Irish Air Corps Selection 1990 - 2010

Max Decals, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

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If you have not heard of them before, Max Decals specialise in producing decals for aircraft operated by the Irish Air Corps.

Their latest sheet, 4820 provides markings for aircraft of the Irish Air Corps that operated during the period 1990 to 2010. 

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Markings are provided for six machines in all, the details of which are as follows:

• Siai Marchetti SF260W Warrior.  Markings are provided for five different machines wearing overall glossy dark green with dayglo red tips to the vertical and horizontal stabilisers, spinner, nose and wing tip tank.

• Cessna FR172H.  Markings are four different machines wearing the same overall glossy green scheme sans the dayglo red trim.

• Aerospatiale SA365Fi Dauphin.  Markings for four different machines finished in an attractive scheme comprising an overall light grey with red and white trim.  Each of the four options bears a different name and each name is supplied as a decal.

• Aerospatiale SA342 Gazelle.  Markings for a single machine in an overall light grey with red trim paint scheme.

• Aerospatiale SA316 Alouette III.  Markings for three machines in an overall light grey scheme.

• Pilatus PC-9M.  Markings are provided to produce seven machines.  Missing is the numeral 5 which was assigned to the IAC PC-9M that crashed at Crumlin East on 9 October 2009.  The machines are finished in gloss grey upper surfaces over light grey undersides.  The tips to the vertical and horizontal stabilisers and wings are in gloss red.

The provided decals are very comprehensive and include tiny stencil data items for each different type as well as commemorative insignia appropriate to the Dauphin, Gazelle and Alouette airframes.  There is no advice as to what company produced the decals but they are thin, well printed and in perfect register.  The white items appear to be opaque enough to survive application over the dark green of the Warrior and Cessna options and the white of the national insignia appears to have been printed over a white background to ensure that there is no bleed through of the underlying colour.

As well as the aforementioned markings you also get 16 (eight pair) of 1/35th scale shields that appear on various armoured vehicles operated by the Irish Army.  The shields are for:

• 3rd Infantry Battalion 5th Infantry Battalion 1st Armoured Car

• 1 Tank Squadron 1 Cavalry Squadron 2 Cavalry Squadron

• 4th Cavalry Squadron 1 Armoured Cavalry Squadron

The placement guide is comprehensive to say the least as apart from showing you where to place each decal (number keyed) it advises on the correct shades of paint as well as what kit to use and what modifications are need to make it accurate.  The sheet advises to use the forthcoming AZ Models kit for the PC-9M option.  The guide is A-4 in size with printing on both sides of the sheet with full colour single side profiles of each option as well as upper and lower plan views of the Warrior, Cessna and
PC-9M.

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

This is a well produced item from Max Decals.  It provides you with a variety of decals to 1/48 scale (and 1/35th in the case of the shields) that enables you to model a selection of Irish Air Corps machines.

Max Decals Products are available online from their website

Text and Images Copyright © 2011 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 25 January, 2011
Last updated 25 January, 2011

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