This wonderful decal set covers USMC F-4B Phantoms from the following squadrons:

• VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts
• VMFA-542 Tigers
• VMFA-513 Flying Nightmares
• VMFA-122 Crusaders

I had been eager to build the Crusader’s 3-gunned F-4B that flew from Da Nang with 3 Mark 4 gun pods for several missions, so I was eager to try out these decals. I was not disappointed. Printed by Cartograph, they are very crisp, and include various options for each squadron’s markings, a set of walkway decals, and all the stencils needed. The stencils include some specific for the J model, but they are called out on the instruction sheet so just pay attention.

Overall, the decals are wonderful to work with. They separate after 10-15 seconds in warm water and slide easily. There are a couple of things to keep in mind. The larger deals were more obstinate to get into position once on the model – they were ready to adhere quickly, and took some occasional re-wetting to get them into final position. The only other caution is based on the thinness of the decals, especially when working with those that included a long line of stencils in a single decal. I found it easier to cut some of these into shorter sections, and some of them had a “peninsula” section – a stencil that poked out at a right angle to the rest of the decal. These I cut off and added separately. The decals are so thin that trying to work them into position if they were too long or too odd-shaped made it difficult. When I did encounter this, it worked well to get one end anchored using a cotton swab to work out the moisture, then move the rest of the decal in proper line and finish the process.

The instructions, diagrams, and decal numbering were clear. I did encounter some misnumbered stencils, and had to so some work to figure out which “wing” had the correct number for the indicated decals, and then match the stencil to the other wing, ignoring the numbers. There were only a handful like this, but some of them were the larger stencil combos, so be careful!

My only surprise was then the “famous” 3-gunned Phantom was not represented, so I pulled the serials and aircraft number from another set to get the aircraft I wanted.

Thank you to AOA decals for providing a wonderful addition to the Phantom family of decals in 1/72, and for the sample copy provided to IPMS for review.