AD-4W Skyraider Target Tug Swedish Flight Service

Moose Republic Decals, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Simon Wolff

In 2019 Sword released a 1:72 scale kit of the Skyraider AEW.1 with markings provided for one Royal Navy and two USN schemes, the RN used a number of these on their carriers. The colour schemes you get with the kit are all the same basic colour of dark sea blue, typical of naval aircraft of that time. But a lesser known user of this version of the Skyraider was Sweden where they were used as Target Towing aircraft by Swedish Flight Service.

The aircraft used by Sweden were former Royal Navy examples. Modifications to the former FAA aircraft was done by Scottish Aviation at Prestwick and involved the removal of the radar equipment (including the large protruding bulge housing the underneath radar) and installation of a target towing winch, plus the addition of a bubble Perspex window just aft of the crew access doors on both sides of the fuselage. Unfortunately it is not known what sort of winch was used but it appears it was located just under the fuselage in line with the trailing edge of the wing. 

The aircraft while in the Swedish Target Tug service appear to have been mostly probably painted all over Chrome Yellow.

The decal options are provided for one of SIX aircraft, Swedish codes appear to start with SEEB then an aircraft letter going from A to M.

Decal instructions come on a single double sided A5 sheet with the decals on a single small sheet all supplied in a zip lock bag. All the aircraft are overall yellow but two of the schemes vary in that one which was SEEBC has a small diving bird emblem on the port side cowling, while the second SEEBH has a replacement port outer wing (after flying in to a wire attached to a radio mast) still in its former owners colour of gloss sea blue so subsequently the codes are white and not black like the rest of the markings.

So what you get in the way of decals is twenty four stencils and six optional aircraft codes for the fuselage and wings to build one aircraft, also provided is stencils for the external wing fuel tanks, there are no tanks with the Sword kit these you will need to source elsewhere. 

I am not a fan of yellow but this does provide an interesting option to the kit naval schemes, it will also make the subject a bit more unique than your bog standard carrier plane. There is only minor alterations to be done to the kit only hindrance is what did the TT winch look like, I have not been able to find any reference on the web so far.

The instructions are quite easy to follow and location of each decal looks quite clear.

The decals look excellent, no registration problems and wonderfully very little carrier film!

This set is also available in 1:48 scale; I believe the old Esci kit has been re-boxed by Italeri. Magna Models, which I believe are out of production, did produce a kit of the Swedish TT in 1:72 scale.

There are also photos of one of these TTs preserved in the Svedinos Aircraft Museum at Ugglarp with another aircraft (SEEBB) still in its yellow scheme on the IPMS Stockholm site.

Moose Republic decals are or Moose Republic web site http://www.mooserepublic.se/.

Thanks to Moose Republic Decalsfor the sample

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2021 by Simon Wolff
Page Created 27 October, 2021
Last updated 27 October, 2021

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