One of the newer suppliers for the IPMS-USA Review Corps is DXM Decals, the DXM stands for Double Excellent Models. While as the name implies, the company specializes in decals, they also produce detail parts and paint masks for airbrushing aircraft. The company produces their products for 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scale aircraft. The decals are printed by Cartograf, who is known for their quality work. Any modeler that has applied water-slide decals will have no issues with using this set.

This set contains decals for the AV-8B+ Harrier II in service with the USMC. There are markings for six aircraft serving from 2009 through 2024. The specific aircraft are as follows chronologically:

• VMA-513 Flying Nightmares Bureau Number (BuNo) 165006, 2009
• VMA-513 Flying Nightmares BuNo 165006, 2010 (same aircraft as above but with a different paint scheme)
• VMA-214 Black Sheep BuNo 165001, 2019
• VMA-231 Ace of Spades BuNo 165582, 2024
• VMA-231 Ace of Spades BuNo 165389, 2024 (MCAS Cherry Point Air Show 2024)
• VMA-223 Bulldogs CO bird BuNo 164569, 2024 (MCAS Cherry Point Air Show 2024)

Upon opening the package, you will find a single, folded sheet of paper with color illustrations for decal placement and paint color guides using FS (Federal Standard) numbers along with a single sheet of paper with the packaging image and the numbers that correspond with the decals (as they are not numbered on the decal sheet). The decals themselves are printed on a single 215 by 152 mm sheet (8-7/16 by 6 inches), and a small sheet (1-1/8 inch or 30mm square) is also included for BuNo 164569. All colors are in register, and the set allows for marking any of the six aircraft mentioned above. I found it interesting that the paint schemes changed from 2009 to 2010 switching from three shades of gray in 2009 to two shades from 2010 through 2024. Five of the aircraft also feature full color tails (black, blue, and yellow for the base color) while one has a black rudder only.

My hits for this set are the unique aircraft selected for representation as well as the quality of the decals. I have no misses for this set. I applied a “No Step” decal from DXM previously over a spare part painted with a gloss paint, and it settled without issue using Micro Set and Micro Sol to test the decals.

I highly recommend this decal set to any modeler wanting to add a colorful AV-8B+ to their collection. My sincere thanks to DXM Decals for providing this set to the IPMS-USA Review Corps, and I appreciate having had the opportunity to perform this assessment.