Starfighter Decals 1/144 A-6E Colorful Intruders
By Matt Bittner
It has been awhile since Starfighter Decals has released anything in 1/144. No longer do we have to wait, as they have released this sheet for 1/144 A-6Es, "Colorful Intruders". There are three A-6Es on this sheet:
- VA-35 Panthers, CAG USS Nimitz, 1976, finished in the standard-for-the-day Gull Grey and Insignia White, with a Radome Tan nose
- VA-65 Tigers, CAG, 1991, finished in two-tone grey with a bat-wielding tiger on the nose
- VA-36 Road Rounners, AJ 531, 1991 (Lost 2 Feb 1991), again finished in two-tone grey, but with a head of a road runner (bird) in red on the tail, and a "girl on a heart" on the nose
The color with these three are in the markings, as opposed to the finish. The VA-35 machine has green letters associated with the squadron emblem on the tail; the VA-65 has two tigers marked on the plane; and the VA-36 has the road-runner-head in red, and the colorful nose marking.
The great news is that with this sheet, Starfighter has hired Cartograf to now print their 1/144 decals! This is indeed excellent news since before, the decals were ALPS-generated and needed care with handling (not that you can "man-handle" these decals, but there's less of a concern than with ALPS decals). Plus you can be assure the colors are top-notch and registration spot-on.
An excellent release for the Dragon kit. My thanks to Starfighter Decals for sending the review sample.