Zotz Decals

1/48 CH-46D/E Sea Knight

Sheet Number: ZTZ48/028 For the Academy 1/48th scale CH-46D/E

Reviewed by  Chip Jean, IPMS# 13823

MSRP: $27.00 Web Site: www.zotzdecals.com This is my first Zotz decal sheet and my initial reaction was, "WOW". The first thing that grabs you is the "box art" in the front of the zip lock bag; an armored knight holding a sword and a lance, rising out of the sea in front of a red and orange sky. Very eye catching and symbolic. But symbolism does not a good decal set make, it's what's inside that counts, so here's what you get. There are markings for four aircraft. One is for a US Marine CH-46E of HMM-263, "Thunderchickens" from mid-2004, painted in FS35237 over FS36375. This is a very subdued scheme, with green wheel hubs being the only things on the outside of the aircraft that aren't black or some shade of gray. Another set of markings are for a Navy CH-46D from HC-11 "Gunbearers" in 35237/36375, but with a splash of color in the form of hot-rod style flame markings on the front of the aircraft and a squadron emblem very similar to a Harley-Davidson symbol. The other two sets of markings are for Navy Ch-46Ds in FS16081, one being "Mars" from the "Pack Rats" of HC-3 Det-104, featuring some very colorful tail markings and the other being "Hotel California" from HC-3 Det 106, which features an excellent eight-color decal for the belly of the aircraft.

There are four decal sheets in the bag. One sheet consists entirely of a complete set of exterior stencils and walkways for each of the two color schemes. Note, if you have the Academy CH-46, you know (or will know when you build the kit) that the kit decal sheet includes lots of stencils for the interior cabin and for the instrument panels. This Zotz package does not contain those interior decals. Another sheet has the markings for the CH-46E, another has the flames for the Gunbearers bird and the colorful tail markings for Mars. The final sheet has the remaining markings for the CH-46Ds. All of the decals appear to be of excellent quality and all are in perfect register, including the 8-color "Hotel California" decal. If I have any complaint at all, it's that the blue on the full color stars-and-bars are a bit too light for my tastes, especially when compared to the color photo of Mars provided in the package. Which brings me to the documentation. When I buy a decal sheet, I feel one of the things I'm paying for is research. I don't mind paying for it because I hate to do research, (given a free hour, I'd rather build a model of an airplane than read about an airplane) but I do like to be assured there is some degree of accuracy. Zotz does not disappoint. Included in the package are two 8 ½ X 11 sheets worth of color photos and color diagrams including photos of three of the four included aircraft. Also included is a black and white sheet showing very clearly where all those stencils go.

Based on an "in-the-bag" review, I can highly recommend this product. I am building the Academy CH-46D now and I'm planning on using the Gunbearers markings. I will submit a final on-the-model review and recommendation at the end of the build. Many thanks to Eli Raphael and Zotz for supplying this product for review. It is available from www.zotzdecals.com for $27.00. If you visit their website, they provide a list of other dealers. Final Thoughts  [Editor's Note: Chip has indeed provided us with a follow-on to his initial look.] The decals are on, the kit's done. So how'd they work and how do they look? Well, it's a mixed bag, but mostly good. The pictures show how they look on the model and if you look closely at the close-up pics, you can see the problems I'll talk about later. As far as putting them on the model, anybody who has experienced and mastered decals from any of the mainstream aftermarket decal brands will have no problems with these. They're thin but not so thin that they tear easily or are hard to work with. They set quickly, but still leave you time to move them around to the proper position. They settled very nicely over and into surface detail using only Mirco-Set; no Micro-Sol or Solvaset necessary. As you would expect, the multi-colored decals took longer to settle down than the gray ones, but they did conform. So now the problem. As my last review said, there is a sheet with two sets of stencils; one set of white stencils for the dark gray birds and one set of gray stencils for the multi-tone gray birds. As you can see in a few of the close-up pictures, the gray stencils are out of register, all having a white shadow to them. I can't tell looking at them on the sheet, but it becomes very apparent when you put them on the model.

Another thing to be aware of is how the flame decals and the "Stars" decals were printed. They were done with a printing method that puts down a series of dots, similar to what you see if you look closely at a newspaper photograph. If you look at the close-up shots of the flames, you can see the dots. Looking at the complexity of the designs, the number of colors and the way they have to blend into each other, this may have been the only way to print them. I think they look good but I've heard some modelers complain about this style of printing, so if you're one of those, beware.

Overall verdict; an excellent set of decals except for the out-of-register gray stenciling. If you plan on using them, test one before you commit. Once again, Many thanks to Zotz for supplying this product for review. It is available from www.zotzdecals.com for $27.00. If you visit their website, they provide a list of other dealers.

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