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Eduard (Propagteam) 1/72nd "Russian WWII Aces" (72-002)

By Erik Pilawskii
 [All decal sheet scans have been deliberately skewed and distorted at random angles to dissuade illegal reproduction or Copyright infringement by any such parties. The precise line and measurement of any specific marking, therefore, should not be taken literally from these illustrations.]

Eduard (Propagteam) 72-002 "Russian WWII Aces"

One of a series of excellent new VVS decal sheets from Propagteam, these decals are absolutely of the highest quality in manufacture. Alas, as with many VVS markings sheets, the accuracy of the scheme information in the instructions provided by Eduard fall somewhat short of this very high mark. But, despite that, they are amongst the finest of all the contemporary GPW VVS decal sheets.

Schemes

No less than eight sets of markings cover this sheet, ranging in era from the I-16 to the La-7.

  1. I-16 Type 24 "Red 21", Gennadi Tsokolayev, 4 GIAP KBF, 1942:     Tsokolayev's machine is clearly a Type 24, not a -10 (s/n 24-21321), and appears in the curious Pre-War scheme of over-all Silver-Grey . The provided decals are basically correct, thought the numeral "21"s appear to be a little small, and the Guard's Emblems should have a white backing field in the center. However, still quite useable indeed.

  2. La-7 "White 23", Pavel Golovachov, 9 GIAD, 1945:    "White 23" did not feature red trim borders on its white arrow markings, as depicted, but the remainder of the decals look to be correct. The spinner should be yellow.

  3. P-39Q, A.Kozhevnikov, 9 GIAD, 1945:    I have been unable to track down a photograph of this specific machine, and can offer no comment here. This scheme should not be confused with Kozhevnikov's P-39N "White 29", however.

  4. P-39 N "White 2", Nikolai Gulyaev, 66 GIAP, 1945:    Fine decal set.

  5. La-7 "White 24", Sultan Amet-Khan, 9 GIAP, 1945:    Basically correct, "White 24" had in fact a yellow spinner, as was common in this unit.

  6. La-5FN "Yellow 01", Vladimir Popkov, 5 GIAP, Winter 1943-44:    Another erroneous attempt at Popkov's machine, probably taken from the Osprey book color plate. Once again, while wearing this curious Winter ad-hoc scheme, there was no white fin flash present. The numerals "01" should be yellow, as should the stars be Yellow bordered types on the fuselage and tail. At this time the spinner is said to have been dark blue (an early Popkov trademark), and the Guard's Emblem should be smaller on this machine and moved slightly lower.

  7. I-16 Type 24 "White 11", Boris Safanov, 72 SAP SF, 1941:    Here Eduard appears to have fallen under the influence of certain Finnish enthusiasts, and rendered the inscriptions for Safanov's famous " Za Stalina !" machine in a quite absurd 'silver' color. In fact, of course, these should be in yellow (with a white exclamation point). The national star markings should have a thin black border.

  8. La-7 "White 27", Ivan Kozhedub, 176 GIAP, 1945:    Though the decal is set is quite good, the instructions show an erroneous scheme for "White 27", which was finished in a simple Winter coat of Dark Sea-Grey .

    Despite the occasional problems with the reproduction of some of the camouflage schemes, this decal sheet is quite outstanding. The decals themselves are rather thin, well registered, and settle down nicely to produce an excellent effect. Certainly, a winner here.