AFTERBURNER DECALS - #48-062 RED FLAG TIGERS

64th/65th AGGRESSOR SQUADRONS F-5E TIGER II

When I read with interest that the excellent model armour specialists, AFV Club, were branching out into aircraft and producing a 1/48 F-5E, I suddenly became interested in modern jets! I have two AFV Club WWII armour kits in my stash, having been enthused while visiting the EuroMilitaire model show at Folkestone last year. The AFV Club kits are really excellent quality and armour modellers of my acquaintance speak very highly of them, so if their aircraft are produced to the same standard, then count me in please.

My interest was recently doubled by webmeister Jim Hatch sending me the latest decal offerings from esteemed Houston, Texas, decal people, Afterburner Decals
who have produced what I would call a 'spoilt for choice' set of decals specifically for the new AFV Club F-5E Tiger kit.

I will have to put my hands up here, plead 'Guilty' and confess to never having used Afterburner Decals before, so the reader is promised a totally unbiased review. Not only that, I will tread a path that very few reviewers of decals have trod before, and that it is to actually 'road test' two of the decals onto a spare wing - one using just water, and one using some specialist model liquid help!

Let's see what you get for your hard earned pound, euro or buck. I mentioned the words 'spoilt for choice' and that is an understatement as far as this set is concerned, and I can now see some of the attraction to modelling modern jets if this set is typical. There is a choice of 23 (yes, 23!!) options with wonderful colourscheme names such as 'Old Blue', 'New Blue', 'Flogger', 'Old Lizzard' and 'New Ghost' it is almost endless.

Opening the A4 sized clear plastic re-sealable envelope reveals 6, A4, full colour, double sided sheets of camouflage markings. 5 sides of these sheets show the port side views which also contain important exclusive stencil markings for the 23 options. The remaining 5 sides show the upper and lower camouflage markings, each with the relevant FS numbers for the colour call outs.

There is one other A4 sheet in the package which is printed in mono and this is the Stencil Guide. I was impressed by the very professional total presentation. As I said in a previous decal review, you have only one chance to make a good impression and Afterburner Decals have achieved that so far with me.

The decal sheet itself is slightly smaller that A4, measuring 25.8cms x 20.2cms and is 'choc-a-bloc' with decal goodies, but one very small sentence on the top right of the sheet said the magic words, "Printed by Cartograf.com Made in Italy" which, in my experience instils much confidence into the modeller preparing his latest 'masterpiece'. After all, if a model has been beautifully built and painted to perfection (in the eye of the beholder!), the application of the decals really makes the thing come to life, but poor decals can take the edge off things.

Close examination under a magnifying glass revealed the decals to have been beautifully printed (as one comes to expect from Messrs Cartograf) and even the minutest printed words could be read with ease and each letter clearly defined. Carrier film surrounding individual numbers was almost nil and the register was perfect. Excellent stuff.

So, how did the decals perform? I have just returned to the computer keyboard having applied two of the number 9's to my standard test bed wing - a spare 1/32 WWI Sopwith Pup wing from my completed Wingnut Wings kit. One number 9 was applied using just water, a soft artists brush and some tissue paper to gently apply some pressure, and the other was applied using water and a little help from Mr Mark Softer. Both were positioned over a wing rib tape which has minimal detail, but enough to guage the 'hugability' of the decals. I applied the 'straight' water mounted decal first and by the time (a matter of two minutes) I had placed the second decal onto the wing, the first had already started to settle around the wing tape detail which augered well. I left both for 24 hours to settle completely and then took a photograph to show the difference - if any.

Well, they say that every picture tells a story. The story here is that both decals settled very well indeed but in my view, and I am being very 'picky' here, the decal on the right actually blended with the surface detail better, and that decal had some Mr Mark Softer used on it. But there was really nothing between the two.

So what do we think?
Superb. This was my first taste of Afterburner Decals and I hope that it will not be my last. Everything about the set smacked of professionalism in presentation and production.Provided the AFV Club kit is up to scratch, I should imagine there will be a run on this set as it almost enthuses you enough to go out and buy enough kits to use the whole 23 decal options! I would imagine a kindly trader would do you a good deal.The set is currently available through Hannants in the UK at £16.99. Unfortunately, Afterburner Decals, as the name implies, only produce decals for modern jets. How about branching out into WWII stuff guys? See their whole range at www.afterburnerdecals.com

Overall: 10/10
Many thanks to those great guys at Afterburner Decals for providing the review sample here. More to come very soon. Watch this space.