. Refer to references for correct colors.

The figure consists of separate pieces attached to a resin casting block: main body, left arm, right arm, and helmet. All you have to do is carefully remove them from the casting block and perform some light cleanup. Use superglue to assemble the figure.

A problem area encountered is the left arm, specifically the unnatural bulkiness of the left shoulder. Remove some material and it should look right.