Reviewer’s note: This
sheet is available in both 1/48 (CED48096) and 1/72. The 1/72 sheet is reviewed
here. The instructions for both sheets are identical. Cutting Edge sheet CED72096 provides decals for five aircraft (Hasegawa kit recommended in 1/72, Tamiya or Monogram in 1/48):
1. A-1H AF35257 “Midnight Cowboy” of the 1st SOS, 56SOW, Nakom Phanom, Thailand, October 1969-April 1970. This four-color SEA camo Skyraider was the mount of Richard S. Drury, author of the excellent book “My Secret War” (highly recommended by me, by the way, if you can find a copy).
2. Same aircraft prior to October 1969, when it carried the name “Sopwith Camel.”
3. A-1H AF39608 “Blood Sweat & Tears” of the 1st SOS, 56SOW, Nakom Phanom, Thailand, April 1970. Left, right, and topside camo diagrams are provided for the Southeast Asia paint scheme.
4. A-1H BuNo 137612 of VA-115, USS Hancock, South China Sea 1967, in the standard Navy Gull Gray and White scheme. This interesting aircraft was covered with a series of black footprints from wingtip to wingtip, which are provided.
5. A-1H BuNo 137543, the famous MiG-killing bumblebee-marked Skyraider of Lt. William Patton, VA-176, USS
Intrepid, October 1966.
The sheet provides complete decals to do one of the Air Force Skyraiders, including the small national insignia. No national insigina is provided for either Navy aircraft; you will need to find these in the kit or your spares box. The green fin tip is provided for the VA-115 aircraft, though you will most likely have to touch this color up in paint around the beacon at the tip of the fin.
The documentation provided with the decals is very thorough, as is the standard for
Cutting Edge. There is quite a bit of discussion about the correct markings for Lt. Patton’s MiG-killer, in particular. Mention is made of an “addendum sheet” but the sample decals provided had no such sheet; perhaps the corrections described have already been incorporated in the 1/72 version of the decals.
The 1/72 decal sheet has apparently just been “shrunk down” from the 1/48 sheet, and is fairly small in size. Nine dollars might seem a high price for a decal of this size, but keep in mind that you are paying for research, documentation, artwork, and printing, not necessarily for the physical size of the paper they are printed on. With most of the decals provided to do at least three models, the sheet does represent a decent value.
Review decals provided by Meteor Productions, Inc. Contact them at
www.meteorprod.com.