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 is Tomcat Collection 3 and provides decals for seven unique aircraft. There are three different F-14D Tomcats serving with VF-31 representing aircraft in April 1997 (CAG (Commander Air Group) aircraft), November 1997 (CAG aircraft), and September 2006. The 2006 markings are for the “Last Cat Standing” as VF-31 was the final squadron to retire the Tomcat. The VF-213 markings are both for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and represent the CAG plane as well as the Squadron Commanding Officer’s plane, both of which were F-14Ds. There are also markings for two NSAWC (Naval Strike Air Warfare Center) F-14A aircraft with a colorful splinter camouflage paint job in April 2000 as well as a standard low visibility paint job from 2001.

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. One side provides the left and right-hand side views of each marking option while the other side provides top and bottom views along with the FS numbers. The decals themselves are printed on a 210 by 150 mm sheet for most markings while the non-skid areas and smaller items (Bureau Numbers, “No Step”, national insignia, “slime lights”, and such) are printed on a 150 by 100 mm sheet. All colors are in register, and the set allows for adding decals to multiple aircraft. Many of the smaller decal sheet items are printed in different shades of gray to coincide with the different paint schemes represented.

My hits for this set are the aircraft selected for representation, the quality of the decals, and options for high and low visibility markings. I have no misses for this set. I applied a “No Step” decal over a spare part painted with a gloss paint, and it settled without issue using Micro Set and Micro Sol.

I highly recommend this decal set to any modeler wanting to represent one or more of the seven Tomcats portrayed, especially the Last Tomcat Standing. While the recommended kits are those from Academy, Hobby Boss, Italeri, Revell, and Tamiya, they will also work with kits from AMK, Fujimi, Great Wall, and Monogram. 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.