AFTERBURNER DECALS [ MORE REVIEWS ] [ WEBSITE ] [ NEW STORIES ]

In-Box Review
148
West Coast SuperBug CAG's.
Featuring F/A-18 E/F & EA-18G: VX-9, VFA-22, VFA-27,VFA-41,VFA-115 & VAQ-138.
  • move

by: Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]

Contents.

Protected in a A4 resealable plastic wallet. Included with this release are:
-6 x A4 colour guides.
-2 x A4 black and white stencil guides.
-1 x A4 decal sheet.
-2 x smaller decal sheets.

CAG aircraft covered by this release include:
-165804 F/A-18F, VX-9 Vampires, Air Test and Evaluation Squadron, 2006.
-166795 F/A-18F, VFA-22, Fighting Redcocks, USS Ronald Reagan, 2008.
-165860 F/A-18E, VFA-27,Royal Maces, USS George Washington, 2010.
-166842 F/A-18F, VFA-41,Black Aces, USS Nimitz, 2010.
-165859 F/A-18E, VFA-115, Eagles, USS George Washington, 2010.
-166934 EA-18G, VAQ-138, Yellow Jackets, 2010.

All aircraft featured in this water slide decal release are painted light ghost grey [FS 36375] on the lower surfaces and dark ghost grey [FS36320] on the upper surfaces. The narrow cheat lines for 165860 [yellow cheat lines] and 166842 [red cheat lines] are printed in sections which makes their placement so much easier. The wider yellow lightning bolt cheat line of 166934 is printed in one piece. There are decals for the ejector seats and white square decals for the interior of the exhaust cones as well. Also included are decals for Steel Beach's vinyl intake cover sets and the Bard Stack resin sets. The sheet includes the red and green decals representing the navigation lights.

Instructions:
There are full colour port and starboard views of each aircraft to aid the placement of markings and the colour demarcation between upper and lower colours. There are upper and lower plan views of 165860 and 166842 providing the layout for the cheat lines as well as upper and lower colour guidance. There are very useful illustrations for the placement of the wing modex numbers for each aircraft. There are two separate stencil placement guides, one for the F/A-18E/F and the other is for the EA-18G.

Decals:
Quality of the print by Cartograf is simply stunning. Decals are glossy with a minimum amount of carrier film. All the written stencils are sharp and legible, even the tiniest of stencils, that you have to view with a strong magnifying glass. I like the attention to detail, such as the fin badges and the rather vicious looking sharks teeth on 165860. Also there are four different types warnings for the engine air intakes. There are enough stencils and wing walk ways for two aircraft, but there is nothing to stop the modeler from using the kits stencils to be able to utilise even more of the above markings. Decals are sized to the Hasegawa 1/48 kit.

Conclusions.

Afterburner Decals are at it again. Making life difficult for us poor modelers. The choice of six rather splendid looking schemes, will have you lying awake for hours deciding which ones to go for. Thank goodness there are enough markings to decorate two aircraft from this release. More if you use the kits stencils. Seriously this is a superb release from Afterburner Decals. Nice one Afterburner Decals.
SUMMARY
Highs: Too many to mention.
Lows: None.
Verdict: Highly recommended if you are contemplating building a 1/48 F/A-18 E/F & EA-18G CAG bird.
Percentage Rating
95%
  Scale: 1:48
  Mfg. ID: 48-074.
  Suggested Retail: $20.00
  PUBLISHED: Jun 27, 2011
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.86%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 94.64%

Our Thanks to Afterburner Decals!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

View Vendor Homepage  |  More Reviews  

About Tim Hatton (litespeed)
FROM: ENGLAND - NORTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

Aircraft are my primary interest from WWll to present day.

Copyright ©2021 text by Tim Hatton [ LITESPEED ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



Comments

Great review Tim, Afterburner Decals are top notch. Guys you can’t go wrong with these sheets, great color, registration and plenty of options. Thumbs up for another great sheet. Happy Modeling, Joe
JUN 27, 2011 - 08:43 AM
   
ADVERTISEMENT


Photos
Click image to enlarge
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
  • move
ADVERTISEMENT