Jump to content

Kits World decals, how accurate are they?


Wm Blecky

Recommended Posts

I came across a Kits World decal sheet for 1/72 Hurricanes.  It has a couple of schemes that have peaked my interest.  In particular, the Romanian Air Force one stands out in my eyes:

KW72144

KW72144_2.jpg?t=

Can anyone comment on the accuracy of these decals and the schemes illustrated?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, Wm Blecky,

 

The Rumanian example looks accurate. On the contrary, the Dutch one doesn't. Most probably they had the "rectangular flag" insignia with nothing on the upper wing surface (other than the RAF roundel overpainted). The colours, however, look accurate. Remember those were IIbs with 12-gun wings, though the two outer were taken out.

 

FErnando

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks fellas, I appreciate your help.  Ironically, I was just looking on the net for something else and I came across a new (???) decal sheet for Hurricane Mk.Is from RB Productions.  Not only does it cover the same Hurricane as on the Kits World sheet, there are several others.  Radu's instructions are better detailed and more informative than what appears to be with the Kits World sheet, plus, having purchased several of his other decals previously, I know the quality and accuracy of his work, so far less to concern myself with.

 

 1/72 Romanian Hurricane Mk.1 - Click Image to Close

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Wm Blecky said:

I came across a Kits World decal sheet for 1/72 Hurricanes.  It has a couple of schemes that have peaked my interest.  In particular, the Romanian Air Force one stands out in my eyes:

 

Can anyone comment on the accuracy of these decals and the schemes illustrated?

Regarding the Romanian Hurricane it depends on how much you care about the little things, but since you`ve asked: :D

- the red circle of the cross should not be segmented (in spite of it appearing as such in several colour profiles), the blue band should be wider and those corners at the base of each M (the Michael cross is basically made up of four Ms) should be more pronounced I think.
- in terms of shape, the number doesn`t look that much like the one on the real aircraft
- the coloring of the mounted Mickey with white, brown AND yellow is probably imaginative. If you look at a photo of the logo with the cross next to it (on orthochromatic film - hence the blue appears as the ligher colour) you can see that the same colours from the cross seem to be on the emblem too:
http://www.cartula.ro/forum/topic/13626-hurricane-uri-mk1-romanesti-la-72/page__p__203676#entry203676
and another one:
http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=1764&view=findpost&p=23412

There`s a picture with the crashed no.2 here:
https://imgur.com/gallery/0a4Rjut


Btw, no.2 was a late type Mk.I with metal wings and for the 1/72 scale that largely leaves you to choose between the old Hasegawa kit (I bought it too for this purpose, but it has its downsides) or the new Airfix kit with alleycat`s resin conversion set.

Quote

Thanks fellas, I appreciate your help.  Ironically, I was just looking on the net for something else and I came across a new (???) decal sheet for Hurricane Mk.Is from RB Productions.  Not only does it cover the same Hurricane as on the Kits World sheet, there are several others.  Radu's instructions are better detailed and more informative than what appears to be with the Kits World sheet, plus, having purchased several of his other decals previously, I know the quality and accuracy of his work, so far less to concern myself with.

Well, yes, Radu`s decal sheet looks definitely like the better deal if you`re interested in Romanian Hurricanes alone. As far as the accuracy of Romanian subjects is concerned you won`t find better decals out there than his. His sheet also offers both the choice of building a metal wing Hurricane and a fabric wing one (the no.14 and no.15). The widely available Airfix kit can be used for the latter and apart from replacing the infamous 4 spoke wheels you wouldn`t need any other aftermarket. I had already recommended the RB decal to you in my RfI thread btw.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235031178-romanian-hurricane-mki-airfix-172/&do=findComment&comment=2919174

 

Edited by Fin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, woody37 said:

On the Cross de Laraine on the free French version, I belive the cross should be blue, not red

Yes !!

I dunno how often that mistake will be repeated again.

It's even clear in most B/W photos if one compares the relative brightness with the roundel colours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, woody37 said:

On the Cross de Laraine on the free French version, I belive the cross should be blue, not red

Good catch!  Thanks Woody.  I missed that totally.  I have a Berna Decals sheet covering several Free French Hurricanes, one of them the same as on the Kit World sheet, but Berna did get it right:

BER72081.jpg?t=

BER72081_1.jpg?t=

 

It is details like that that had me questioning the Kits World sheet.  I have read elsewhere that they do tend to have accuracy issues.  While I am not an overboard rivet counter, I do like to get details / markings correct where possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My observations about KitsWorld decals veers slightly off topic insofar as it does not directly address the Hurricane sheet but hopefully stays within the boundaries of the topic heading.

 

Decal manufacturers tend to create images that rely on best estimates, guesswork and imagination. So do kit manufacturers in their respective decal sheets. In a general sense, so do most kit builders. A single error in an earlier work can start a chain of repetitions  - all without reliable sourcing - until the mistake becomes a fact.

 

With the time upon us when we will have no more World War II service people left, it is unlikely that further clarification will emerge.

 

A recent topic on MTO B-25 colours indicated how problematic the identification of colours, let alone decals, can be.

 

A look at the KitsWorld decal sheet for Ploesti B-24Ds (172117) shows them with ball turrets. The confusion over whether Kane's aircraft 'Hail Columbia' had this or that artwork is also further compounded.

 

Their B-25 decal set (172024) indicates an RAF fin flash for the aicraft 'That's All Brother' which seems to conflict with the photographic evidence (Katarzynski. B-25 'Michell' in Combat over Europe [MTO], p.27)

 

I doubt there is a definitive solution to markings in general and decals in particular. As time gives me shakier hands and visual challenges for close up work, I take comfort in 'representation' over 'replica'.

 

Michael

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, woody37 said:

On the Cross de Laraine on the free French version, I belive the cross should be blue, not red

Hasegawa made the same error on their 1/48 Hurricane kit:

s-l1600.jpg

 

I think this would be a good example of someone putting far too much "faith" in the reputation of another, while one of the 2 is presuming the other's work / information is correct, only to end up furthering the error.

 

Chalk it up to a combination of poor research and one manufacturer copying the other's artwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's funny.  Just because I saw the Cross of Lorraine for the first time printed in red on the decal sheet for the original Airfix Blenheim that colour got fixed in my mind as "correct" and no matter how often I see it in blue and know blue is correct part of my brain still goes "nope , red" while another says blue.

I still hope to see a red Mustang too.  Another colour call out gone wrong.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/13/2018 at 8:01 AM, woody37 said:

On the Cross de Laraine on the free French version, I belive the cross should be blue, not red

I've thought about this before. Yes... the centre of the French roundel is blue. BUT... the Free French flag had a red Cross of Lorraine on the white! I decided that the only way to see definitive evidence would be to find a photo taken with orthochromatic film. It wasn't easy, but I found one, and the cross is definitely blue (below – compare it to the blue area of the rudder). But... we also see various designs of the cross... thick, thin, plain, with round 'things' on the ends, etc. So I'm wondering if perhaps there were no real specs for this markings, and units just added what seemed appropriate. That might explain the existence of both blue and red crosses. Just speculating.

Bob

ff flag.jpg

blue lorraine.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, woody37 said:

I built that one but ended up overpainting the cross with blue, have a soft spot for aircraft in the scheme. The new Airfix Blenheim appears to have the colours correct :)

 

Actually the Airfix kit provides a choice of either red or blue, with the instructions stating that research as to the correct colour "is ongoing".  However they say that current thinking is that they were blue and that RAF colours were used.  Well, that's one less colour on the transfer sheet then.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
On 13/01/2018 at 12:39, Fin said:

The widely available Airfix kit can be used for the latter and apart from replacing the infamous 4 spoke wheels you wouldn`t need any other aftermarket.

you need a Spitfire type De Havilland propeller for Romanian and Finnish options,   the kit has the Hurricane type DH prop.   It's an optional prop in in the Airifx Spitfire I/II kit though, so easy enough to source as a spare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More broadly, I've noticed several inaccuracies of Kits World Decals for P-51s: stars & bars of an inaccurate design, aircraft code letters too large, checkerboard noses with too few rows of checks, nude artwork too big for the panels for which they are designed. Hopefully these errors will be corrected over time.

 

Justin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, Kitworld accuracy best described as "patchy", I think.  I have sheet KW172057 covering 2 well-documented B-17 Fortresses B-17F "Delta Rebel II" and B-17G "Swamp Fire" and it seems to me numerous things are in error.  Eg Delta Rebel is depicted with an astrodome (instead of the skylight windows) and the greyed-out fuselage star (not easy too find in the spares box!) and partially overpainted waist windows have been overlooked.  Swamp Fire probably had a replacement Cheyenne rear gun position: the illustrations show, without comment, a Cheyenne tail in the port view but a old pattern position in the starboard view! 

 

That said, I haven't found any similar problems with the P-61 sheet: maybe I haven't looked hard enough yet!

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Re crosses of Lorraine: it's fair to add that the Alsace Hurricane Mk.I was early in the existence of the marking.  The ModelArt transfer sheet, produced by Frenchman Jean Deprez, provides them in blue, and this is repeated in the new work by Christian Ehrengardt,  Camouflages et Marques de L'Aviation Francaise 1939-1945.

 

PS  Light blue not the dark blue used by the RAF for roundels in this period.  However prewar RAF colour were lighter than the wartime ones and it is at least possible that stocks of these paints were used as being closer to French colours.

 

PPS.  The Modelart Alsace isn't that early.  I'd imagined it as one of the aircraft that operated in the defence of Tobruk in the failed siege, but it actually belongs some time later.

Edited by Graham Boak
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/1/2019 at 7:08 PM, Troy Smith said:

you need a Spitfire type De Havilland propeller for Romanian and Finnish options,   the kit has the Hurricane type DH prop.   It's an optional prop in in the Airifx Spitfire I/II kit though, so easy enough to source as a spare.

No, the ones I was referring to are the ex-Yugoslav Hurricanes with fabric wings (two of which are present on RB Productions decal sheet) for which the propeller that comes with the standard Airfix kit is fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you refer to the Wikipedia article Croix de Lorraine (espec. the French version), there is no doubt: Red on symbols relating to the resistance and the free French forces.

 

And adding this: Red is where you should start. Only if you have evidence (colour fotos espc.) telling you something different, you should opt for another colour. 

 

 

Edited by NPL
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 2:52 PM, Graham Boak said:

Re crosses of Lorraine: it's fair to add that the Alsace Hurricane Mk.I was early in the existence of the marking.  The ModelArt transfer sheet, produced by Frenchman Jean Deprez, provides them in blue, and this is repeated in the new work by Christian Ehrengardt,  Camouflages et Marques de L'Aviation Francaise 1939-1945.

 

PS  Light blue not the dark blue used by the RAF for roundels in this period.  However prewar RAF colour were lighter than the wartime ones and it is at least possible that stocks of these paints were used as being closer to French colours.

 

PPS.  The Modelart Alsace isn't that early.  I'd imagined it as one of the aircraft that operated in the defence of Tobruk in the failed siege, but it actually belongs some time later.

I've just picked up Owen Thetford's Camouflage 1939-42 Aircraft from 1946, illustrated by C Rupert Moore.  There is a sketch in there of an anonymous Free French Blenheim IV.  The crosses of Lorraine (wing and fuselage) are described as "blue on white ground".  The French roundels and rudder stripes are described as "red, white and pale blue".   For what it's worth.  But at least the idea of the crosses being blue is not a new idea.

Edited by Seahawk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello all,

 

I used Kits-World's  decals for my 1/48 scale Spitfire PR.XIX and especially the stencils were very inaccurate. For example:

- there should be fuel tank capacity mentioned in gallons beside the refueling cap; not the octane grade alone

- rescue markings were completely wrong

- oil filling markings were completely wrong

- numerous cowling stencils were completely missing (like the N.A.M.T. markings, gear box oil check markings and so on)

 

So a lot of "fine surgery" was needed. Luckily I bought several sets and was able to pick almost everything I needed. Letter by letter at times!

 

Looking at the Finnish Hurricane then. I was delighted to see that they've drawn the right antenna mast (differs slightly from most RAF examples). As Troy Smith mentioned the propeller should have the short spinner. Some artistic freedom has been used for the paint scheme; it was indeed Pattern B but those colour demarcation lines doesn't match the photos. Especially the port rear fuselage looked different. Check also the wing swastikas as they don't look convincing in manufacturer's picture. They were originally hastily painted in England and the blue lines were narrower than specified. The fuselage national insignias on the other hand were spot on and look good in the picture. This anomalies should be visible on the decals. The black "6" on the rudder had a narrow light blue (RLM 65?) trim. At least the "NO STEP" markings on the wing trailing edges were replaced with Finnish language "ÄLÄ ASTU" and a word "MIEHISTÖSUKSET" (Crew skis) was applied on the fuselage hatch (port side). I'm not sure whether captain H. Kalaja's Hurricane had the ski markings. Fuselage register number was painted using a standard British font. During the early days of the Continuation War the gun muzzle canvas covers were still painted over using RAF camouflage paints (not red).

 

Kind Regards,

Antti

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...