Jammin' Jihad

VAQ-133 & VAQ-142 Prowlers in Afghanistan

1/48 scale

Afterburner Decals

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

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AD-48-028 is amongst the latest batch of releases from Afterburner Decals.  The guys at Afterburner Decals have turned out some truly excellent sheets in the past but this one is really up there!

The subject of the sheet are Grumman EA-6B Prowlers of VAQ-133 Wizards and VAQ-142 Grey Wolves from 2006-2007 when both units were operating out of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in support of ground forces as a part of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM.

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Thumbnail panels:

Details of each option are as follows:

• Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Bureau Number 161120 modex 530 of VAQ-133 in September of 2007.  The machine is finished in a less than standard colour scheme of Federal Standard (FS) 20400 tan with a hard-edged disruptive pattern of
  FS 30279 desert sand and FS 30140 Dark Brown.  Her various antennae remain in FS 36375 light ghost grey and her NL Air Wing designator and NAVY titles are in black.

• Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Bureau Number 163400, modex 533 of VAQ-133 in January of 2007.  533 is finished in the standard tactical paint scheme (TPS) of
  FS 35237 medium grey, FS 36320 dark ghost grey, and FS 36375 light ghost grey worn by the EA-6B with her Air Wing Designator and other markings in dark ghost grey with the exception of her modex numbers which are in black.

• Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Bureau Number 160437, modex 520 “Shark Mouth” of VAQ-142 in the November of 2007.  Not to be outdone by the Wizards, the Grey Wolves painted up 520 with a disruptive camouflage scheme of mixed greys that approximate FS 36118 gunship grey and FS 36270 neutral grey over her standard TPS.  As with the previous option, the majority of her markings are in dark ghost grey with the exception of her modex and crew names which are in black.  To make the aircraft even more distinctive, she carried dark green
  (FS 14079) external fuel tanks, a red and white shark mouth and nose art of a cartoon wolf wearing a shirt with the name “War Pig” on it peeing on an F/A-18 (perhaps a squadron sentiment that the EA-6B is better than the soon to enter service F/A-18G?).

• Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Bureau Number 161243, modex 521 of VAQ-142 from January 2007.  Nothing fancy for this jet, she is in standard EA-6B TPS with subdued markings.

• The final option is another VAQ-142 bird Grumman EA-6B Prowler, Bureau Number 164402, modex 522 from January 2007.  Finish is standard EA-6B TPS with subdued markings and black modex/crew names with a small motif that looks to be a wolf’s head superimposed over a pair of crossed swords with the letters OEF on the top and the Roman numerals VII beneath it.

There appears to be two sets of basic airframe stencil data provided including slime lights and black and white arrestor hook markings.  Other items include placards for the ejector seats, chaff/flare buckets with sets of red, yellow, white and blue chaff and flares so you can make up a mixed load for your buckets and a pair of coloured Grey Wolves squadron insignia to be applied to a pair of after-market intake covers.  Four sets of stencil data are also provided for the jamming pods as are the blue stripes for the noses of the external tanks.

The decals themselves have been printed in Italy by Cartograf.  There are three sheets in the release, a standard sized one that carries the majority of markings as well as two smaller ones that carry stencil data for the jamming pods/external fuel tanks and another that carries airframe stencil data.  Every thing is clear, sharp and in perfect register.

Support material is beautifully rendered as we are now accustomed to from Afterburner Decals.  You get two glossy A-4 sized sheets that carry left and right hand side profiles as well as upper and lower surface views for the disruptive camouflage options and simple side profiles for the others with a generic upper and lower surface plan views.  Stencil data placement is guided by left and right hand side views in full colour for the jamming pods as well as simple black and white profile and plan views for the airframe and ejection seat stencil data.

The support material and the three decal sheets come packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag.

There you have it, some really distinctive and right up to date markings for an old warrior in her final years along with expertly produced reference material.

Speaking of reference material, the Afterburner Decals website at http://www.afterburnerdecals.com/ advises that there will be loading reference pics of the subject aircraft in the not to distant future.  In the mean time have a look at the attached pics that have been lifted from their website to whet your appetite.

Recommended.

Thanks to Afterburner Decals for the review sample.

Postscript

The only 1/48 scale EA-6B game in town is the old Revell/Monogram one.  Be aware that you will need to modify it to depict any one of the options on this sheet – but that is half the fun of modelling, isn’t it?

Review Copyright © 2008 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 10 March, 2008
Last updated 10 March, 2008

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