Squadron Products/MMD have partnered with Cartograf in providing us with four more new F-102 Decal sheets to go with their previously released Encore F-102 Case XX wing release of the (1992) Monogram F-102 kit. (In case you don’t know, the earlier Case X wing had squared-off ailerons and a “kink” to the wing… The Case XX wing has the curved leading edge which goes out to the extreme edge of the wing, and a diagonal extension of the ailerons. The previously released Monogram/Revell kits had the Case X wing, and the Encore and Promodeller releases had the Case XX wings…) Hats off to MMD for providing us these decal sheets!

I won’t go into model construction here; the decals are the stars! I opted to use the 57^th FIS markings from Keflavik for this build. The decals: Cartograf. “nuff” said. Absolute perfection. The instructions are very well done; however, there are a few errors. First, the arctic markings show you to include the tip of the vertical fin as red/orange….I used Tamiya red as a base coat, with a double coat of orange over it to add to the effect. I used Wayne Mutza’s “Convair F-102 Delta Dagger” book (© Shiffer military history) as a reference, and in no cases did the fin tip have a full-red fin paint scheme. Also, the aft fuselage bare metal areas need to be properly masked. The instructions show the bare metal area as one, total vertical line. Again, this is not the case, and once I looked hard at the book I was chagrined to learn I had not left part of the model to be gray verses bare metal. Yep, it made a difference, as I had already incorporated the decals, of which those with a brain would know you NEVER mask over. I hand painted and it looks ok, but oh well.

Otherwise, these sheets are great. Color saturation is perfect, and there was no requirement to use settling solutions. Everything went well over the gloss of ADC gray!

Although I whined a bit, these sheets are much better than the older Microscale sheets. Modeling skills required… but nothing major… BUY THEM! The 325th FIS markings on sheet 481252 look like they will be colorful, and the markings on the second sheet for the326th FIS and the 509^th FIS also will most likely be very well done. I have one more Encore F-102 which shall be done in the 509^th full Vietnam camo. The full-color instruction sheets are fantastic compared to the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s sheets we are used to, and will definitely dress up your model. Highly recommended, and thanks to Squadron once again for taking care of us!