Mi-17V Special Duty
Squadron Decals

Kopro Decals, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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The Mil Mi-17 is the export version of the Mi-8 (Hip). This has been a very successful and widely used design. I must confess my surprise to see a colour scheme for one wearing British roundels, but this is the case with the decal set reviewed here. The decals are for a single machine of the Special Duty Squadron when it was located at the UK’s Salisbury Plain Training Area during 2010.

The decals come packaged in a close-fitting and sealed cellophane bag. This is hard to cut open because its sealed edges are so close to the contents, and once opened there is the risk that the decals will fall out. Whatever Kopro saves in cost over the more typical zip-lock polythene bags used for decals is not worth it in my view. I find that the cellophane kind annoying to use.

Inside the bag is an A-4 page paint and markings guide and a decal sheet. Printed in colour, the instructions have a three-view placement guide that is clear and easy to follow. The Paint colours are in English and Czech; and they are cross-referenced to Humbrol, Agama and FS.595.

The decals with my review sample were poorly registered. This fault is unfortunate as it effectively condemns them as far as the review goes. The off-centre red of the roundels is the most noticeable error, but all the rest of the red and white interface is misaligned too. I would have assumed that a company would make doubly sure it sent good sets out for review, so perhaps Kopro’s quality control is not all it should be. (Although I have recently reviewed eight or so other Kopro decal sets that have been fine.)

These are the first Kopro decals out of ten sheets I have recently reviewed that have not been good quality. They are let down by poor registration, which I hope is not the norm for this set. The simple and clear instructions are good, but the use of a tight-fitting cellophane bag is frustrating to use. I wish that Kopro would change to the zip-lock polythene bags that most decal makers use.

Check this set of decals if you can before buying, or ask the seller to do so. I would have recommended them if they had been in register, but as far as my sample set goes I cannot.

Take time to check Kopro’s large range of decals; the number of interesting and useful subjects they cover surprised me.

Thanks to hobbyshop.cz for the review sample.

Review Text & Blue Background Images Copyright © 2012 by Mark Davies
Page Created 10 September, 2012
Last updated 10 September, 2012

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