A-10A

Afterburner Decals 1/48 A-10A/C Free State Hogs Decal First Look

By Michael Benolkin

Date of Review	July 2009	Manufacturer	Afterburner Decals
Subject	A-10A/C Free State Hogs	Scale	1/48
Set Number	48052	Pros	A look at 38 examples of camouflage and markings of 104 FS Hawgs between 1989 and 2009
Cons		Skill Level	Novice
MSRP (USD)	Out of Production

First Look

Afterburner Decals continues to turn out some impressive decal releases covering contemporary US subjects and this latest set is definitely no exception. This release covers a number of examples from the 104th FS, MD ANG, from Sentry Independence 1989, 1990 ORI, Gunsmoke 1991, a few snapshots in the early 2000s, and finally every A-10C that was ever assigned to the 104th at home or in the sandbox.

A-10A

This decal set provides markings for 2-3 complete A-10s with the provided national markings and stenciling, but the distinctive markings cover 38 different snapshots in the unit's flightline history. The examples presented here include:

A-10A, 78-0683, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Playhog'
A-10A, 79-0087, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Miss Piggy'
A-10A, 78-0682, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Mama CAS'
A-10A, 78-0627, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Daring Demise'
A-10A, 78-0718, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Cleared Hot!'
A-10A, 78-0693, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1989, 'Iron Maiden'
A-10A, 79-0096, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1990, 'Condition Red My A**'
A-10A, 78-0682, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1991, 'A Perfect 10^2'
A-10A, 78-0719, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1991, 'The Professor's Pet'
A-10A, 78-0693, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1991, 'Iron Maiden IV'
A-10A, 78-0705, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1991, 'F-Six...What?'
A-10A, 78-0704, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 1991, 'Incredible Hog'
A-10A, 79-0175, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2000, 175th Wing CC
A-10A, 78-0720, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2005, 'Coyote Killer'
A-10C, 78-0720, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Coyote Killer'
A-10C, 79-0175, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Dogs of War', 175th Wing CC
A-10C, 78-0693, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Dang ol' 693'
A-10C, 78-0702, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Life's Hard - Wear a Helmet'
A-10C, 78-0717, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Bulldog'
A-10C, 78-0718, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Boar Head'
A-10C, 78-0719, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Straight Shooter'
A-10C, 79-0086, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'A-10'
A-10C, 79-0088, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Oh Thank Heaven For 087'
A-10C, 79-0087, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Miss Essex Too'
A-10C, 79-0104, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Boss Hog'
A-10C, 79-0104, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009, 'Boss Hog'
A-10C, 78-0612, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0637, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0640, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0682, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0693, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0694, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0704, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0705, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 78-0719, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 79-0082, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 79-0108, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009
A-10C, 79-0165, 104 FS/175 FG/MD ANG, 2009

I though that Afterburner had pretty much defined the decal superset, but here they go again raising the bar. The only real problem you're going to have is either to chose a few of these examples to build or to acquire the kits and shelf space to do a larger sampling. Wow.

My sincere thanks to Afterburner Decals for this review sample!