review Two Bobs 48013 1/48 F-16C Retro Fighters decal sheet

F-16C Retro Fighters decal sheet

1/48 scale product #48013

Review by Steve Bamford

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This decal sheet from The Two Bobs covers 2 different F-16C's with connections to fighters belonging to a couple of very famous US airmen of WW2.

The first plane is the "Cripes A' Mighty" F-16C block 30 with regular intake. The paint scheme of this F-16C was created to mark the last ever reunion of the 352nd Fighter Group. This F-16C is painted up in the markings of Major George E. "Ratsy" Preddy Jr's final plane, a P-51D-15-NA, SN: 44-14906 when he was C.O. of the 328th FS/352nd FG/8th AF in the European theater. On August 6 1944 he shot down 6 Bf 109 fighters during a 5 minute period. Sadly, he was killed by friendly AAA fire on Christmas Day 1944 as he was in pursuit of an Fw 190 at low altitude. Major Preddy had over 25 air combat victories to his credit during his air combat career.

The second F-16 C is a Block 32 and is painted up in the colours of "By Request II", which was the WW2 fighter of the most famous Tuskegee Airmen of them all and their commander during WW2, Col. Benjamin Davis Jr. This F-16 was painted in this scheme to mark the anniversaries of the 302nd Fighter Squadron, which owes it's lineage to the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of Black fighter pilots that earned a fearsome reputation during WW2. They are the only group of fighter pilots that can proudly claim to never having lost a single bomber under their protection to enemy fighters. They painted the tails of their planes red and became known by the bomber crews they escorted as the "Red Tailed Black Angels". The arrival of the "Red Tailed Black Angels" was a welcome sight by all bomber crews they escorted.

The USAF should be commended for honouring their past heros and remembering history by painting up these two F-16C's to mark these anniversaries and events. This decal sheet helps us to remember our past and the sacrifices and victories of the USAF and Allied aircrews during WW2.

The 2 page instruction sheet is very well laid out and easy to understand and includes various reference photos of the full sized planes these decals represent. The decal quality is quite nice and very clear and in register. The stencils are all readable and clearly printed. There is intake plug decals for the red F-16 on this decal sheet. The colours seem to be bang on and I particularly appreciated the layout and design on this decal sheet, which gives the best possible results for the least amount of effort on the modellers part. This sheet is definitely a "Two Thumbs Up" for the Two Bobs!!!

This sheet is available through http://www.twobobs.net/ and select US Hobby Shops. Overseas customers can purchase these from Twobobs site or through Twobobs network of overseas distributors. Remember, shipping is always FREE to US Customers at Twobobs!!

Steve