When I purchased the new Airfix Harrier GR.1 kit in 1/72 scale, I did so with the intention of building it as the USMC AV-8A Harrier. I planned to cobble together suitable decals from my collection of spares, but didn’t have to when Caracal Models released a sheet just for this very purpose.
Academy's first release in a new series of 1/48 scale Phantoms is an F-4B in VF-111 "Sundowners" markings. There are 15 spectacular sprue with one being clear. The rest are colored to the specific areas of the plane. the bottom parts are white, the top gray and metallic parts black. Panels lines are fine and there are some real innovations. For example, the engine exhausts are molded as a complete tube so there are no seams to fill and they look great. There is also a complete set of weapons with the needed bombs and missiles and a full set of drop tanks.
Caracal Models has released a second sheet for the 1/48 Revell (Matchbox) AD-5 molds. This sheet includes decals for seven aircraft
This is a very colorful sheet, as the airplanes were CONUS based and likely used in training missions, so be prepared to use your international orange paint. Stenciling is provided to build one aircraft.
Being a Cartograf decal sheet you know you’ll get good quality, thin and opaque decals. They are very glossy on the sheet and they have very little transparent carrier film around them minimizing the chances for silvering.
This is part two “The Build”, of my review; the kit review can be seen in an earlier posting.
I followed the instruction sheet using Fishers guide for colors and building sequence. The first thing I did was take inventory of all parts. I found I was missing a couple of struts. I emailed Paul Fisher of Fisher Models and within a few days had the replacement parts in hand. Excellent customer service. As suggested, I thoroughly washed all parts using Dawn soap and warm water and let them dry overnight. It took about an hour to “clean up” the parts; this involved some molding lines and a little flash to be removed. One thing about Fisher kits, his molding is excellent and you should have very little clean up to do.
Caracal Models has released a sheet for the 1/48 Revell (Matchbox) A-1E molds. This sheet includes decals for seven USAF and two VNAF aircraft (for an amazing total of 9 airplanes!).
The options on this decal sheet are:
The first three aircraft are overall ADC Gray, while the last six are in SEA camouflage. Stenciling is provided to build one USAF aircraft. The decal sheet was printed by Cartograf in Italy.
Being a Cartograf decal sheet you know you’ll get good quality, thin and opaque decals. They are very glossy on the sheet and they have very little transparent carrier film around them minimizing the chances for silvering.
