Afterburner Decals 1/48 Triple Nickel 555th Fighter Squadron F-16s
By Frank Anselmo
Another of the newest releases from Afterburner Decals is sheet 48-044, Triple Nickel, 555th Fighter Squadron. The markings on this sheet are designed to fit the Tamiya family of 1/48 scale F-16 kits. With trimming, these decals will fit other brand F-16 kits in this scale.
For weeks leading to the release of this sheet, Scott Brown on various discussion forums was tell all of us that this sheet needed to be seen to be appreciated. He was not joking! After studying the sheet, and placing it under my work bench magnifier, the printing on this sheet is just astounding!!! There are no scribbles around the unit badges – every word can be clearly read. This sheet just could be the best sheet that Afterburner Decals has ever released!!!!!
Okay, now let’s look at what F-16 markings are available on this sheet.
F-16C, 89-2035, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 2005 – 2007
F-16C, 89-2035, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 2003 – 2004
F-16C, 89-2035, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 2002
F-16C, 89-2035, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 2000 – 2001
F-16C, 88-0550, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 1999 Allied Force
F-16C, 88-0550, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 1997
F-16C, 88-0550, Block 40, 555th FS Commander jet, 1994 Deny Flight
F-16C, 88-0526, Block 40, 1995 Deliberate Force
F-16C, 89-2009, Block 40, 1996
F-16C, 87-0350, Block 40, 2005 Iraqi Freedom, Balad AB, Iraq
F-16C, 87-0351, Block 40, 2007
F-16C, 89-2024, Block 40, 2002
F-16C, 89-2038, Block 40, 2005
F-16C, 89-2039, Block 40, 2004
F-16D, 90-0800, Block 40, 2006
F-16C, 89-2044, Block 40, 1999
F-16C, 89-2057, Block 40, 2001
All of these markings are for jets that are combat veterans. Remember that the basic premise for starting Afterburner Decals was to provide markings that “Put Warheads on Foreheads”. You will also notice that a couple of aircraft are depicted more than once. That is due to the change in markings over a period of time, as well as the differences in aircraft commanders. Sufficient stencils on this sheet will allow you to complete two individual models. A nice touch included on this sheet is decals that can be used for the canopy trimming of your model, along with decals for the afterburner of your GE110 engine.
This is a large decal sheet that has been printed by Cartograf decals. The decals themselves are thin, and been beautifully printed by Cartograf with a minimum of carrier film.
Also included in this sealed poly bag is a page that denotes the 3-tone F-16 scheme, as well as the new 2-tone scheme. There is also a black and white page called the Stencil Guide, and a page of fact about this unit along with Modeling Notes. There is also a page of Weapons Loads, and a full color sheet of information about what makes the F-16CG Block 40 aircraft different from the other block F-16C’s
With the recent release of the new Tamiya 1/48 scale F-16C/N Aggressor/Adversary kit, you can build almost build any of these aircraft straight from the box. The only addition you will need are the strengthening plates, and there are several sources for those.
This sheet along with all other Afterburner Decals can be ordered directly from their website: www.afterburnerdecals.com
My thanks to Scott Brown of Afterburner Decals for providing us with this sample sheet.