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SHEET: |
Yellowhammer 48-19 for Blue Angels A-4F |
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PRICE: |
$10.00 |
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UNITS: |
Blue Angels |
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REVIEW & |
Chris Ishmael |
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NOTES: |
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To
paraphrase, "Mold it, & they will print for it." I’m referring to the fact of
when a model kit manufacture put out a new or a re-release of a kit, the
aftermarket goodies are soon to follow. In this instance, I referring to the
Hasegawa 1/48th scale A-4 Skyhawk.
This is the second Blue Angel sheet I have bought from Yellowhammer (the first being the F-4 sheet). Any of the 18 A-4’s the team flew can be made from this sheet. The instruction sheet is in full color, with right, top, & bottom views of the a/c. Several notes to modelers are on the sheet, including the modifications made to the team’s a/c to bring them up to the "Super Fox" standards, along with the teams own particular modifications. One note that was not carried over from previous Yellowhammer Blue Angel instructions was on how to get the proper Blue Angel blue color using standard Testors paint.
The instructions also include a pilot/aircraft reference table, with the pilots name, rank, a/c Buno, & team number (1,2,etc) for all the a/c from beginning to end (1974-1986).
The decals themselves are touted to be super opaque on the front page. I recall reading a review where the builder used 2 sets of the F-4 decals to correct the bleed through of the underling blue. All the pilots’ names are there, in the correct style, as it has changed. The crest is a 4-piece affair (decals 1,2,3,4). Silver decals are provided for the vertical & horizontal tail leading edge surfaces (9,10,11,12). On closer exanimation though, #’s 11 & 12 were mislabeled. They should be reversed. The modeler will have to choose his own method of applying the natural metal on the wing leading edges, intake lip, and exhaust area. The wingtips, fin cap, & horizontal stabilizer tips will have to be painted FS 13538 by the modeler also.
Given the popularity of the Hasegawa A-4 kit, & the Blue Angels, Yellowhammer is sure to please a lot of modelers, myself included.
If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly by a site that averages thousands of visits a day, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.