While only some of the decals sent are newly released (Tu-160, MiG-21s
and B-2) most of these are new to Internet Modeler, and have only recently
been sent to the United States for sale (through Linden Hill Imports).
While I've reviewed the 1/72nd Su-15 and MiG-31 decals in the past,
this was before there was an authorised vendor in the US for them. So,
now that they're more readily available (you'll have to check your part
of the world for our non-US readers - sorry) and Begemot has been extremely
kind in sending them for review, I'll preview the sets they sent.
While Begemot may seem new to some, they've actually been around for
quite some time. One area they excel in is supplying decals for some of
the model manufacturers in the CIS. Prior to "becoming" Begemot,
it is also my understanding some of the people involved with Begemot used
to be involved with Travers. Travers had been around for quite some time
in the CIS. I mention all this so that people don't think they're a "brand
new, fly-by-the-night" company, as they do put out quality product.
And that they do. All decals sent for review are very well printed -
the colors are fantastic - and completely in register. Heck, all the Tu-160
decals are works of art and if you're interested at all in the Trumpeter
kit, you're doing yourself a disservice by not purchasing these decal
sheets. They're most complete and you can see the level of detail (as
well as how much they enjoy their work) supplied on the decal sheet -
especially the stencil set. All of the Begemot decals are "labors
of love" and are definitely worth tracking down. (Maybe, with enough
people emailing them, we can get Begemot to scale-down their Tu-160 sheets
to fit the Zvezda 1/144th Tu-160.)
Note that in this review I provide images only of the decals. If you
want to see the instructions and marking information, Begemot has all
the instruction sheets available on their site as .PDF documents.
| 1/72nd Tu-160 and Tu-160 Stencils - Utterly fantastic. If I were
to obtain the Trumpeter kit, I would not go without these decals.
Complete works of art, and while you may go mad adding all the stencils
provided on the Stencil decal set, you will still have a most complete
Tu-160 built. |
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| 1/72nd B-2 - A very nice set with some state names provided. |
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| 1/72nd MiG-21s - Holy mackeral, Batman! You want MiG-21s, then look
at these three sheets. Not only do they supply the more "modern"
-21s, but they also provide decals for older MiGs, such as the Revell
MiG-21F-13. And not all marking options are Russian, either! |
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| 1/72nd MiG-31 - I did a more in-depth review of these in April
of 2004. |
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| 1/72nd MiG-25 and MiG-25 Stencils - A very nice decal sheet that
includes Iraqi Foxbats. The Stencil decals are very complete and very
nicely done as well. |
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| 1/72nd Mi-8 (1), Mi-17 (2) and Mi-8/17 Stencils - Again, more than
just Russian markings along with some civilian helicopters as well.
Quite unique in the marking selection. |
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| 1/72nd Ka-27/28/29 "Helix" - Not as many marking choices,
but instrument decals are included. |
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| 1/72nd Mi-24 "Hind" - Another excellent plethora of markings,
including some stencils and instrument decals. Now if only we had
a completely accurate 1/72nd model to go with the decals! |
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| 1/48th MiG-21 and Su-15 - While the MiG-21 single sheet isn't as
comprehensive as the three 1/72nd sheets, there are still lots of
variations to choose from, and the sheet covers all early and late
MiG-21s. In addition, it comes with masks. The Su-15 sheet is also
stunning and something those building the Trumpeter kit will definitely
want to track down. |
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Thanks to Begemot
for the review samples. |
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