This is a British product, the first of a series, providing a very nice set of 1/32 scale decals and an accompanying booklet, featuring three aircraft flown by Polish pilots flying with the French Armee de l’Aire during the Battle of France in 1940. Two versions of this issue exist, one in 1/32 scale and one in 1/48. The decal sheet and booklet are provided in one unit, and cannot be purchased separately.

The booklet, a rather large publication of 16 pages plus cover, measures 13 by 9 ¼ inches, and consists of detailed information on the colors and markings of each aircraft. A short history of the pilot and his operational career is included, and these make interesting reading. The booklet is filled with excellently reproduced photos, mostly from German sources, as many of the photos show Luftwaffe personnel examining the abandoned French aircraft.

When I first “signed up” to do a review of these decals, I wasn’t familiar with the company, or what would be on the sheet. I was interested in the Ki-43 markings, as I find myself building mostly Japanese aircraft recently. When the package arrived, I was very pleasantly surprised at what I saw!

PT Decals sheet #48002 covers some captured WWII Axis aircraft in French service. The decal sheet itself is very well done with markings for all the aircraft listed below. The decals are all in perfect register, and appear to be of the highest quality on the market today. The lower right of the sheet reads “Pierre Tilley / Dutch Decal 2010; Produced in the EEC”

Included with the decals is a very nice, full color fold out with profiles of each of the aircraft represented on the decal sheet (see the accompanying photos to get a better idea of how great this set of decals really is!)

Background

Twobob’s latest releases showcase markings for US Air Force “Aggressor” F-5E Tiger II’s seeing service from the early-1970’s through the late 1980’s. This review showcases markings from Nellis-based “Gomers” assigned to the 64^th and 65^th Aggressor Squadrons.

The squadrons deployed throughout US and overseas to teach adversarial tactics and provide dissimilar air combat training to US Air Force flying units from October 1972 to June 1990. The units currently operate F-16C and F-15C aircraft in similar roles, as part of the regular Red Flag cadre at Nellis AFB, NV.

I have a few Airfix and Hasegawa Marauders is my stash. I am always looking for eye-catching decal options in addition to the supplied kit options. Superscale have issued decal sheets featuring the B-26 in the past, many of which are no longer in available. Even with these decal sheets the Marauder has not been served well in 1/72 scale and the schemes are sometimes boring. Iliad design usually produce decals sheets for more exotic types in 1/48 scale, but recently they have been tapping into 1/72 scale market and one in their new range is a sheet featuring the B-26. Five options are included in the new decal sheet. They are:

This is a Dutch product, dealing with some Dutch aircraft using the orange triangle marking during the early part of World War II. Two, the Dornier DO-215B-2 and the Brewster B340 Bermuda, were apparently ordered but never delivered, so they become part of the “What If?” category, much like Luft 46. The others, including the DeHavilland DH-85, Ryan STM, Martin B-10, Consolidated PBY-5, and Douglas DB-7, were actually delivered and used, at least at the beginning of World War II. Some of the Ryans, by the way, were evacuated to Australia in 1942, and I had the opportunity to fly in one of the survivors, then privately owned, while I was in Sydney in 1962. Therefore, I’ve got to build that one when I get another MPM kit.