The Ki-84 Hayate was the premier Japanese fighter of the war. It also sported some really colorful markings that are a natural for an airplane modeler.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. Five aircraft are included in the decals. The exterior sheet has the three-view drawings and the references used to design the decals.

The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf and are very colorful. They are in perfect register and thin. In my opinion, Cartograf is the best decal producer in the world. I’ve used all kinds of setting solutions on them and they perform flawlessly. The decals not only include the aircraft markings but also some stencils.

The first Hayate has never before been seen in print, let alone as a decal. The aircraft has a unique spackled look to it with a beautiful white tiger on the tail. This aircraft was flown by Lt. Shuho Yamana of Army Transportation Unit in the fall of 1944.

This in the sixth volume in Osprey’s Air Vanguard series, but the first I have come across. The series seems geared to providing an overall view of the subject aircraft’s development, technical specifications, and operational history. One interesting angle on this series is that the books are also available in eReader formats such as Kindle or ePDF files. People have differing opinions on which format is better suited to a reference book, but in any case it is nice that this option is available.

The book is broken down into 4 basic sections: Design and Development, Technical Specifications, Mark by Mark, and Operational History. A brief Conclusion section wraps things up, and a small bibliography (6 titles) is included.

Wingnut Wings has singlehandedly sparked a resurgence in WWI large scale kits. Their quality and engineering have set a standard by which all other model kits, regardless of scale or era, are judged. Sometimes the biggest problem is what markings to apply – or is it how many kits to buy? Well, Lifelike can help you with one of those problems and hinder the other.

Lifelike has consistently produced first-rate decals for a variety of aircraft. This time they have turned their attention to the latest from Wingnut Wings, the Fokker D.VII. WNW has produced no less than four different versions of the greatest WWI fighter plane, those produced by Fokker, OAW, Albatross, and the Fokker F. Well, you will need some marking help.