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Aviaelogy Decals by SkyGrid

By Ilya Grinberg

Yet more decals were made available from Aviaelogy/SkyGrid of Canada.

This time they deal with the subject dear to my heart: aircraft of the 812th IAP as seen in Dragons on Bird Wings Vol. 1 reviewed on this site by Matt Bittner and Erik Pilawskii.

These sets (72-01 and 48-01) are identical but just made in the different, most popular scales. Due to unprofitable decal market, decision was made to issue special (very limited) edition of these decals using ALPS printer. Since this type of printer is out of production the chances are that these decals may not be reissued after the printer cartridges will get empty.

The graphic design and execution of decals is flawless. One would not see any difference with mainstream decal production looking at the quality sheet with emblems and tactical numbers of no less than 9 aircraft. These are Yak-1 (white 24), Yak-1B (white 31 and white 32), Yak-7B (white 14), and three of Yak-9T. To add to the list there are markings for two of the 812th adversaries: one is captured Yak-1B in Luftwaffe overall and one is Bf109G-2 with red stars captured by the Russians.

It is important to notice that no less than 5 distinct styles of the 812th emblems are presented on the sheet.

Instruction sheet shows nice profiles of these aircraft and provides modeling and painting tips. ALPS application notes are also provided and are very useful. Instruction sheet is printed in black and white but Aviaeology/Skygrid offers its customers full size color pdf file via e-mail.

My personal experience with Aviaeology ALPS decals is extremely positive. They feature excellent color and saturation, are thin, easy to apply, friendly to Solvaset and show no trace of film after decaling and protective coat applied. The artwork is superb as always expected from this manufacturer.

Care should be taken in order not to scratch decals while handling a model prior to putting on a protective coat. They are thin and soft and rubbing your fingers over the decals is not a good idea!

Decals are available exclusively at http://stores.ebay.com/Aviaeology.

This unique offering is highly recommended.

My thanks to SkyGrid for review sample.