VFA-102 Diamondbacks F/A-18F Super Hornets

Astra Decals, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

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ASD-7215 is amongst the latest releases from Astra Decals, the Belgian based subsidiary company to DACO Products – and a busy sheet it is indeed!

The sheet provides markings for four different and striking marking schemes worn by the F/A-18F Super Hornets of VFA-102, the "Diamondbacks"

The individual schemes are:

• Bureau number 165882 modex 102 in the Squadron’s 50th Anniversary scheme from 2005.

• Bureau number 165894 modex 100, the Squadron’s CAG-bird in the scheme it wore in 2007.

• Bureau number 165882 modex 102 again, this time from 2007 and in a different scheme.

• The final option is Bureau number 165888 modex 106 from 2007.  A standard “line bird”, the aircraft is finished in the overall lo-viz markings scheme

The supporting information provided by Astra Decals is quite comprehensive in that your get individual glossy A-4 sized pages that show upper and lower plan views and left and right hand size profiles along with scrap views showing the gear doors as well as the inner faces of the vertical stabilisers – all in full colour.  The sheets also provide you with paint matches to readily available modelling paints.

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The decals themselves are first rate and have been printed by Cartograf.  The whites of the red and white squadron markings are vivid and suffer no bleed through of the bright insignia red and everything on my sample sheet is in perfect register.  Unusually, the main sheet is supplied as a single large sheet that has been folded in half.

The sheet carries very comprehensive stencil data for a two machines with each item (thankfully!) numerically keyed to the drawings.  One item I really liked is the red edges to the gear doors being supplied as individual decals!  You are also provided with an errata decal sheet and placement guide for the 2005 50th anniversary scheme.  The errata sheet also carries the red edges to the gear doors as the ones on the main sheet have been printed in the same red as the squadron markings.

The two decal sheets (the main folded one and the errata sheet) and the placement guide came packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag.

A nice release from Asta Decals.  It provides you with first rate decals for what are very bright machines in U.S. Navy terms along with excellent supporting material and comprehensive stencil data.

The markings are also available in 1/48 scale as ADS-4815 but there are some differences, see the DACO Productions website at http://ultra.glo.be/daco/ for details

Thanks to Daco for the samples

Text and Images Copyright © 2010 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 28 January, 2010
Last updated 28 January, 2010

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