Reviewed by Mike Reeves

With the release of the beautiful 1/32 F-16C from Tamiya, the aftermarket guys have been flooding us with new items to help enhance this already stunning model. Two Bobs has also answered the call with three releases of decals for the Tamiya kit as well as the impending release of the Academy offering. The first sheet covers two jets from Shaw AFB during Operation Southern Watch and the Kosovo Conflict.

There is one error on the sheet which Bob has already acknowledged. The instructions show three jets but only two are included. Here are the aircraft on the sheet:

• F-16C Block 50, 79th FS Tigers, Operation Southern Watch, Spring 2002

• F-16C Block 50, S/N 91-353, Kosovo Conflict

The aircraft that is shown but NOT included on the sheet is

• F-16C Block 50, 77th FS CC, s/n 91-353. This is the aircraft that got the first ever Mig-29 kill by a USAF F-16. The markings missing are the markings on the aircraft that were flown as Puma 11 flight call sign “Dog”. It is the same A/C as the 91-353 mentioned as included above but the markings missing are the tail codes and Mig kill star.

Now to make it a bit more confusing on aircraft 91-353 you get the option of also adding the ferry flight markings from Kosovo back to Shaw which include the inadvertently wrong colored Yugoslav flag added below the cockpit.

Now that I have that sorted out, how about a review of the decals themselves? They are printed by Microscale and are nice and thin. You get enough stencils to do one of the two options.

The Tiger Head on 91-00379 are very well done. Superb detail. Also for that jet you get an insert of a “Tiger Boss” decal that can be added to the exhaust nozzle cover if you intend to add one. A nice touch.

The instructions give the full color profiles of both jets and the “extra” along with some photos of the actual jets provided on the sheet. Make sure to pay attention to the Gunship Grey (FS36118) demarcation line on these jets. It does not follow the standard demarcation we are all used to.

On the back of the instructions are the color top and bottom views along with a nice little read on how 91-353 got its first kill. One item of note, at the pilot request of the Mig killer his name is not included on the sheet. Pilot and crew chief names were removed for security reasons when the aircraft were in theater.

Even with its issue of the missing markings this is still a very nice sheet. I would have loved to have the Mig Kill markings over the current markings for that jet but hey, that’s just me J . Maybe we can convince Bob to add them to a future F-16 sheet.

Recommended.

Thanks to Two Bobs Decals for the review sample.
 

Twobobs Decals are available online directly from their website at http://www.twobobs.net

Images and Text Copyright 2005 by Mike Reeves
This Page Created on 13 February, 2005
Last updated 12 February, 2005

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