“Special” Multi-Aircraft Series #2 SBD-2, F3F-2, P-40B, SB2U-2

Yellow Wings Decals, 1/72 scale

S u m m a r y :
Catalogue Number:	Yellow Wings Decals Item No. 72-038 - “Special” Multi-Aircraft Series #2 SBD-2, F3F-2, P-40B, SB2U-2
Scale:	1/72 scale
Contents & Media	Decals for four subjects with painting & markings guide
Price:	Available on-line from these stockists: Yellow-Wings Decals - US$12.95 Hannants - ?8.67 Click here for currency conversion.
Review Type:	First Look.
Advantages:	Excellent production quality, appealing subject choices.
Disadvantages:	Could not relate the wing-walk decals for the SB2U-2 to the colours & markings guide, which is also unclear regarding a black borderline for the cowl.
Conclusions:	These are superbly produced decals that provide some interesting and very appealing options for different US types. The generic instructions provide useful information on US Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps painting and markings practice. Whilst being perhaps a slight case of style over substance, the graphically appealing painting and markings guide is adequate for its task in three out of four cases. I feel however that they fail in the case of the SB2U’s wing-walk markings and possible thin black borderline on the cowl, over which I remain confused. No doubt some personal research would clarify these points. Despite my concerns regarding guidance for the SB2U-2’s markings, I still highly recommend this set of decals with a warning in the case of the Vindicator. The Yellow-Wings range remains well worth checking out.

Reviewed by Mark Davies

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

Yellow-Wings Decals specialise and focus on the colourful period of US military aviation history from 1930 to 1942. As such, their decal sets offer some most eye-catching colour schemes for a wide variety of aircraft types in the most popular modelling scales. Many sets cover individual aircraft types, or in some cases just national insignia, but the subject of this first look is the second in their “Special” Multi-Aircraft Series.

The set offers a single markings option for four different types, three USN and one USAAC; these being a:

• Douglas SBD-2, 2106 of USS Lexington, Jan-Feb 1941;  
• Grumman F3F-2, of VF-6, USSS Enterprise, 1937-38;
• Vought SB2U-2 of VS-72 USS Wasp, 1941; and
• Curtis P-40B, 55th Pursuit Squadron, Hamilton Field, CA, 1940.

All are most attractive and appealing scheme choices in my opinion.

The decals and instructions are supplied in a polythene zip-lock bag along with a card header. The instructions come in three parts.

There are two sheets of generic instructions covering the painting and marking placement for the USN/USMC and USAAC. For the former, they cover general painting instructions, fuselage bands, propeller logos and tip bands, wing chevrons, squadron badges and LSO tail stripes.  For the latter, they cover general painting instructions, command bands, propeller logos, tip colours and national insignia, wing bands, squadron badges, tail stripes, and stencils.

In both cases the generic instructions provide a list of suggested model paints that cross-references colours using FS-numbers. This is a nice touch in my opinion. However, the paints mainly listed are Tamiya spray cans, with some Testors and Poly Scale mentioned. To really be useful I think the paint chart could have widened its paint brand choices avoided spray-bombs where possible.

The third part of the instructions deals with the colours and markings placement for the sheet’s subjects. This is nicely produced, partially in colour, with a split plan view giving port upper and lower surfaces, a single profile view, and an outline head-on view; this last view mainly serves for graphic appeal as it has no bearing on markings. Similarly irrelevant are a list of aircraft specifications and a suggested kit, which in each case is given as any 1/72 kit of the subject. No harm is done with the inclusion of this information, but perhaps full upper and lower plan views could have been included in their place. The instructions do provide military colour names however. Overall, the colours and markings guide seems quite adequate despite my “nit-picking”; in three cases out of four at least.

Where the guide fails in my view is that I could not relate the black “T” shaped decals for the SB2U-2 to the colours and markings guide, as the shape of the black decals has no similarity to the guide whatsoever. Furthermore, the yellow wing and fuselage band decals feature very finely printed black borders; whilst these borderlines are shown on the plan view in the guide, they do not appear in the profile view. Where this becomes an issue is with regards to the cowling band, which must be painted. The plan view shows the yellow cowl it with a fine black borderline, whilst the profile does not. It remains unclear if the modeler should mask and paint a borderline, since no thin black decal is provided to serve as one. Please see the image below comparing these points:

I think that Yellow-Wings might benefit by critically reviewing their painting & markings guide format, as there is clearly room for improvement. More focus on what the modeler needs to know in order to finish a model, rather than informing on performance and dimensional specifications, and providing pointless head-on views, would be a good place to start.

The decals are what really count when all is said and done. The review sample’s are printed by Microscale and look to be of superb quality, with excellent registration, and what I am sure will be good colour density. They have a very nice semi-gloss sheen and tightly cropped carrier film. 

These are superbly produced decals that provide some interesting and very appealing options for different US types.

The generic instructions provide useful information on US Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps painting and markings practice.

Whilst being perhaps a slight case of style over substance, the graphically appealing painting and markings guide is adequate for its task in three out of four cases. I feel however that they fail in the case of the SB2U’s wing-walk markings and possible thin black borderline on the cowl, over which I remain confused. No doubt some personal research would clarify these points.

Despite my concerns regarding guidance for the SB2U-2’s markings, I still highly recommend this set of decals with a warning in the case of the Vindicator. The Yellow-Wings range remains well worth checking out.

Thanks to Yellow-Wings Decals for this sample.

Text and Images Copyright © 2015 by Mark Davies
Page Created 10 March, 2015
Last updated 10 March, 2015

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