The Vietnamese use of the Skyraider during the conflict is much the same as the US. It used the Spad, or Sandy, in close air support and Combat Search and Rescue.

The Tamiya kit has been out for quite some time now and we’ve never really had a wide variety of options to mark it with. Well AOA has fixed that. This is the second sheet designed for the Tamiya Skyraider. These decals will fit any model of the Skyraider with just a little bit of trimming on the fuselage stripes. They are purposely slightly longer to work that way and you may need to trim them to fit.

This sheet comes in a large ziplock baggie with the decals and instructions being protected from the elements. The instructions are printed in full color and offers side views, as well as, top and bottom plan views for ELEVEN aircraft. This sheet covers aircraft that were painted similar to their US counterparts. This sheet has Spads painted in overall grey, then like the US Navy versions of grey over white and USAF Southeast Asia paint scheme. There is one unique VNAF paint scheme with a medium green painted over a darker brown and green.

The decals themselves are first class. They are printed by Cartograf and in perfect register with good color saturation and very thin. The decals are printed on 6 x 10 ¾ inch sheet with really colorful markings. There are plenty of extra national markings, as well as, the unique markings for each individual aircraft.

The marking options are quite colorful with yellow/black checkered tail band, or blue with white stars or even with red and white chevrons. There is a little bit of color here for everybody. The tiger motif on the engine cowlings is quite nice and beautifully rendered. The mix and match of cowlings and flight controls makes for some unique looking aircraft.

This sheet is just as good as Part 1. You can’t go wrong either way. If you are like me, the toughest part will be to decide which markings to apply. The world class decals are backed up with the same level of research. With the help of Don Logan, AOA has another winning decal sheet. Trying to figure out which aircraft to depict is the only downside to this set. With markings for ELEVEN aircraft, AOA doesn’t make it easy, especially when accompanied with the Part 1 sheet. Another winner for AOA. I can’t wait to see what they have next on the drawing board.

Thanks to AOA Decals and IPMS/USA for the review copy. You can obtain yours by contacting them directly at www.AOAdecals.com . While you are on their website check out all the other great decals.

Let them know you heard about it here at IPMS/USA.