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IsraDecal
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1/32 Israeli Air Force A-4 Ahit
decal sheet
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product
# IAF-57 A-4E/F/H
& TA-4H/J/F
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$25.00 from IsraDecal
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Review
by Steve
Bamford on Sept
7 2007
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new decal sheet
from IsraDecal
includes
markings for 1/32 A-4's with 7 different Israeli
Air Force Squadrons and the Israeli Air Force Flight School, and there are
enough markings to make a variety of Skyhawks that served with those
squadrons and the Flight School. Due
to the fact there is no 1/32 A-4N/M kits, this set refers only to the
A-4E/F/H and TA-4H/J/F Israeli Skyhawks
The
first squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Flying Wing
squadron. This squadron operated A-4E's in their early years.
Later they got the more advanced A-4Ns. Along with the single seater
planes they operated two seaters as well. The
second
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Smashing Parrot
squadron. This squadron was formed in Etzion AF base in the Sinai
peninsula in 1976. The squadron operated A-4Es and A-4Ns for 2 years
before converting to the Kfir C2.
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The
third
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Batering Ram squadron..
This squadron was formed in 1978 operating A-4Ns and later A-4E,F and H
Skyhawks. The squadron was closed in 1984.
The
fourth
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Valley squadron. The
Valley squadron is the first A-4 Skyhawk in the IAF and was formed in
Ramat-David AFB in 1967. the planes arrived on the last day of that
year. The first planes were of type H and were at first numbered
with 2 digits. Later the digit 1 was added to the first two.
After the war they got the 2XX prefix. The squadron operated the
A-4Ns as well before starting to operate the Kfirs. A-4H #03 was the
only A-4 in IAF service to shoot down enemy planes and the 2 kill markings
are included on these decal sheets.
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The
fifth
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Flying Tiger squadron.
This squadron was the second A-4 squadron and was formed at Hatzor AF
Base. Shortly after the squadron moved to Hatzerim and became the
first fighter squadron in that base operating at first at first the A-4H
and later the A-4F and E. These were moved to the Battering squadron
as soon as they acquired A-4N's. Today they operate this type along
with TA-4J and H. In 2005 the new 'Improved Ahit' was introduced,
adding special markings to the planes. For this squadron you get a
decal for a ship kill marking. There is a great looking Tiger decal
(see further below) that is included for the tail of the Tiger Squadron
aircraft.
The
sixth
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Knights of The North
squadron. The Knights of The North squadron started operating the
A-4's in 1972 with E type in their service. In 1977 they got the H
type from the valley squadron that started operating the Kfir. Until
1980, when they converted to F-16A/B Netz, the squadron was operating the
A-4N as well as a few two seaters for training. The Knights of The
North squadron operated A-4E's in their early years as A-4
operators. LAter they got the more advanced A-4N's.
The
seventh
squadron featured on this decal sheet is The Golden Eagle squadron.
The Golden Eagle squadron was formed in 1973, in Etzion AFB, before the
Yom Kippur War but was activated only after the war. The squadron
operated A-4E's until 1976 when they transferred their A-4E's to the
Smashing Parrot squadron and received new A-4N's. The squadron moved
to Ramon AFB in late 1981 and operated the A-4's until 1986 when they
converted to the F-16A/B Netz.
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The Flight School
started operating the A-4 in 1972. At first they operated
the TA-4 for training but later they got the older types like the
A-4E. Since then all types of A-4's were in service with the
school.
The instruction book includes
plenty of small black and white photos showing decal placement. As well
as 4 view line drawings showing decal placement. Sadly there are only 3
colour photos to give you a hint of the camo used on these A-4's. The
experienced modeller of Israeli aircraft will know what the camo colour and
camo patterns should be.....a less experienced modeller will need to acquire
more research material to complete model. The reason for this is this
decal sheet actually gives you enough markings to build any A-4 Skyhawk in
Israeli service. To try to provide colour drawings for every A-4 in
Israeli service would be impossible.
The decals are beautifully
printed on 4 decal sheets to create your own 1/32 Israeli
Air Force A-4 . One complete set of stencils is included
on this decal sheet.
I
LOVE the colourful camo used on the Israeli Air force A-4's and
this decal sheet will permit you to build whatever Israeli A-4
appeals to you.
Steve
I
would like to thank IsraDecal
for
providing me with this review sample.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Photos and text © by Steve
Bamford
