One of the nice things about Starfighter Decals is that they do sheets for 1/144 aircraft, something that few decal makers do for us. This next sheet is for the A-6 Intruder and includes three sets of markings, two of them which have been repeated on a 1/72 sheet.

There is only one kit of which I am aware in this scale for the Intruder and that is from Dragon. I am not sure how available it is as I have not seen it issued in quite some time, but it should not be all that difficult to find.

The first set of markings is an early A-6 from the USS Nimitz in 1976. This aircraft is in the older light gull grey over white scheme and was the CAG bird, though again, no rainbow of colors. It is from VA-35, a unit that went by the wayside along with the A-6

The next is  for VA-65 'Tigers'. This is the CAG bird from the USS Theodore Roosevelt during Desert Storm in 1991 and as was common, there is not any rainbow of CAG colors on the aircraft. This is one of the last batch of 'new build' Intruders that was constructed when the production line was reopened to take care of attrition replacements. It was scrapped with only a few thousand hours on it.

The third option is from VA-36 'Road Runners'. This aircraft was also on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and was lost on 2 February 1991. To my knowledge, neither unit survived once the A-6 was retired from the inventory.

These are standard waterslide decals and are very nicely printed by Cartograf. The provide all the unique markings, some of the data markings and insignia for all options. There is also a set of walkway markings for the VA-35 option.  

Thanks to www.starfighter-decals.com for the review sample. Get yours direct from the link.

May 2012

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