Airscale have added to their growing range of extremely useful instrument decal sets with a pair of sheets designed for kits of Cold War Soviet jet fighters in 1:48 and 1:32. The sheets contain 31 individual types of instrument faces, ranging from altimeters, compasses and pressure gauges, to G-meters and homing indicators.

The instruments are all listed and numbered, so you can identify each easily. The designs are generic (as against tailored to a specific aircraft type), but Airscale indicate that they are suitable for such classic Soviet jets as the MiG 17, MiG 17, MiG 19 and Mig 21, the Su 7 and Yak 17, so essentially any Soviet fighter from the late 1940s through to the early 1970s is catered for.

The decals are custom printed by Fantasy Workshop to their usual excellent standard, with pin-sharp registration and minimal carrier film. The 1:48 sheet contains 172 individual instrument faces, while the 1:32 sheet has 76.

The decals can be used in either of two ways:

1. Applied directly to the front of a kit's instrument panel. In this instance, the fact that the items are separate is a significant advantage over sheets produced with a continuous carrier film. (Of course, there's always the chance that the bezels on the kit part may be too small to accept the decals, in which case a punch and die is still very useful.)

2. Mounted on a backing plate behind a panel with punched-out holes for the instruments. For this method, Airscale provide a thin sheet of clear film to "glaze" the bezels.

Both AS48 SJET and AS32 SJET are available now direct from Airscale's online shop, priced £6.25.

Conclusion

With reference photos for the cockpits available in a way that would have been inconceivable only a few years ago, this is an excellent addition to Airscale's range that makes it easy to add accurate cockpit details to the many kits of Soviet Cold War jets on the market. Highly recommended.

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.