¹⁄48

Gentil Alouette

history

Canada's CF-101s were a step backwards from the cancelled Avro Arrow, necessitated after the Government realised that the much vaunted guided missiles weren't the magical solution their proponents claimed and that manned interceptors actually were needed after all. The Voodoo fleet served from 1961 until 1984. Upon retirement, the active Voodoo Squadrons painted one aircraft each in a commemorative paint scheme to mark the Voodoo's contribution to the defence of North America for so long. 425 Squadron, based in Bagotville Quebec contributed their bilingual Alouette Un Canada/Lark One Canada to the festivities.

introduction

Last Spring, I was offered a section of the recently issued Canuck Model Products Voodoo Colourbirds decal set to build for review. I chose to do the Alouette.

the build

This decal set includes every single feather and the basic stenciling for the 1984 retirement scheme for the 425 Squadron Voodoos from the Alouettes. The company provides two complete sets in the package, as well as extra feathers and the unique colour trim found around the canopies. The decals are very well printed and in perfect register. I was a little concerned about the white being translucent, and I was to be proven correct. The carrier film is extremely thin, and I was a little worried about that, but my fears were unfounded.

After basic construction of the Monogram 1/48 scale CF-101B Voodoo, I proceeded to prep it for application of this rather intimidating decal set. Since this was a limited, one off display flight finish on the real aircraft, with every seam puttied and smoothed, I removed every single panel line and finished with a complete sanding of the model to achieve a very smooth, almost glass like surface. I base coated the airframe in Tamiya Fine White Surface Primer then went on to colour prep.

I tried to match the red as close as I could to the colour sample provided on the decal sheet. Starting with the blend suggested by Canucks Models, I made four different shades using Tamiya X-7 Gloss Red, X-8 Gloss Lemon Yellow, and X-2 Gloss White Acrylics and settled on the fourth one which was approximately 60% Red, 30%Yellow and 10% White. The blue was a simpler match, using 98% Tamiya X-3 Gloss Royal Blue and 2% X-2 Gloss White Acrylics, and only needed one attempt to get right.

The feather decals are very long, large pieces, extremely thin and prone to curling. Despite this, I discovered that they are quite durable. I cut the largest decals into approximately one inch long pieces, cutting between the individual feathers to create a jigsaw effect that assured they would line up correctly on the model. The bird head decal included a strip of pre-printed red, which I was unable to match, so I trimmed it off, and dealt with the remaining thin yellow cheat line very carefully.

The white bird head pieces were actually ¼ inch too long to fit correctly, and thusly were trimmed to fit. The decals are fairly strong, given their lack of thickness, but I still managed to tear one the heads, as well as wrinkle the other. It was at this point I discovered that the white was fairly translucent, and used the second set, so thoughtfully provided by the manufacturer, to double up every single white decal, including all of the stencils. Due to the thinness of these markings I did not have to use any setting solution at all.

After few days to dry and set, I over-coated the model with Alclad II’s Gloss Clear Kote lacquer, and finished the build. Total build time was approximately 30 hours, most of which was spent scraping and sanding, as well as carefully applying the markings.

conclusion

I would highly recommend this decal set to anyone with a few years of modelling experience, especially if you are not intimidated by difficult markings. These decals require a firm hand, but are fairly forgiving, and look incredible when finished. They are also available in a 1/72 scale size.