Afterburner Decals 1/48 Balad Vipers at War
By Frank Anselmo
Another of the new releases from Afterburner Decals is sheet 48-050, Balad Vipers at War. This sheet follow on the heels of last years release of ANG Vipers part 1, and is of the exact same quality. Included on this sheet are F-16s deployed to Balad AB in Iraq that either belong to the Air Guard or Reserve units. This set is another “Super Set” in that the main sheet is the larger 8 ½ x 11 size format.
This “Super Set” includes the markings for seventeen (17!!!!) different aircraft that were deployed to Balad AB, and includes the following:
F-16C, Block 32, 86-0218, Arkansas ANG, 2005
F-16C, Block 40, 88-0466. 466th Fighter Squadron AFRC, May 2008
F-16C, Block 42, 90-0702, Ohio ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 30, 86-0346, Alabama ANG, 2006
F-16C, Block 30, 88-0402, 482 Fighter Wing AFRC, 2007
F-16C, Block 30, 86-0294, Iowa ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 30, 86-0309, Montana ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 30, 85-1432, New York ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 30, 85-1448, South Dakota ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 30, 86-0209, District of Columbia ANG, 2006
F-16C, Block 30, 86-0222, 301st Fighter Wing AFRC, 2007
F-16C, Block 25, 84-1215, Minnesota ANG, 2008
F-16C, Block 25, 84-1290, Minnesota ANG, 2005
F-16C, Block 25, 84-1223, Texas ANG, 2007
F-16C, Block 25, 84-1254, Texas ANG, 2005
F-16C, Block 25, 83-1165, Vermont ANG, 2007 “Lethal Lady”
F-16C, Block 25, 84-1383, New Jersey ANG, 2006
In addition to the large main sheet of unit markings and stencils, there is a smaller sheet with additional unit markings to complete this set. An Addendum sheet with color corrections for some of the unit markings is also included, along with a very small sheet for the unit marking of the 466th FS.
There are sufficient markings and stencils to complete two of these aircraft from this sheet. The decals themselves have been sized for the Tamiya family of F-16s. They have been printed by Cartograf. They are very thin and have a very minimal amount of carrier film. This set comes in a large poly-ziped bag.
In addition to the usual instruction sheet for the unit markings, there are individual sheets pertaining to the individual block aircraft presented in this package. There are individual sheets for the F-16C Block 25, F-16C Block 30, F-16C Block 32, F-16CG Block 40, and F-16CG Block 42.
There are also five different Weapons Loads for these aircraft on a separate sheet.
Also included in this set is a black and white page called Stencil Guide, which includes side views, along with top and bottom views of the F-16s depicted here.
There is also information about the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing that all of these aircraft were attached to, and some other info called “Modeling Notes.” This contain information on each of the 1/48 scale F-16 kits that Tamiya has released, along with Aftermarket items available and References.
This and all other Afterburner Decals can be ordered from their website: https://www.afterburnerdecals.com/
My thanks to Scott Brown of Afterburner Decals for this review sample.