AOA Decals specializes in top quality, thoroughly researched decal sheets from the Vietnam War era. This is wonderful with all the new kit releases, as there are now more options for markings. Inside the package, there are full color profiles and notes about all eleven sets of markings, and two large colorful decal sheets printed by Cartograf. The sheet covers South Vietnamese Air Force AD-6/A1-H Skyraiders in 1/32 scale, with the recommended kit being Trumpeter or Zoukei-Mura. Detail and notes abound in the set, including notes on each specific plane, its color and markings, and any specifics about the plane. In fact, two of the markings represent Skyraiders that were retrofitted with the Yankee extraction system. The time frame involved is from the early 1960’s to 1970. Minimal stenciling is included also.

The schemes represented cover both four overall gull gray and seven camouflaged planes from the following squadrons:

I’ve always had a soft spot in my old modeling heart for the early Israeli equipment, back when the IDF had to scrounge for every item. I loved the interesting field modifications and clever use of limited resources, and the Israeli halftracks were a good example. Admittedly, from a modeling standpoint the conversion was always relatively easy, and I had it on my “to do” list for years, but just never got around to it. Dragon has done the job for me with this excellent little kit. I did, however, encounter a few bumps along the road, although nothing that should make any average modeler quail. One basic bit of advice, though -- do NOT try and build this in the sequence in the instructions. They have you build the separate units, such as chassis, truck bed, etc. in their entireties then piece it all together at the end. Due to the fragility of many of the exterior items you will land up trashing your work.

The Lockheed-Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod is one of the newest targeting pods fielded by the United States and its allies. According to Lockheed, the Sniper ATP provides superior targeting capabilities in air-to-ground, maritime and air-to-air environments. The pod is compatible with and is currently used on variants of the F-16, F-18, B-1, B-52, A-10 and other fighter/attack aircraft.