Aviation Decal Sets
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Leading Edge Models 1/48 Scale Canadian T-33 "Silver Shark" Special Decals By Jim Bates I have always liked shark-mouth aircraft, and as a Canadian I enjoy building CAF aircraft, so I was overjoyed to see Leading Edge Models issue a decal sheet for special markings carried on VU-32's CT-133 "Silver Shark." Within last the ten years or so, there has been an explosion of special markings applied to Canadian Armed Forces' aircraft. Not wanting to be left out, in 1992, VU-32 of CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia, painted up one of their T-33s as the "Silver Shark." The aircraft sports a very attractive blue over grey scheme with a large shark mouth. Wow, what a neat scheme! Recently, Leading Edge Models has issued this decal sheet for the "Silver Shark" in both 1/48 and 1/72 scale. Leading Edge provides all the marking needed for the aircraft, including additional intakes and exhaust ports necessary for the re-engined CAF CT-133. All necessary stencils are provided. The decals are spot on in register and the printing looks good. The black and white instructions provide excellent placement instructions for the decals, and painting details, including cockpit colours, color swatches, and paint mixing suggestions for the grey and blue of the "Silver Shark." The instructions also provide a helpful template for the paint demarcation line on the nose. A colour drawing of the scheme is included to clarify any confusion. All in all it looks like a great sheet, and at $4.95, good value for the money. Now all I need is a Hobbycraft T-33 to get started! In the U.S. Leading Edge Models are distributed by Precision Parts. Have you hobby shop order Leading Edge products from them or you can contact Leading Edge Models at: Leading Edge Models
E 83 Skyline Cres., NE
Calgary, Alberta, T2K 5X2
Canada
Propagteam 1/72 Avia S-199
Sheet # 72102
The Avia S-199 is a derivative of the venerable Bf109, based on the Bf109G-10 airframe. The classic DB605 engine was replaced with the lesser Jumo 211 engine, resulting in a much poorer performance. Several of these were sold to Israel, where it quickly earned the nickname "Mule".
KP is the only company who has made a 1/72 S-199, and this decal set is designed to give that kit some different options. There is one Israeli and four Czechoslovakian variants given, and all are printed in register with opaque colors. There's a lot of white on 
this sheet, but it looks like there won't be any problem with it showing the color underneath. The Israeli variant is of 101 Squadron during May 1948 and features the blue and white striped rudder common to many Israeli S-199s (although this shows up as purple and white on the instruction sheet profile).
The really interesting ones, though, are the Czechoslovakian ones. Two are from the Czechoslovak Air Force, while the other two are civilian-registered ones serving with the Police Air Corps. The two air force ones are finished in the typical schemes of the S-199, one being dark green overall and the other being finished in a gray-green. All paint colors are outlined with FS numbers, allowing for easy matching. Both Czech Air Force variants have white code letters on the fuselage sides, and the green one has a blue outline to the national insignia, a quite uncommon practice.
The two Police Air Corps variants add a lot of color to the S-199, with the noses, horizontal tailplanes, and wing leading edges painted in a bright red. The civilian registration is red outlined in white, and is repeated on both the upper and lower wing surfaces. Having a police plane with the civilian registration of "OK-BYE" will really look interesting sitting on the shelf, that's for sure.
The decals are printed to the usual Propagteam quality, being very thin and with perfect registration. If you have a KP kit lying around and have just been waiting for the right markings to come along, this decal sheet is for you.
Propagteam 1/72 North American F-86
Sheet #72103
I would be very hard pressed to find someone who has not heard of the F-86. There has been quite a few books written on this plane, and it has been flown by dozens of countries over the years from all around the world. This decal sheet shows some of those countries, as well as a couple US versions.
All except one of thes Sabres are listed as F-86Es, which might not be completely accurate. The differences between the F-86E and F-86F is slight, and there were several sub-variants in each family to make things even
more difficult. Also, Canadair license-built the F-86, introducing another nomenclature and more subtle differences. Luckily, there are plenty of books out there that can steer you in the right direction. Additional research on this sheet should clear up exactly which model kit you need for which variant.
One simple choice, though, would be the F-86A. Only one kit of the F-86A has been made, and it's by Matchbox. The markings in this decal set put that F-86A into the hands of the Utah Air National Guard, and is a very striking scheme indeed. This one most likely was a target tug, and was painted up in a bright orange on the fuselage and upper wings, the rest being left in natural metal. A green tail and red nose add even more color, making this a plane that will stand out (which was the purpose).
The other US F-86 is listed as an F-86E flown by Col. Francis Gabreski. Gabreski had already acheived acedom in WW2 flying a P-47, and he did so again flying the F-86. This decal set provides the yellow and black theater bands, as well as the nose art and kill markings found on each side of Gabreski's plane.
The other three marking choices covers three continents. The first one is listed as an F-86E or Sabre Mk.6 of the South African Air Force. This is finished in a striking camouflage scheme consisting of green over desert yellow, with a light blue undersurface. The national insignia is a five-pointed pentagram with a springbok leaping inside. A fin flash and serial number are all that's left on this spartan F-86.
Germany is up next, with an F-86E (Sabre Mk.2 or Mk.6) of 1/JG72. It is finished in a rather colorful scheme with red flashes on the tail, wing tanks, and nose, all outlined in yellow, with the regular NATO camouflage of green and gray underneath.
The Canadian version is camouflaged the same as the German one, but it isn't nearly as flashy. Listed as an F-86E (Sabre Mk.6), it is from No. 434 Squadron out of Cold Lake, Alberta, and features the white clipper ship on a blue band on the tail.
The decals are printed very thin, like all Propagteam decals. Registration was spot on for most of the sheet, but on my sample the blue used for the RCAF tail band was slightly off. It's not noticable there, but that blue is also used in the RCAF flag and the South African national markings, where the thin white outline makes the off-register blue very noticable. There also was some slight bleeding between the white and the dark blue used for the USAF national insignia.
After looking at lots of other Propagteam decals, both aftermarket sheets and in kits, I can safely say that this sheet is an exception rather than the norm, and these problems are most likely not on other sheets.
Overall, this is a well done sheet and provides quite a few interesting marking choices for the plethora of Sabre kits out there.
Propagteam Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
Sheet #72104
The F-104 is another plane, like the F-86 above, that has seen service in dozens of countries all over the world. This decal sheet takes you from the Arctic north to the balmy Aegean seas to the land of the rising sun. Most of the markings in this set are for F-104Gs, but there one US version that is for the F-104C. While no kit recommendations are given, for the F-104G the best choice would be the Hasegawa kit, while the F-104C is best made from the Monogram kit.
Starting with the F-104C, the choice given is for the
Puerto Rican Air National Guard. The decals include all the national insignia as well as the ANG badge and the Puerto Rican flag found on the rudder. The other USAF variant is for an F-104 in an Arctic scheme of overall white. The tail and tip tanks are painted in red for visibility.
The foreign operators included in this sheet are Japan, Germany, Canada, and Greece. The Japanese option is of a sharkmouthed F-104J, painted in low visibility grays similar to modern-day fighters. The roundels all have no outline, and the sharkmouth is a low-viz one as well, being just white teeth outlined in black.
The German option is for an F-104G of the German Navy. It's finished in the standard Marineflieger camouflage of gray over aluminum. The MFG2 badge is provided, as is all the data blocks written in German.
If Canadian Starfighters are more your cup of tea, this sheet gives the option to do one of the 419 Squadron F-104s based in West Germany.
Finished in green all over, the markings include all the roundels and the unit badge for the tail.
While all of these marking choices are neat, by far the most colorful option is the Greek one. This one is for a special anniversary F-104G, and has the plane painted light blue, with a black hawk running down the side of the fuselage and mountains on the nose and tail. The decals provide the mountains and the hawk's head, leaving the builder the task of painting the rear of the hawk and the blue and white on the fuselage. This scheme will take some careful masking and painting, but when it is finished it will be very striking.
The decals are thin and in register. There might be some problems with the white on the Canadian version, as that has to go down on a dark green, but for the most part they look to be very opaque. If you want to build up a few F-104s this sheet will go a long way to providing some interesting markings for them.