Reviewed by Rodger Kelly
 

Yellow Wings 1/48 scale TBD-1 Devastator decals are available online from Squadron

Yellow-Wings Decals is a new company out of Linden, New Jersey; in the United States that specialize in decal sheets for US Navy, US Marine Corps and US Army Air Corps aircraft from the colourful pre-war era.  Sheets 48-001 and 48-002 are their initial foray and provide markings for the recently re-released Monogram/Revell Douglas TBD-1 'Devastator' kit.  Each sheet provides markings for 12 Section Leader aircraft. 

48-001 provides markings for six VT-2 machines from the USS Lexington with a further six more from VT-5 of the USS Yorktown. 

48-002 covers VT-6 (USS Enterprise): and VT-3 (USS Lexington). 

So, what do you get for your money?  Well, markings for twelve aircraft on each sheet - but not complete markings.  The sheets provide: 

·        The fuselage 'number-letter-number'. 

·        Three sets of US NAVY titles. 

·        Aircraft designator i.e. - TBD-1 

·        Individual Bureau number. 

·        Wing numbers. 

·        'Battle Es' where appropriate. 

To complete the markings for any of the aircraft featured you will need to find the national insignia, wing chevrons, (Yes, you can always paint these on but trying to mask and paint these over the corrugated surface of the wings is an exercise fraught with danger!) and the squadron insignia that most of the aircraft of this era wore. 

A visit to the Yellow Wings website at www.yellow-wingsdecals.com reveals that future issues will provide these markings, albeit on two further sheets. 

The decals themselves have been printed by Microscale and are well up to this company's reputation. 

What really stands out with these sheets is the information that accompanies them.  Each sheet has two A-4 sized sheets that are printed on both sides.  They contain 

·        A brief history of the TBD-1 pointing out its high and low points. 

·        Black and white side profile line drawings of each machine, as well as a generic top view. 

·        A colour reference chart that identifies the colour worn by an aircraft to the carrier it flew from and the section it belonged to.  As well as this, it also provides matches of the specific colour to the Testors Model Master range. 

·        An explanation of how to read the 'number–letter–number' fuselage code and what it meant. 

These sheets, as well as the decal sheet itself and a stiff cardboard header; come packed in a clear plastic ziploc bag. 

I guess the spreading of the markings you need to complete a single machine over three separate sheets is a commercial one.  Personally, I would have liked to have seen markings for one or two individual machines and the provision of the other required markings on a single sheet. 

These sets represent a great debut into the decal world by Yellow-Wings Decals.  They provide good quality decals as well as easy to read and understand background information.  The research that has gone into their product is evident in the provision of individual Bureau numbers for each of the aircraft. 

Recommended.

Thanks to Yellow Wings Decals for the review samples.

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Review Copyright © 2003 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 30 December, 2003
Last updated 30 December, 2003

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