AOA Decals is making a name for themselves with some of the very best decals found on the market. Whisper-thin, spot-on register, easy to apply, and with excellent opacity, they really make for an extremely pleasant modeling experience.

I was offered a chance to check some of these out and started with their stencil set for Vietnam-era Marine or Navy Phantoms. This set comes on one full sheet with a separate sheet for the national markings features, literally hundreds of individual stencils covering the entire airframe including weapons pylons. Registration is perfect and the film is extraordinarily thin. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they lay down with no obvious silvering. Frankly, I couldn’t find a thing to complain about, except perhaps for the time it’s going to take to apply them all.

I was particularly impressed with the superb instructions which are printed on high-quality paper and feature a full color view of every single decal location, for a full six pages of instructions, including a small addendum sheet. I’m afraid that any modelers who fudge this procedure will only have themselves to blame. Things couldn’t be more crystal clear.

Honestly, it’s not often I find decals designed so beautifully and professionally. They vastly outstrip anything you’re likely to find in any model kit at any price, and raise the level to museum quality with no frustrations built in. I cannot recommend this series enough – if you’re a Phantom Phreak, these decals are an absolute must.

As always, my thanks to IPMS/USA for a chance to review (and have) these splendid decals and to AOA Decals for providing a truly top-notch product. Fun!