Kits at War

1/48 Decals for Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III and Junkers Ju-52m3

Sheet Number: K4/24

Reviewed by  Bill Seaman, IPMS #41006

MSRP: 14.95 EURO Website: www.kitsatwar.nl Out of the bag these decals appear to be relatively thin and in register. Color saturation is excellent. Kits at War has all their printing done by Van der Geest, a supplier for Grolsch Brewing. How that's for an endorsement ? First up is the Handley Page Halifax B. Mk. III designed for the Fonderie Miniatures kit: QB-O " 'Oscar' Guthrie's Gut Bucket" B-flight. No. 424 "Tiger" Squadron RCAF, Skipton-on-Swale, England 1943-Lost over Karlsruhe on 25 April 1944. Next are markings for a turncoat Junkers Ju-52m3 designed for use on the Revell/ Monogram kit which was recently re-released: "Tobruk" No.26 Squadron South African Air Force. This aircraft was one of 12 Luftwaffe "Iron Annie" birds used as a shuttle between the fighting in North Africa and logistic bases South Africa. It was lost on 16 October 1943 near Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. Fuselage roundels are broken into 3 separate pieces. The "Oscar" nose art is a 4-piece affair that could be tricky for the inexperienced modeler. Unlike some decals for the SAAF, the orange, is just that orange. Not a blood orange, almost indistinguishable from a standard RAF roundel. The instructions are in black & white and are straight forward with placement diagrams. There is also a photo of the "Oscar" nose art that should answer any questions about its placement. Mr. Mark is the recommended setting solution. All the painting bases are covered. References are included for Xtracolor, Federal Standard, and RAF colors. They are available through their website via the links to the distributors listed. Get'em while they're hot! The run is limited to 100 sheets but as of this review, they are still available.