HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Meteor Productions

Meteor Productions has released a new range of high-quality, limited-edition decals under the brand name of PYN-Up Decals. The decals feature near-photographic quality continuous tone nose art markings, with standard screen-printed decals for the other markings. A number of the releases also include Black Magic self-adhesive vinyl masks to assist painting tricky demarcations on the models.

I have now received the production decals, and they are very impressive indeed.

We have come to expect high quality decals from Cutting Edge, and the standard screen printed sheets meet this expectation. The conventional sheets include codes, serials, stencils, stripes and other generic markings. Each of the conventional decal sheets also include custom-shaped white backing for the half-tone markings. Some of the sets supply national markings, but sheets for larger subjects (B-17s and B-29s) do not. Fortunately, Cutting Edge also has just released new national marking decals for these US bombers, available as separate sets.

The detail and graduation of the tones - especially the flesh tones - is excellent, and the renditions of the nose art looks very accurate compared to contemporary photos.

The inclusion of Black Magic masks in several sets is another thoughtful touch.

Instructions are a step-up from standard Cutting Edge fare too. The artwork is as good as we have come to expect, but there is a great deal more text covering the background and colours of the specific subject aircraft. Many of the sheets also include historical photos of the aircraft, making the instructions a one-stop reference source for modellers.

Each of the elements - the conventional decals, the nose art markings, the masks and the instructions - are great individually, and the combination of all four makes for a comprehensive and innovative finishing package.

It is worth keeping in mind that these decals will be of extremely limited availability. Only 300 of each will be printed.

Test Driving the Nose Art Decals

The image below is the result of a "test drive" of one of the nose-art decals. The subject is from the PYN48007 B-29 "Lucky Lady" sheet.

The decal was applied to a piece of white styrene, to substitute for the white backing decal that was not available with this pre-release sample. The decal responded perfectly to Micro Set and Micro Sol. The film is very thin and the flesh tones and graduation between shades are, as can be seen above, very impressive.

The initial line-up includes the following subjects:

1/48 Scale PYN-Up Decals

Stock #	TYPE	SERIAL	NICKNAME/NOSE ART	CODES	Thumbnails Click to enlarge
PYN48001	P-38H-5-LO	42-66825	Thoughts of Midnite	White 120
PYN48001	P-38J-5-LO	42-68004	Moonlight Cock-Tail	H5*K
PYN48002	P-38J-15-LO	42-103993	Marge	993
PYN48002	P-38H-1-LO	42-66545	Hot Box Annie	White 123
PYN48003	P-51D-5-NA	44-13859	Diving nude artwork	KI*S
PYN48003	P-51D-25-NA	44-72199	Reclining nude artwork	G4*A
PYN48004	P-51D-5-NA	44-13691	Passion Wagon	G4*A
PYN48004	P-51D-20-NA	44-63223	Sweet Arlene	QP*S
PYN48005	P-47D-1-RE	42-7877	In The Mood /“Jackson County, Michigan, Fighter”	HV*D
PYN48005	P-47N-1-RE	Unknown	Short Snorter/2 Big And Too Heavy	Black  21
PYN48006	P-47D-28-RA	42-28641	Sleepy Jean 3rd	A7*W
PYN48006	P-47D-15-RE	42-75859	Nude on nose	UN*C
PYN48007	B-29-40-BW	42-24592	Dauntless Dotty	A p 1
PYN48007	B-29-50-BW	42-24863	Lucky Lady	E ∆ 12
PYN48008	Spitfire  V	EN921	Kneeling nude artwork	YO•A
PYN48008	Spitfire IX	MK210	Tolly/Hello (reclining nude artwork)	None
PYN48009	B-17F-115-BO	42-30715	Cincinnati Queen	CC*Y
PYN48009	B-17G-20-BO	42-31585	Mount N’ Ride	OR*B
PYN48010	B-17G-50-DL	44-6483	Ruby’s Raiders	G
PYN48011	B-17F-25-DL	42-3082	Double Trouble	None
PYN48011	B-17G-30-BO	42-31767	Our Gal Sal	EP*F
PYN48012	B-29-25-MO	42-65306	The Outlaw	None

1/48 Scale Cutting Edge National Markings

1/32 Scale

One of the perennial challenges for aircraft modellers is the authentic depiction of nose art.

Conventional screen-printed decals exhibit a noticeable dot-screen pattern on flesh half-tones, and limited-run markings have been few and far between. The new PYN-Up Decal range addresses this gap with their innovative combination of high quality components, delivering a comprehensive finishing package.

The printing of all the markings is excellent but, in particular, the flesh tones on the nose art decals must be seen to be appreciated.

The PYN-Up sets are not inexpensive, but I am sure that many modellers will consider them a luxury worth having. You'd better hurry though - only 300 of each PYN-Up set will be produced.

Highly Recommended.