I think this is the third company to produce a sheet for president Bush's grandstand 'end of the war' arrival on the Abraham Lincoln aboard VS-35's CAG bird. It did mark the first time a sitting president had taken a carrier trap. The sheet provides markings for this one aircraft in both 1/48 and 1/72 markings, which is a nice touch. For kits, there is Hasegawa (with a few mods) in 1/72, while in 1/48 is the ESCI/AMT/Italeri kit (which may also need the B mods added). Both kits are relatively easy to find. It is painted overall FS 36320. I'm also a bit suspicious of the 'jet intake' triangles. Usually these wrap into the intake for a short distance, so I recommend finding a photo of this plane to verify this. Those wanting a 'normal' CAG bird can easily remove the added markings for this one-time flight. All common markings are included. There are also additional low viz insignia for the wings as the folks at CE were not sure if the full color ones were used there or not.

This aircraft was flown to NAS Pensacola in July 2003 and now is part of the US Naval Aviation Museum collection.

Review copy courtesy of YellowHammer Models

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