Starfighter Decals 1/72 Douglas TBD-1 Devastator
By Matt Bittner
The latest set of releases from Starfighter Decals again cover older models that have been ignored by the aftermarket companies. This time, Starfighter releases decals for the Airfix TBD-1, recently re-released by "NavAir".
The first sheet, #72-108 has the following schemes on it: VS-42, May 1941 in overall Light Gray
- VT-2, May 1942, Battle of Coral Sea in two-tone gray
- VT-6, both in March 1941 and October 1941 showing the same aircraft first in Light Gray, then in two-tone gray
- Torpedo 8, Battle of Midway, June 1942, T-14, flown by Ens. G. Gay in two-tone gray
- Torpedo 8, Battle of Midway, June 1942, T-16, flown by Lt. Cdr. J.C. Waldron in two-tone gray
- Torpedo 6, Doolitle Raid, April 1942 in two-tone gray with a red-and-white striped rudder
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The second sheet, #72-109, is more for the pre-war era and has two aircraft on the sheet:
- VS-71, 0299, USS Wasp, 1940 with a black tail, yellow stripes and a yellow cowl
- VS-42, 0296, USS Ranger, March 1941 with a green tail, yellow wing strips and the cowl lower half is also yellow
These sheets - as are all new 1/72 sheets by Starfighter - are printed by Cartograf and look excellent and in registration. While designed for the Airfix kit I would be surprised if they wouldn't work with the Valom kit. However, the Airfix kit is not that expensive and when coupled with the White Ensign Models photoetch, a nice kit could be produced.
My thanks to Starfighter Decals for the review samples.