FCM 48062 Super Tucano Esquadrilha da Fumaca 2022

Units: See review

Price

$

Reviewer:

Scott Van Aken

Brazil has one of the world's best military display teams, the Esquadrilha da Fumaca or the Smoke Squadron. They started with the T-6 and have kept with propeller driven aircraft for their displays. I had the pleasure of watching this unit during their 1986 visit to the US at a show that also included the Thunderbirds and the Patrouille de France. In my mind, this group was the best of the three.

It all boils down to how the display is presented. US teams are 'flash and dash' in that they will suddenly appear over the field and perform their maneuver then disappear. The French team is similar to other European and the Canadian team in that they perform a flowing display as the group moves from one formation to the other. On the other hand, the Brazilian team does a similar display, however, they never leave the display area during their presentation. It is the benefit of using highly maneuverable prop planes in that there is not at much need for space as with jet powered aircraft. The one maneuver that really caught my eye was when, in the four 'corners' of the field, an aircraft pulled off a synchronized 'falling leaf' display.

This sheet provides sufficient markings to do any one of the 2022 display team aircraft. The fuselage and tail markings are provided, with the modeler having to paint the simple wing markings. The white stripes that are part of the wing and tailplane markings are supplied. Also included is an addendum sheet with corrected team badges and a flag strip. This sheet should fit any of the available 1/48 Super Tucano kits. The only one I know of that is readily available in 1/48 is by Hobby Boss, though there is/was a nice resin kit produced in Brazil that is more accurate.

The decals are superbly printed by Serigraf and the instructions are very nicely done and include a full stencil placement guide. Instructions also include upper surface views as well as underside ones and dimensions to help with painting. There are a number of places that sell FCM decals, so check the web for your nearest dealer.

November 2022

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