AoA (Angle of Attack) decals: Been around about a year, and now we know they are focusing on Vietnam War subjects … We sincerely appreciate this new decal manufacturer sending IPMS/USA their latest releases for review! (…and the usual thanks also to IPMS USA Reviewer corps leadership for sending these my way...)

This set is extremely useful in that it includes a bunch of USAF and US Army stencil and non-stencil markings, in both blue and black, in this case sized for the Roden 1/32 O-1/L-19. You have many options for use, and these are well researched and provide (1) different choices for YOUR model, and (2) provide an alternative to the (frequently) not-so-good kit decal performance.

A set of airframe stencils in included for one model, along with national insignia. When done, you’ll have a lot of numbers and USAF/US ARMY notations for use on your 1/32 snakes and Hueys… at least that’s my plan, as the old Revell kit decals are looking a bit worn in the box.

Notable options include one with the cartoon dog “Snoopy” and a rebel flag on the side of the aircraft, with the name “The rebel” in stencil. Many of the other aircraft have peanuts/Red Baron Markings on the tail, which marks these aircraft as flying in the late 1960’s when the band “The Royal Guardsman” with their song about Snoopy and the Red Baron was popular and Charles Shultz character “Snoopy” was everywhere. This was obviously before copyright got crazy…

The U.S. Army spotter L-19’s are also catered to with several differently-marked O-1’s, including a white bird, army unit markings, and one with door art featuring “Cat Killers”. There are even some orange striped birds… all in all plenty of options to choose from.

Sheet Decal Options

(from AoA’s Website)

“Part one of the 1/32 Bird Dog coverage, this decal sheet includes thirteen marking options for various O-1 A/G/E Bird Dogs from the Vietnam War:

• Seven US Army schemes - 21st Black Aces (two schemes, only one shown in cover image), 199th Swamp Fox, 203rd Hawkeyes, 220th Catkillers, and 221st Shotguns Reconnaissance Aviation/Airplane Companies (RAC)
• Six US Air Force (USAF) schemes (both blue and black USAF markings provided)

Data/stencil set provided for one aircraft with variations of certain markings.”

In addition to the standard airframe stenciling, the sheet also includes tire slip markings, optional door opening lettering in different colors, and clear instructions on what markings are appropriate for each aircraft.

As a review item, I was (again) very impressed with the decal quality and performance on the model. All stencils are readable, and the accuracy and level of fidelity to color and density was as good as it gets. The white markings did not allow background colors to show through… and the various color areas were opaque to the point they did not need any white backing (such as small lettering).

I opted for the U.S.A.F. stencil marked bird dog, because it was not so common and this aircraft was based out of DaNang, where dear ol’ dad was an advisor pilot… the instructions point out the orange markings are NOT necessarily on this particular tail number, and as I was looking for generics in this case, I opted to leave off the orange markings.

All in all a great Package from AoA decals, 10 of 10 for subject, presentation, and performance!