Starfighter Decals 1/72 SPAD XIII A.E.F Showbirds Part 1
By Matt Bittner
After WWI, a group of US flyers decided to paint their SPAD XIII aircraft especially for the 1919 "Third Army Carnival". They discovered when they flew their painted aircraft, though, the paint severely affected the flying characteristics.
There are two aircraft on this decal sheet of American Expeditionary Force (AEF) Showbirds. The first was flown by Lt. Palmer of the 94th Aero Squadron, Ft. Alexander, Coblenz Germany, April 1919. This was known as "Diamond Dick" as it was painted in diamonds throughout most of its airframe, which was overall white.
In addition to the marking and color information, there is also a sheet of paper included that explains how to build the late-model Eduard 1/72 SPAD XIII. It includes which alternative parts to use, and in the case for Capt. Chambers' "Flag Bus", that you'll need to track down some Marlin machine guns to be used in place of the standard Vickers guns.
All in all a very comprehensive set. Everything you'll need, decal-wise, for both aircraft are included on the sheet. One important note that escaped me when I initially took a quick glance over the instruction sheet. Note that the underside of the upper wing for both aircraft was not overpainted.
Many, many thanks to Starfighter Decals for the review set. They're stunning and I can't wait for the next set of Showbirds. Hopefully one of them will be "Eastah Aig" so I can re-do mine, as the Czechmaster kit I used for my example, the lower wing re-warped after finishing.