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1/700 Lexington Air Group 1941-42
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by Martin J Quinn |
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| Starfighter Decals has released a set of decals for the USS Lexington (CV-2) Air Group, that covers the period from October 1941 to May 1942. In October 1941, the US Navy changed the paint schemes on their aircraft. They went from an overall Non-Spectral Light Gray to to Blue Gray over Non-Spectral Light Gray paint. The aircraft also had the red dot in the center of the national insignia, red and white rudder stripes and full squadron codes on the sides of the fuselage. | ||||||||
| THE DECAL SHEETS | ||||||||
| There are two sheets included in this
set. One is generic USN aircraft markings for 1941 to May 1942
(set 700-108). This includes six different sizes of national
insignias - from 24" insignias to 72" insignias. This
sheet also includes rudder stripes for TBD Devastators, F4F Wildcats, the
SBD Dauntless and a bonus group of rudder stripes for the F2A Buffalos
Lex carried at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. Additionally,
there are decals for the name plates for Lexington, Saratoga, Yorktown,
Enterprise, Hornet, Wasp, Ranger and Langley, along with hull numbers for
CV-5 only.
The second sheet (700-107) is specific to the Lexington. It carries aircraft codes for all the squadrons Lexington carried during the war: Fighting 2, Scouting 2, Bombing 2 and Torpedo 2. The codes for Fighting 2 can be uses on either the F2As or the F4Fs. |
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The instructions are a single piece of 8 1/2 x
11 paper, folded into a booklet. Upon opening the booklet, there
are color renderings of the F4F, both Scouting and Bombing 5 SBDs and the
TBDs in the centerfold, showing decal placement. There is also a
write up on the paint schemes and the changes in the aircraft codes from
October 1941 to May 1942, along with some suggested references. The
back of the instructions has a smaller rendering of the F2A Buffalo, also
showing decal placement and colors.
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| CONCLUSIONS | ||||||||
| This is a very nice set of decals. The colors all look in register and the decals are nicely printed. Use caution when cutting the aircraft codes from the sheet - they are tiny!! The inclusion of the rudder stripes for the F2As is a very nice touch. This is Starfighter Decals set 700-107, Lexington Air Group 1941-42. It retails for $10.00, and is available from Starfighter Decals. Thanks to Starfighter Decals for the review sample. Recommended. |  |
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