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BCATP Ansons – British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (48042) 1:48 Iliad Designs Originally designed as a fast mail carrier in the early 30s, the original AVRO design was amended in the mid-30s in response to a specification issued by the Aviation Ministry for a reconnaissance aircraft that could also perform other roles. It beat a similarly militarised De Havilland Rapide and was awarded a contract for series production with the name Anson after an 18th Century Admiral of the Fleet. At the outbreak of war it was still performing its given roles, and was engaged in the Dunkirk evacuation where it surprisingly managed to shoot down two Bf.109s and damage another, as they found the low speed of the Anson hard to gauge, overshooting straight into the line of the nose-mounted .303 machine gun operated by the pilot. She was thoroughly outclassed as a front-line aircraft though, so was soon withdrawn from fighting service to form part of the training fleet, and as a communications ‘hack’. Despite its withdrawal from service, more aircraft were built, and they were used as trainers for radar operators, navigators and as a trainer for pilots that were destined to fly multi-engined bombers. Its replacement in maritime service was the Lockheed Hudson, which had a hugely increased range and speed, the Anson only being capable of a four-hour endurance that prevented it from covering much of the Atlantic or North Sea before it had to turn for home. It could carry a small bomb load however, so could take action if it was to find a U-boat on its travels. Following WWII, Faithful Annie as she became known was used as a civilian and business aircraft, although some of the wooden-winged examples that were used overseas began to suffer from problems due to the humidity’s effect on the timber areas. Not all Ansons had wooden wings though, and some of the wooden winged aircraft were refitted with the improved metal wings, although even these were eventually retired, leaving only one airworthy by the new millennium. This new decal set from Iliad in Canada depicts a variety of airframes in the service of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, training aircrews for the fight in Europe. The sheet arrives in a Ziploc bag on with the decals printed on an A5 sheet of decal paper. There are six decal options included on the sheet with side and top profiles printed on the instructions along with captions and arrowed areas that give additional details to help you make your model more accurate. They are intended to be used with the new Airfix kit, which is the new standard in 1:48. There is an older kit from Classic Airframes in 1:48, but the kit is a much more complex build and only available on the second-hand market. The decals would likely fit though, as they aren’t contoured particularly to any part of the model. The top and bottom profiles are small but able to show sufficient detail to be useful, and these too have detail painting call-outs where necessary. From the sheet you can decal any of the following: Anson Mk.I, 6077 (ex R9878), No.7 AOS (Air Observers School), Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Anson Mk.I, 6117 (ex R9956), NO.4 AOS, London, Ontario Anson Mk.I, 2115 of No.6 AOS, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Anson Mk.I, 6013 (ex RAF N9943), Camp Borden, Ontario Anson Mk.I, 9982, No.6 AOS, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Anson Mk.I, 6067 (ex R9835), Prince Albert, Saskatchewan The decals are printed on a pale blue paper in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There are some large areas of carrier film between the lettering by necessity, but due to the extremely thin nature of the film it should disappear, especially if you ensure a highly glossy surface before application. Highly recommended. To pick up your set, visit the link below, scroll down, and follow the instructions for purchase Review sample courtesy of

More DHC-6 Twin Otters Decals (72021) 1:72 Iliad Designs Developed by De Havilland Canada, the Twin Otter was produced in the mid to late 60s by the original DHC, and again in the early 2000s when Viking Air took over the type and restarted production, also taking the name of DHC in 2022. The new production has turbo-prop engines and modern avionics that has broadened its appeal further, thanks to its economy, cargo capacity and excellent rate of climb. It was always a well-regarded aircraft, and its modern variant even more so thanks to the improvements in safety that were included with the other upgrades. This new decal set from Iliad in Canada depicts a variety of airframes in the service of different operators on an A5 sheet of decal paper. There are six decal options included on the sheet with side and top profiles printed on the instructions along with captions and arrowed areas that give additional details to help you make your model more accurate. They are intended to be used with the Revell kit, which is a rebox of the Matchbox kit of yesteryear. The instructions include a substantial quantity of extra information, complete with accompanying photos and diagrams that show the antenna fit, window and door layout that can be found on various editions of this aircraft, which is often adapted to fit its operator at purchase. The underwing decals are shown as ghost images on the overhead profiles and vice versa, which both saves space and paper, which is always a good thing. From the sheet you can decal any of the following: RCAF Aircraft 13808 in UN Service, India Pakistan War, 1971 Twin Otter 77-0465, USAF Parachute Team at Air Force Academy DHC-6 Twin Otter Ethiopian Army, November 1976 DHC-6 Twin Otter Panamanian Naval Air Service Chilean Air Force Twin Otter, SAR Duties Easter Island Peruvian Air Force Transport Transportes Aéreos Naciaonales de Selva (TANS) The decals are printed on a pale blue paper in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There are some large areas of carrier film between the lettering by necessity, but due to the extremely thin nature of the film it should disappear, especially if you ensure a highly glossy surface before application. There are also some instructions relating to the decals, particularly the TANS cheatlines, which extend almost the full length of the fuselage and are supplied as three interlocking parts that require careful alignment, thanks to the human eye’s ability to detect things when they're out of whack. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Piper L-4 Grasshopper Decals (48041) 1:48 Iliad Designs The Piper Cub was a light aircraft developed before WWII with production continuing throughout WWII and into the late 40s. In military service as a communications, reconnaissance, or spotter aircraft, it was known as the L-4 Grasshopper, and 20,000 plus were built due to its success in various roles, including trainer and glider tug. It was powered by a flat-4 engine, and despite the limited power it was agile in the air, with docile handling characteristics and a very low stall speed, which made take-off and landing a simple process, and let the aircraft use strips that were far too short for other types. This new decal set from Iliad in Canada depicts a variety of airframes in the service of different operators on an A5 sheet of decal paper. There are six decal options included on the sheet with side and top profiles printed on the instructions along with captions and arrowed areas that give additional details to help you make your model more accurate. They are intended to be used with the new Special Hobby kit, which is truly 1:48. There is an older kit available that purports to be 1:48, but it is actually closed to 1:50, so the sizing of the decals will be unsuitable in places. The underwing decals are shown as ghost images on the overhead profiles and vice versa, which both saves space and paper, which is always a good thing. From the sheet you can decal any of the following: L-4H ‘Miss Me’ flown by Lt. Merrit Francies & Lt. William Martin, who shot down a German Storch using their sidearms, 11th April 1945 L-4 flown by Maj. John Humphries, 546th Bomb Sqn., 384th Bomb Group, Grafton, UK 1944 L-4 stationed at Camp Clipper desert training facility, California USA, 1943 L-4 Free French Forces L-4H A-72 32e Section d’Observation d’Aviation d’Artillerie (SOAA), French 2nd Armoured Division US Navy NE-2, 29669 from Army stock in 1944-5 The decals are printed on a pale blue paper in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There are some large areas of carrier film between the lettering by necessity, but due to the extremely thin nature of the film it should disappear, especially if you ensure a highly glossy surface before application. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

7./JG53 Bf.109G6/R6 ‘Cartoon Aircraft’ (48002a) 1:48 Iliad Designs The Bf.109 was ubiquitous in German fighter service during WWII, and aside from their national markings and those damn swastikas, the squadrons often applied artwork to the sides of their aircraft for their own entertainment and sense of camaraderie, or to differentiate themselves from each other where camouflage was rigorously applied. There’s precious little humour to be had in war, so a great many war fighters on all sides found amusement by decorating their machines of war with slogans or caricatures. Cartoons were commonly used, hence the name of this decal sheet. This decal sheet contains markings for six such cartoon Bf.109s from 7./JG53 during their high-demarcation period, when they were all wearing practically identical camouflage, with green/white spinner and yellow panels under the cowling, with some restrained mottling applied to the light blue fuselage sides. You will need to mask and paint the spinner yourself, although the instructions advise you that as it’s a constant width, so you can mask it with 1.5mm wide tape or decal strip if you have the right colour to hand. Each airframe has cartoonish drawing of their squadron emblem that has been given arms and legs, and is doing something comical and jingoistic to either an avatar representing the enemy or something else equally silly that only the squadron crews would understand. The final common aspect apart from the national markings is the white tail-band that is probably best painted before the rest of the darker colours are laid down, then masked off until near the end. The decal sheet is exceptionally well-printed with good registration, sharpness and colour density, plus a thin glossy carrier film cut close to the printed surfaces. The set doesn’t include stencils of course, as these are usually included on the kit sheet, but in this instance there is a small additional postage stamp-sized sheet with a number of triangular fuel-rating and oil filler stencils, and because the main sheet provides a full set of crosses for each option, you can build all six options providing you have suitable kits and the patience to build half a dozen in the same basic scheme one after another. As well as side profiles, the opposite side of the instruction sheet shows overhead views of the aircraft, so that you can map out the camouflage on all surfaces, which is always helpful. Additional scrap diagrams show painting of the prop spiral, location of the triangular info stencils on two photos of the real aircraft, as well as arrowed call-outs of colours, interesting information and a slightly larger rendition of the cartoons to the sides of all of the subject aircraft to assist you further. Conclusion Iliad always produce interesting subjects that are well-researched, have concise instructions, with excellent quality decals rounding out the package. Highly recommended. Iliad Decals are available from all good model shops worldwide. Review sample courtesy of

Special Ops Skyraiders (48019a) 1:48 Iliad Designs The Skyraider was an enormous, single-engined ground-attack aircraft that was under development during WWII as a carrier-borne torpedo/dive bomber, but eventually became a highly proficient ground-attack and close-air-support (CAS) platform, that outlived at least one of its intended replacements. It was fitted with a powerful Wright-Cyclone engine that gave it immense load-carrying capacity, long loiter-time, and once unloaded, it was described as “climbing like a homesick angel” to get its pilot out of harm’s way and back home for another sortie. Its flexibility saw it used extensively in Vietnam, both for its original CAS and Ground Attack missions, but also in support of Special Operations, for which specialised squadrons were established as Special Operations Squadron (SOS) of Special Operations Group (SOG). This decal sheet contains markings for six such “sneaky beaky” aircraft, some of which are painted in non-standard Vietnam tri-colour greens and brown, which jars the eye a little on first viewing. They are quite a mixed bag of schemes, as you’d probably expect from such operators, and although the camouflage is there, it is often negated by a bright yellow symbol on the cowling, or in one case a red/white/blue tail or a snarling shark’s mouth. The decal sheet is exceptionally well-printed with good registration, sharpness and colour density, plus a thin glossy carrier film cut close to the printed surfaces. The set doesn’t include stencils of course, as these are usually included on the kit sheet. As well as side profiles, the opposite side of the instruction sheet shows overhead views and opposite side views of the aircraft without any decals, so that you can map out the camouflage on all three surfaces, which is rather helpful. Additional scrap diagrams show painting of the prop-tips, main gear spat codes, opposite sides of the cowling of one airframe that shows a different sized font, as well as arrowed call-outs of spot colours, interesting information and unseen decals in addition to the caption to the sides of all of the subject aircraft to assist you further. Conclusion Iliad always produce interesting subjects that are well-researched, have concise instructions, with excellent quality decals rounding out the package. Highly recommended. Iliad Decals are available from all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of

Convair F-106B Delta Dart 1:48 Iliad Designs (48037) Iliad Designs is a producer of decals, colour charts and books from Canada's capital city Ottawa. This sheet sees them bring us a choice of decals for the new Trumpeter F-106B kit. The first time we have had the B model available in kit form. There are 5 markings for 4 aircraft as 72535 is shown in markings for the Californian ANG, and later when it was used in the flight test programme for the Rockwell B-1. The options are 72514 from the 27th FIS, Loring AFB, Maine 1969. 72535 used during the flight testing programme for the B-1 72513 also used during the flight testing programme for the B-1 72529 from 539th FIS, McGuire AFB, New Jersey, 1961 72535 from the California Air National Guard. This features the State Bear on the tail. Aside from being an interesting collection of schemes, the decals themselves look to be of very good quality. The printing is crisp and sharp, while colours are bold and solid. They look thin and glossy on the sheet, so they should perform well. A smaller correction sheet is included for the 27th FIS one due to a printing error with the main sheet. Conclusion This interesting sheet is nicely printed. If you have the new Trumpeter kit then this sheet will enable you to produce a different aircraft. . Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

ANG Mustangs Part 3 1:48 Iliad Designs (48038) Iliad Designs is a producer of decals, colour charts and books from Canada's capital city Ottawa. This sheet sees them continue their line of Air National Guard Mustangs. Following WWII there were many surplus P-51 aircraft with many being passed down to State Air National Guard units. The now third in line sheet gives the modeller another choice of 4 ANG aircraft, all of these are in NMF with the state markings. The four are; 484986 from the 187th FS, Wyoming National Guard with a yellow checker tail and the state seal. 511385 from the California Air National Guard. This features the rare State Bear on the fuselage. 511380 from the 197th FS, Arizona Air National Guard, with the Sqn markings over the state seal. 473348 from the Ohio National guard, not mush to this one apart from the ONG markings. Aside from being an interesting collection of schemes, the decals themselves look to be of very good quality. The printing is crisp and sharp, while colours are bold and solid. They look thin and glossy on the sheet, so they should perform well. Conclusion This interesting sheet is nicely printed. If you have any of the great new, or even older tool Mustang kits, then this sheet will enable you to produce a range of aircraft with interesting variation in markings as used by the ANG Post War. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Starfighters in Combat (48020a) 1:48 Iliad Designs This is a welcome release of Iliad’s popular sheet depicting F-104s in service around the world, all of which saw active service of some sort, at the end of one end or another of an opponent’s missiles or guns. If you’ve seen the original set, you’ll know broadly what to expect, and it arrives in an A5 ziplok bag, with the instructions doubling as the header and a full A5 sheet of decals separated from each other by dotted lines. The instructions are excellent as usual with a brief description and potted history of each of the seven subjects, plus more information of interest over the top of each side profile to give you more knowledge of your choice. On the back page are overhead drawings of the aicraft, with a few photographs and scrap diagrams showing parts that differ from the norm. The pictures consist of sensors fitted to particular airframes and will help if you need to scratch-build them to add authenticity to your build. From the… errr bag, you can build six of the 7 projects if you have enough stencils for the rest of the airframes. F-104A “D” transferred to the Pakistan Air Force from Jordan during the 1971 war with India. The Aircraft was downed by an Indian Mig-21 on 17th December. Canadiar built F-104G of the 427th TFS, 3rd TFW, Republic of China Air Force. On jan 13 1967, Capt. Shin-lin Hu (in 4344) and Capt. Bei-Puo Shih (in 4348) surprised a group of Chinese J-6s (Mig-19s) and shot down one of each. F-104C 8th TFW based at Udorn RTAFB, in 1966/7. F-104C 8th TFW based at Udorn RTAFB, in 1966/7. F-104C, shot down by a Chinese Mig-19 on 20th Sept 1965 with pilot Capt. Phil Smith held as POW until 1973. F-104A of the Pakistan Air Force, during the 1971 war, Wing Commander Arif Iqbal shot down an Indian Breguet Alizé attacking Okha harbour. F-104G 141˚ Filo, Turkish Air Force on 21st July 1974 during the Turkish/Cyprus war, mistakenly attack his own forces west off Paphos harbour, damaging two destroyers and sinking one. The decals are printed on thick paper with excellent registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion With the new Kinetic kit readily available along with others in the scale, it’s a good time for this set to be re-released, and with the decal quality accompanied by good instructions it represents great value. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Pre-War Hurricanes (48001) 1:48 Iliad Design Decals When Hurricanes were new, and equipping squadrons before that fateful day in 1939, they looked more sleek and simple because they hadn't yet be tried by combat and used until they fell apart or were shot down. This is the subject of the new decal sheet from Iliad Designs, giving you the option of five Hurris that were in service during 1938/9. All options are wearing the familiar Dark Earth/Dark Green camo on their topsides, with variations on the lower surface of either silver of the half-and-half black/white recognition scheme, the latter seen on early WWII aircraft. The sheet arrives in a ziplok bag, with the instructions folded in half doubling as the header card. The sheet itself is behind with the interesting side facing out so that you can see what you are buying. The instructions are printed in full colour, with profiles of the subjects on one side, interspersed with lots of useful titbits of information that will allow you to make your model more accurate, expanding on the visual information already provided, some of which might not immediately pop out at you if you're like me. On the rear are opposing side views, top views and bottom views as appropriate where the aircraft schemes vary. More information is supplied in captions, which are arrowed where necessary. The decal sheet is printed on a pale blue paper, with each subject separated by a broken line and sufficient roundels to allow the modeller to build all of the airframes without borrowing from other sheets. I'm not sure who prints Iliad's decals but they're in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a very thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The edges of the carrier film a very petite too, so shouldn't require much in the way of hiding, other than a couple of coats of clear gloss and some gentle sanding. Conclusion A nice spread of schemes from the early days of the Hurricane, before it played second fiddle to the Spitfire. Superb quality decals with the research that has gone into them evident from the captions. Review sample courtesy of

Schlacht Bf 109Es 1:48 Iliad Designs This sheet is for the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and specifically the E model. I think it can safely be said one of the most modelled aircraft out there. There are six subjects on the sheet, five E-4s and one E-7. The units which used the fighter/bomber versions fo the 109 have not had a great deal of coverage.The aircraft covered are; White U, E-4/B from II./SG 1 Russia 1942 S9+DR, from 7./ZG 1, Western Dessert in 1942 (The only E-7) Red A, from II.(Sch)/LG.2, Russia 1941 White C, from II./LG. 2, Russia 1941 Yellow H, from 6.(Sch)/LG 2, France 1942 Black M, from 5.(Sch)/LG 3, Russia 1941 The decals are well printed, in register and look colour dense. They should pose no problem to the modeller and should fit any make of kit you choose. Conclusion This sheet is an interesting sheet of units not normally in the main stream. If you want something different for your 109 then this sheet is to be recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Beechcraft C-45s 1:48 Iliad Designs This sheet is for the new ICM kit which is also available in a Revell box. It features three new schemes for the C-45; SNB-2h from Naval Air Station Jacksonville. This is a Hospital aircraft in NMF with Red Crosses in addition to the national insignia. AT-7C from an unknown unit in 1946, urging Enlistment. Aircraft is NMF UC-45J from Naval Air Station Atsugi in Japan from the mid 1960s. It is noted this aircraft has the longer engine nacelles not in the kit. The decals are well printed, in register and look colour dense. They should pose no problems to the modeller. Conclusion This sheet is an interesting sheet of units not normally in the main stream. If you want something different for your C-45 then this sheet is to be recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Air National Guard C-47s 1:72 Iliad Designs Iliad Designs is a producer of decals, colour charts and books from Canada's capital city Ottawa. This sheet sees them continue their line of Air National Guard decals with a selection of C-47s from the early years of the ANG. Schemes for four aircraft are included, all of which are interesting in their own right. The aircraft in question are: C-47A 0-92079 of the Puerto Rico ANG; VC-47A 315568 'The Old Dominion' of the Virginia ANG; C-47A 315555 of the Nebraska National Guard; and C-47A 220691 of the New Mexico National Guard. Aside from being an interesting collection of schemes, the decals themselves look to be of very good quality. The printing is crisp and sharp, while colours are bold and solid. They look thin and glossy on the sheet, so they should perform well. Conclusion This interesting sheet is nicely printed. If you have the (relatively) new Airfix kit or the older Italeri kit waiting for you to build it, then this sheet will enable you to produce a range of aircraft with interesting variation in markings. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Pre-war Spitfires (48003) 1:48 Iliad Design of Canada Given the extensive wartime use of the Spitfire it is often overlooked that the aircraft entered RAF service in August 1938 with N.19 Squadron at RAF Duxford. This newly re-printed sheet from Iliad decals allows us to build six prewar spitfires. Full markings and national markings are provided for all six machines. Spitfire Mk.I K9795 19 Sqn RAF Duxford Oct 1938. White 19 markings in tail probably signifies the Sqn Commanders aircraft. Spitfire Mk.I K9843 54 Sqn RAF Hornchurch Early Summer 1939. Spitfire Mk.I L1088 609 Sqn, Immediately Pre-war. Spitfire Mk.I ?????19 Sqn RAF Duxford May 1939 (Serial number painted out). Spitfire Mk.I K9927 14 Sqn RAF Hornchurch Many 1938 (Serial number painted out). Spitfire Mk.I ????? 41 Sqn RAF Catterick 1939. Flown by Sgt EA Shipman (Serial not known). Very highly recommended for a pre-war Spitfire. Review sample courtesy of