TUDM MCAIR
F/A-18D Hornet
 

F-4DableModels
 

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron.com

F-4DableModels is a newcomer to the decal market. They are based in Malaysia and fittingly their debut sheet features markings for the F/A-18Ds of the Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia (TUDM) or Royal Malaysian Air Force.

The aircraft are all painted in overall FS36118 gunship grey with black markings and light blue/mid blue and yellow national insignia roundels in four places as well as the same colour fin flashes on the top of the outer surfaces of the vertical stabilizers.

Markings are provided for all eight aircraft operated by the TUDM - M45-01 through to M45-08. Two different sets of national insignia are provided. Evidently these markings were incorrectly painted when the aircraft were first delivered and they wore them until they were repainted during scheduled maintenance.

All of stencil data worn by the TUDM F/A-18Ds is in black and F-4DableModels have correctly supplied them in this colour. The stencil data is very complete and includes a set of slime lights. There is sufficient data for one aircraft.

Two decal sheets are provided in this set. The second smaller sheet appears to be an errata sheet as it repeats some of the decals on the main sheet but in different sizes – nice to see they made the effort to correct the faults before they issued the sheet for general sale.

The placement guide is A-4 in size with printing on both sides. The front shows a black and white photo of a TUDM F/A-18D (TUDM 45-03) with the remainder of the page devoted to a short history of the TUDM's use of the Hornet and its capabilities. Most important to the modeller is the section that advises on how to modify the Hasegawa 1/72 and 1/48 scale kits to correctly replicate the TUDM ones.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

The rear of the placement guide shows where the markings and stencil data is to be placed. Each decal is labelled with a letter or a number which corresponds to the drawings – simple but effective.

The decals themselves have been printed by Cartograf. They appear to be a little thinner than the majority of other Cartograf decals which should ensure that they go down easily.

The placement guide and the decal sheets are packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag.

The sheets are available in either 1/72 or 1/48 scale.

A nice first issue from F-4DableModels.

Recommended.