 Icarus
Decals 1/72 Hellenic Thunders Part 1: F/RF-84F
I’ve always liked the lines of the F-84F, and I’m surprised
that we haven’t seen more kits of this fighter. At least we have
decent kits of the type in 1/72 and 1/48, but we are quite due for a new
tool F-84F in 1/72. Also lacking are aftermarket decals for the aircraft,
especially with regards to the foreign operators of the Thunderstreak.
Icarus Decals takes care of the Hellenic angle with this sheet, though,
providing decals for no less than eleven F/RF-84Fs. In addition to the
markings, the decal sheet includes a full set of stenciling, giving your
model that extra level of realism. For those who build 1/48, this sheet
is duplicated in that scale (48012 is the sheet number).
There is a mix of camouflaged and natural metal aircraft on this sheet.
Starting at the top, the first aircraft is an F-84F, 26939, of the 339FBS,
117CW in 1960. It has yellow/red/yellow stripes on its nose and uses the
light style of roundel/fin flash. This aircraft suffered a crash landing
and was repaired. The post-repair scheme is the second choice on this
sheet, as the plane was painted in a NATO camouflage of RAL6014 dark green
and RAL7012 dark gray over RAL7001 silver. Still using the light roundels
and fin flash, the nose stripes on this version are white/blue/white.
Both options feature the last three digits of the serial on the nose in
black.
 The
next aircraft is rather colorful. Dating from 1958, this F-84F, serialed
26926, has the rear fuselage and tail painted in Arctic Red. It has the
squadron emblem on the fuselage, and the red/yellow/red nose stripes.
Showing its ex-USAF heritage, it still carries the buzz number FS-926
on the rear fuselage. The final option with the red/yellow/red nose stripes
is F-84F 28815, from the 339FBS, 117CW. This aircraft is somewhat unique
in that it has the 336FBS unit badge on the fuselage, but the nose bands
are those for the 339FBS. It has 815 on the nose in large black numbers.
Changing colors on the nose, the next aircraft features yellow/black/yellow
stripes. It is an F-84F, 37152, possibly of 340FBS, 115CW, at Souda AFB
in 1963. This aircraft uses the medium blue roundels and fin flash, and
has no numbers on the nose. The second aircraft with yellow/black/yellow
stripes is an F84F, serial 26913, of the 340FBS, 115CW, at Souda AFB in
1961. This aircraft has the dark blue roundels and fin flash, and like
the previous aircraft, it has no numbers on the nose.
The final natural metal F-84F is serialed 37223 and it has white/black/white
stripes on the nose. Squadron and date are unknown for this Thunderstreak,
and it has the light roundels and fin flash. There are no numbers on the
nose. The last F-84F on the sheet is a camouflaged aircraft, finished
in the TAC camouflage scheme consisting of FS30219 tan, FS34102 medium
green, and FS34079 dark green, with FS36622 light gray undersides. It
has medium blue roundels and fin flashes, and the last three numbers of
the serial on the nose.
The last three aircraft are all RF-84Fs, all in a different general
finish. The natural metal RF-84F (7468) is from the 348TRS, 110CW, at
Larissa AFB in 1956. It is rather sedate for the most part, with dark
blue roundels and fin flash and no squadron emblems. It does have yellow
wing fences and trim tabs, though, which adds to the color a bit.
The next aircraft is finished in the TAC camouflage scheme. It is an
RF-84F, 28736, of the 348TRS, 110CW, at Larissa AFB in 1983. It has the
squadron badge on the tail and uses dark blue roundels and fin flashes.
The last aircraft is also from the 348TRS, 110CW, seen at Larissa AFB
in 1967. This aircraft is camouflaged in the NATO scheme and also has
the squadron badge on the tail.
This is a well researched decal sheet with plenty of interesting options
for Thunderstreaks and Thunderflashes. In addition to the given examples,
there appears to be enough numbers to build just about any Hellenic F/RF-84F.
If you have a few of these kits lying around, waiting for something a
little different, this might be just the answer for you. The decals are
printed by Cartograf, so the quality is high. Alignment is perfect, with
no problems seen, even with the small unit badges.
My thanks to Icarus Decals for the review sample. The Icarus Decal line
is available from Hannant’s. |
|
