Shortly after it released its Royal Class 1/72 MiG-15 set, which included a MiG-15 UTI trainer as one of the 4 kits, Eduard released parts of the MiG-15 as overtrees.

One of the first items released was the photo-etch set for the MiG-15 UTI. As this is an overtree set, it did not come with instructions, however, as Eduard’s webpage for the MiG-15 Royal Class kit includes a link to the kit’s instructions, all you have to do is download the portion of the instructions that relate to the MiG-15 UTI and you are all set to go.

While this is the 4th volume in MMP’s “Spotlight On” series, it is the first one I have had the pleasure of seeing in person. This book (and I imagine the others in the series) consists primarily of large, full-page color profiles of the subject matter.

Upon opening the book, one is immediately presented with an introductory page briefly discussing the P-51D’s development (not the P-51 in general, just the “D” model, so the author assumes some general knowledge of the aircraft type). This is immediately followed by over 40 pages of color profiles. At the end of the book is a page showing the general finish of the P-51, and a 2-page section listing P-51 Aces.

Background

Developed as a fleet interceptor for the United States Navy in the 1950’s the F-4 Phantom became one of the most successful and prolific combat aircraft designs of the jet age, remaining in US service into the 1990’s. Tasting its first combat during the Vietnam War, Navy and Air Force Phantoms produced leading aces for both service branches.

History Brief

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings. It was extremely maneuverable, fast and well armed plus it was reliable and easy to maintain. The Yak-1 was truly the epitome of a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft. The Yak-1b featured a new bubble canopy with lowered rear fuselage, increased armor, ShKAS machine guns replaced with a single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS, electrical and pneumatic firing of the weapons instead of the mechanical system, new control stick based on the Messerschmitt Bf 109 design, new gunsight, airtight fuselage, retractable tailwheel, improved engine cooling, and a Klimov M-105PF engine with better low-altitude performance. The "b" was an unofficial designation. After October 1942, all Yak-1s were built to this standard. The first flight (aircraft No.3560) took place in June 1942, with aircraft entering production in August. A total of 4,188 were built.

About the Company

AOA is a new decal company and they are purpose driven. AOA’s goal was to fill the gap of a lack of decals for Marine aircraft on the aftermarket scene and boy what a way to make an entrance by continuing to go the distance on the 1/32 Trumpeter A-6 model. For those of you looking for Marine markings in all 3 scales they should be added to your list.

What’s on the Sheet?

This particular set is extremely large and I can tell you that you will have a lot of spares for future projects. Spread over four large sheet are 16 aircraft schemes covering 4 USN/USMC aircraft from the Vietnam War covering the years of 1967-1973.

The aircraft covered are as followed: