Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

Aeromaster Decals' 1/48 scale Shooting Stars Over Korea
will be available online from Squadron.com

48-627 is the leading sheet in a new two-part release from AeroMaster covering Lockheed F-80 C-10-LO Shooting Stars during the Korean War. 

Markings are provided for four machines. 

49-876 of the 36^th Fighter/Bomber Squadron, 8^th Fighter/Bomber Group out of Suwon Korea in 1952.  

The aircraft is in overall natural metal finish with an olive drab anti-glare, black nose cap and a light grey fin tip.  Provided markings include:

• A red sunburst edged in black for the tail.
• FT-876 buzz number in black edged with red.
• Nose art consisting of a reclining bikini-clad blonde toting a bomb.
• U.S. AIR FORCE titles for the fin.

49-591 "The Spirit of HOBO" of the 80 Fighter/Bomber Group out of Suwon Korea in October of 1952.  The provided markings depict the aircraft after it completed the 50,000th sortie of the Korean War.

The aircraft is in overall natural metal finish with an olive drab anti-glare, black nose cap, a light grey fin tip, and yellow nose and tail on the tip tanks. Provided markings include: 

• Nose art consisting of a tramp and the scripts The "The Spirit of HOBO" and "50,000 sorties"
• A yellow sunburst edged in white for the tail.
• Further white-edged yellow stripes for the fuselage and tip tanks.
• Black FT-591 buzz number.
• U.S. AIR FORCE titles for the fin.

49-671 "SALTY DOG" of the 35th Fighter/Bomber Squadron.  The markings depict the aircraft at the time that Captain Francis B Clark Johnson achieved an aerial in it on 19 Jul 1950. 

The aircraft is in overall natural metal finish with an olive drab anti-glare, black nose cap, a blue band on the fin and a light grey fin tip.  Provided markings include:

• U.S. AIR FORCE titles for the tail.
• Black FT-671 buzz number.
• The blue band for the tail.
• Black 9761 serial number for the tail.
• Black-shadowed, yellow "SALTY DOG" script for the fuselage.
• Black 601s for the tip tanks.
• Black pilot's and Crew Chief's names for the canopy rail/fuselage.

49-705 "RAMBLIN=RECK= TEW" also of the 35th Fighter/Bomber Squadron in 1951.  The markings depict the aircraft at the time that Lieutenant Robert Dewald achieved a victory over an IL-10 on 27 July 1950. 

The aircraft is in overall natural metal finish with an olive drab anti-glare, black nose cap, blue nose, a black-edged blue band on the fin and a light grey fin tip.  Provided markings include: 

• U.S. AIR FORCE titles for the tail.
• Black FT-705 buzz number.
• The black-edged blue band for the tail.
• Black 9705 serial number for the tail.
• Black-shadowed, yellow "RAMBLIN=RECK= TEW" script with a black vintage type car for the fuselage.
• Black pilot's and Crew Chief's names for the canopy rail/fuselage.
• A victory marking consisting of a red star on a yellow circle.  This marking is provided as a one piece or two-piece decal to avoid any register problem.
• The black edging for the blue of the nose.

Should you opt for this aircraft you will have to paint the blue nose yourself. The placement sheet suggests that the blue was FS25183. 

There are two separate sheets provided.  The larger one contains the main markings and the second smaller sheet holds a fairly complete set of stencil data and national insignia for one aircraft as well as two sets of USAF titles for the wings.  Each aircraft is provided with its own individual data block stencil.  There is also an olive drab anti-glare panel provided.  I just love this new trend of supplying anti-glares as a decal as it saves a whole lot of messing around with masking tape.  You can cover one aircraft from the decals provided in this issue. 

The placement sheet provides notes on painting the fibreglass nose-antenna fairing and the tail fin tips as well as providing a list of references. 

The decals have been printed in Mexico.  It doesn't say by what company.  They are sharp and clear with minimal film surrounding each subject.  I have other Aeromaster and Eagle Strike decals that have been printed in Mexico before and didn't have any problems at all.  They are not as easy to use as Microscale products but with a little care you can achieve excellent results. 

The decals and the placement sheet are packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag. 

The recommended kit is the Monogram one.  Although this is an old kit it still builds into a very nice model.  I haven't seen one on the shelf in a hobby shop for a long time so perhaps Aeromaster know something we don’t and it's due for re-release in the foreseeable future. 

This is a nice sheet from AeroMaster that provides some bright and colourful markings. 

Recommended.

 Thanks to AeroMaster / Eagle Strike Products for the review sets

On-line sales are available from the AeroMaster Products / Eagle Strike Productions web site.

Review TextCopyright © 2003 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 07 August, 2003
Last updated 14 August, 2003

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