F-DCAL 1/144 de Havilland Comet I Decals By Chris Banyai-Riepl

F-DCAL has come out with several decal sets for the Comet I, designed to be used with the F-RSIN Comet I conversion (reviewed here). The first sheet handles BOAC, providing markings for either G-ALYP or G-ANAV. G-ALYP was the first production Mk. I Comet and was lost off Elba on January 10, 1954. The second option, G-ANAV, was the first Mk. IA Comet and operated with the joint “Springbok” service with South African Airways. The decal sheet includes the cheatlines, BOAC titles, and tail markings. The cheatlines are split into front and rear pieces to make up for any discrepancies in the shortening of the fuselage. Door outlines are also included, as well as extra registration letters.

The second sheet heads across the Channel, with a Comet Mk. I (F-BGNX) from Air France. This classic livery will look quite nice on an early Comet. An interesting method on this sheet is the dual printing of the cheatlines and the tail flash. One set is printed on white decal paper for better opacity. As the cheatline separates the upper white from the lower natural metal finish, this will give some extra leeway in masking the separation. In addition to the regular Air France livery markings, the sheet includes extra seahorse emblems for both the nose and the tail.

The third sheet provides another French Comet Mk. I, this one from UAT Aéromaritime. This attractive livery features a cheatline of yellow and blue, with matching UAT titles for the fuselage. The tail has the French national colors of blue, white and red, with five yellow stars in the white section. Three registrations are included, these being F-BGSA, F-BGSB and F-BGSC. Like the Air France sheet, this one also has the cheatline printed on white decal paper to help with opacity and in masking the separation between the white and natural metal sections.

All three sheets are printed with a laser printer, which means that they are translucent. Going down over a white fuselage, this will be no problem at all, and explains why on the UAT and Air France sheets the cheatlines are printed on white decal paper. Like other non-silkscreened decals, there are no alignment problems here, as they are printed in a single pass. Any one of these would make for an attractive finish for a Comet I, and if you’re building the F-RSIN conversion, definitely check these decals out.