Platz

1/72 F-22A In USAF and JASDF Service

Sheet Number: # NBM21

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: yen;2200 (~$24.00) Review decals provided by Hobbylink Japan: www.hlj.com Platz Website: www.platz-hobby.com/index.php?main_page=shippinginfo&language=en The Aircraft The Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor is a "fifth generation" fighter, with high performance, agility, stealth technology and multi-role capability. Boeing builds the wings and aft fuselage, and does the avionics integration. Lockheed-Martin builds the rest and does final assembly. The Raptor has been in the USAF inventory since 2005, and is replacing the F-15C Eagle as the USAF's main air superiority fighter. In its' first exercise deployment, Northern Edge in 2006 in Alaska, the F-22s scored 108 simulated kills, with no losses against F-15 and F-16 opponents. Congress recently voted to stop funding for the F-22 project in the 2010 budget, but even so, the aircraft ordered in 2009 will still be built. Which means that there will be more Raptors at more bases. Right now, F-22s are based at Langley AFB, Virginia, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, Tyndall AFB, Florida, Eglin AFB, Florida, Nellis AFB, Nevada, and Holloman AFB, New Mexico. Look for F-22s to be based at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. The Decals When I buy decals, I look for: Interesting subjects, multiple aircraft. Markings not available in kits. Good, complete instructions. Good quality printing. Price. This sheet gets an A on three of the criteria, a B- on instructions, and a D on price. The markings are for: Langley, (FF, 2 aircraft). Holloman, (HO, 2 aircraft). Edwards, (ED, 1 test aircraft). Elmendorf, (AK, 3 aircraft). Nellis, (WA, 1 aircraft). Tyndall (OT, 1 aircraft). Also included are "what if" HH markings for Hickam and a set of Japanese Air Self Defense Force markings, in case the US decides to sell the Raptor to foreign users, which hasn't happened yet. There are enough "common" decals, such as US Stars, refueling point indicator, ejection seat triangles, etc. to do 3 complete US F-22s, and the Japanese makes 4. Of additional interest is that included with the JASDF markings are 2 sets or squadron markings, both left and right side for their fighter squadrons. Unfortunately these are subdued, and I can't find any F-4s or F-15s that don't use full-color markings. Unique markings get a good grade. Italeri's F-22 has markings for two Edwards test aircraft, Revell has markings for Langley, Tyndall and Elmendorf, and HobbyBoss has markings for Elmendorf. Aero Plast of Poland also has a 1/72 F-22 kit, but I can't find any markings info. The instructions are pretty good. It was somewhat difficult for me to determine where some of the "common" markings go with a fairly small picture to work from. The numbering of the decals on the sheet, using squadron/group numbers to refer to the decals is brilliant. Since I did the 7th FS aircraft, all the decals specific to this model were 7, 7A, 7B, 7FS, etc. The scrap views of the tail and forward fuselage, where the specific markings were excellent. I was lucky enough to find that Holloman is very proud of their Raptors, and have a comprehensive photo album on their website. While the "artsy" photos don't always show all the markings, they do mostly validate the markings on this decal sheet. Let's check quality… Decal Application I used the HobbyBoss kit for this review, because I'm also reviewing the Eduard masks for the HB Raptor. At this point I'll also throw in another "attaboy" for Platz. Their color instructions are superior to HobbyBoss's, in that the grays that Platz recommends appear to have the right contrast, and are much closer to what's seen in the photos on the Holloman web site. I did the major assemblies, but left off the vertical tails, as they would be a bear to work with, since they've got that angle. The model was painted and I applied a coat of Future. The decals are printed by Cartograf of Italy. They're perfectly on register, and the colors (even though it's mostly gray and black) are solid. The decals come off the backing paper cleanly, and are not fragile. The markings did not roll, fold, crack, tear, or otherwise act up as I applied them. A+ for quality. Applying the decals took 3 sessions. Most of the work is on the vertical tails, and I did part of the markings, then came back and finished when they were dry. The same procedure was followed with the fuselage/wing assembly. There are a lot of decals to apply, so it doesn't pay to be in a big hurry. I got pretty tired of sitting hunched over a saucer of water. After setting overnight, I installed the rear stabilizers, and applied a coat of acrylic clear flat. The decals merged right into the paint job, looking "painted on". I then finished the kit by installing the landing gear, canopy, weapons bay doors, antennas and nose probe. OVERALL ASSESSMENT Recommended. These are high quality decals, and they allowed me to build a Raptor from Holloman, and still be able to do two more, for whatever base takes my fancy. Or fantasy, if I decide to do the JASDF Raptor, just for fun.