Aztec Models 1/72 War for the Malvinas/Falklands Decal First Look
By Michael Benolkin
Date of Review | July 2012 | Manufacturer | Aztec Models |
---|---|---|---|
Subject | War for the Malvinas/Falklands | Scale | 1/72 |
Set Number | 72048 | Pros | Outstanding selection of the Falklands or Malvinas combatants |
Cons | See text | Skill Level | Basic |
MSRP (USD) | $17.90 |
First Look
Aztec Models has released this super set of decals for the Malvinas/Falklands War providing examples from both sides of the conflict. The markings are nicely rendered and printed as single-layer decals so there is no need to stack these markings one atop another to recreate the artwork as done by other companies.
This set provides a nice selection of combatants, 37 to be exact. Let's look at the line-up:
- A-4Q, 3-A-301, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, pre-war colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-301, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, wartime colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-304, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, wartime colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-305, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, pre-war colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-305, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, wartime colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-307, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, pre-war colors
- A-4Q, 3-A-309, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, wartime colors, did not fly in combat
- A-4Q, 3-A-312, 1 ANAS, Argentine Navy, pre-war colors
- A-4P, C-207, Grupo 5 de Caza, Argentine AF
- A-4P, C-222, Grupo 5 de Caza, Argentine AF
- A-4P, C-228, Grupo 5 de Caza, Argentine AF
- A-4P, C-236, Grupo 5 de Caza, Argentine AF
- A-4P, C-242, Grupo 5 de Caza, Argentine AF
- Canberra, B-108, 2 BS, Argentine AF
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, XZ451, 006, 801 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, XZ457, 14, 800 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, ZA175, 004, 801 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, ZA177, 77, 809 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, ZA190, 009, 801 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, ZA192, 92, 809 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea Harrier FRS.1, ZA193, 93, 800 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Sea King HAS.2, 97, 825 Sqn, Royal Navy
- SH-3 Sea King, 2-H-233, Argentine Navy
- SH-3 Sea King, 2-H-235, Argentine Navy
- Mirage IIIEA, I-018, Argentine AF
- Mirage IIIEA, I-019, Argentine AF
- Mirage IIIEA, unidentified, Argentine AF
- Lynx, 3-H-142, Argentine Navy
- Lynx HAS.2, XZ247, 815 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Lynx HAS.2, XZ691, 815 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Lynx HAS.2, XZ720, 815 Sqn, Royal Navy
- Lynx HAS.2, XZ728, 815 Sqn, Royal Navy
- IA-58 Pucara, A-506, Grupo de Ataque 3, Argentine AF
- IA-58 Pucara, A-528, Grupo de Ataque 3, Argentine AF
- IA-58 Pucara, A-537, Grupo de Ataque 3, Argentine AF
- MB-339, 4-A-115, Argentine Navy
- Wasp HAS.1, XT429, HMS Plymouth, Royal Navy
- Wasp HAS.1, XS539, HMS Endurance, Royal Navy
The instructions provide one side of the aircraft in color profile and with some that have differing camouflage on the other side, the instructions MAY provide coverage of the other side in the black and white supplemental pages. There are no good four-view drawings provided in this set except for the Canberra not covered in the 1/48 scale version of this set.
Aside from the incomplete color/painting profiles for the camouflaged subjects, this is a very nice set of decals to render many of the combatants from both sides of this war. For whatever reason, there are no markings provided for the RAF Harrier GR.3 aircraft that operated off those same decks or that legendary Chinook that was the sole survivor from the batch of Chinooks dispatched on the Atlantic Conveyor on the British site, nor are there any C-130 markings for the Argentine aircraft that surveyed the fleet (with one shot down by a Sea Harrier).
This is a great set of markings and with the abundance of reference photos published in historical texts as well as online, the modeler won't have any problems replicating these color schemes.
For more information about this set and the other releases from Aztec Models, visit their website at http://www.aztecmodels.com/.
My sincere thanks to Aztec Models for this review sample!