F/A-18F

VF-41 Black Aces

1/48 scale

Afterburner Decals

Reviewed by Mike Reeves

HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron

So you say you like Super Hornets, huh? They don’t get enough love from the decal companies huh? Well, that has now all changed thanks to Afterburner Decals!

Afterburner Decals has released three new Super Bug sheets this last month and this is the first one I am going to show you. This sheet number 48-011 covers the famous VF-41 Black Aces and it is superb!

The cover art which to me is setting the industry standard in its detail and appeal is just a great eye catcher. The instructions are full color and also include a separate black and white stencil guide as well as a full page of weapons and store placement guide. Please note that these decals are sized for the Hasegawa kits. The meat an potatoes of the sheet are the markings. They include the following four jets, in the order you see them on the cover page:

• F/A-18F BuNo 166455 2007 CAG jet

• F/A-18F BuNo 166455 2006 CAG jet

• F/A-18F BuNo 166456 2007 CO jet

• F/A-18F BuNo 166453 2007 Line Jet

One thing that I appreciate that Afterburner does is bringing the most current time frame subjects out as possible. There are no 2005 line jets that have had several crew name changes by the time the sheet is out. I appreciate having as current as possible subjects on modern fighter sheets.

The decals themselves are printed by Microscale and the registration and color density are spot on. It appears that you can get at least two complete subjects off of the sheet so you get great value for your money as well. The separate insert contains all of the striping for the two CAG jets as well as slime lights. One thing that really stands out for me is the white background in the Aces logo. Normally you would need a two part decal and have to place the black outline of the card over a blank white piece. Not on this sheet!! The white looks incredibly opaque and it appears that you will not have any base color bleed through whatsoever.

All in all this sheet is a stunner! Afterburner is a young company but is really setting the world on fire with its subject matter and its quality. The only real drawback to this sheet is having to shell out more money for Hasegawa F/A-18Fs! My thanks to Scott Brown at Afterburner Decals for the review sample. Visit their website at www.afterburnerdecals.com for ordering info and their other great decals.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Afterburner Decals for the review sample.

Review Copyright © 2007 by Mike Reeves
This Page Created on 27 July, 2007
Last updated 24 December, 2007

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page