• Spitfire Decals Part 3, 72-023, $18.00
• Spitfire Decals Part 4, 72-024, $18.00
• Hurricane Decals Part 1, 72-025, $18.00

The first Lifelike Decals sheet, Spitfire Pt. 3, provides decals for four Mk. V aircraft, and historical backgrounds for each aircraft. The aircraft depicted are:

1. Spitfire Mk. Vb, AD196, Sgt. Jack Evans, No. 71 (Eagle) Sqdn, Debden, Aug. 1942
2. Spitfire Mk. Vb or Vc. Serial unknown, F/O James Montgomery, 4FS/52 FG, USAAF, Sicily, 1943.
3. Spitfire Mk. Vb, EN824, P/O John Yarra, No. 453 (Australian) Sqdn., Martlesham Heath, December, 1942
4. Spitfire Mk. Vb, ER821, F/L Neville Duke, No. 92 Sqdn., Libya, 1943.

There are enough roundels for one RAF and one USAAF aircraft, although the other markings are provided for all four aircraft. You’ll need extra roundels for this one.

Introduction

Let's start with a little word equation: U. S. Navy + the mid-70's + F-4 Phantoms = Colorful Aircraft, and that's what this decal package is all about. Every option provided reflects a Phantom in hi-vis markings from the 1970's, a time of colorful U. S. Navy aircraft.

History

The USS Ingersoll was Spruance-class destroyer commissioned in April, 1980. During her short career, the Ingersoll was involved in a collision with a Pakistani oil tanker in the Straits of Malacca. Even though the Ingersoll was one of the newest ships in class, it was one of the first decommissioned. The Ingersoll was sunk as a target in July, 2003.

The Delta III class Russian submarine was first commissioned in December, 1976. There were a total of fourteen produced. As of 2008, six Delta IIIs were active. The model in the box seems to be just a generic representation of the Delta III submarine verse a specific vessel.

The Kits

The Ingersoll kit appears to have been a combination of kits that Dragon had produced. Included in the kit were a USS Ticonderoga plate and several deck options that were not used.

The Yak-38 Forger was considered by many to be the Soviet Harrier. Like in the West, Soviet aircraft design bureaus were fascinated by the potential of VSTOL aircraft and undertook their own developmental efforts. The Forger was borne out of a requirement for a VSTOL fighter for the Soviet Navy to take to sea on the Kiev Class ships. The Kiev Class was technically not an aircraft carrier, but instead described as a heavy anti-submarine cruiser and, later, a tactical aircraft-carrying cruiser. The Forger was used both for air defense and in a short-range anti-ship role. Unlike the Harrier, the Forger did not survive the Cold War. The plane was functionally obsolescent and work was well underway on its replacement, the Yak-141 Freestyle, when the collapse of the Soviet Union heralded the retirement of the Kiev Class and the need for a VSTOL fighter.

If most of this review feels like dèjà vu all over again, well, it is, sort of. When my HobbyBoss F-14D kit arrived for me to review, included was a set of the SAC landing gear. This is the same product number that I reviewed against the HobbyBoss F-14A, and as the landing gear did not change from the A to the A+, B, and later D models, the set is appropriate for all. I have added comments for actual installation, but otherwise, much is unchanged.