Twobobs always makes great decals and when this scheme popped up on the review list and included and arctic scheme aggressor, I knew I wanted to review it and build and F-16 in those colors. Inside the package are markings for two 1/48th scale F-16’s from 57th Wing at Nellis AFB. This group continues making aggressor schemes to mimic the newest schemes from our potential adversaries. In this case, the two schemes involved are the Arctic scheme with light gray/medium gray/very dark gray in bands around the jet for the first scheme and the second is the splinter scheme in blues and gray. Both jets are really nice looking but I wanted to focus on the Arctic bandit scheme.

But before I use them, let’s look at what you get in the package- decals for both planes printed by Microscale in perfect color and registration. There are two full color sheets with both left and right profiles and top/bottom profiles for each plane. There is one sheet of decals of standard 5x7 size in color and one smaller sheet in gray tones/black. Decals are included for both jets. This gets especially important as the arctic scheme wing walks change color as they shift from color to color; more on that shortly. Also, to ensure accuracy, Twobobs talked to the plane captains to ensure the correctness of the markings and decals.

So, how do they decal work when applied to an actual model. I won’t bore you with the details of the build- I went crazy and added resin to a lot of places and the kit built well and reasonably quickly. I spent a lot of time masking the colors. Speaking of colors, the Twobobs sheets have excellent references to the colors and by FS number which makes things much easier. I worked my way from dark to light following the included painting guide and then glossed the entire plane. Once dry, I added several Glosscote layers and went to adding the decals. They went on like a dream setting in easily with only a little encouragement from the Microset. No silvering was noted. Bottom line, they applied great. The only thing that took time and patience were the wing walks. For the Arctic scheme, the FS36628 and 36231 have black wing walks while the dark gray (FS37038) get white wing walks. I used dividers and measured the sections to add that way. The best advice I can give you is go slow and let the decals set up and dry before adding the next part. It’s time consuming but easy. Once done, a flat coat and finished!

So, great schemes, decals for two planes, Microscale quality and they look great on planes. These are awesome and most highly recommended.

My thanks to Twobobs for a chance to build a plane with markings I have loved and to IPMS for giving me the opportunity to build it.