Afterburner Decals 1/48 F/A-18E/F West Coast Superbug CAGs Decal First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | May 2011 | Manufacturer | Afterburner Decals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | F/A-18E/F West Coast Superbug CAGs | Scale | 1/48 |
| Set Number | 48074 | Pros | Six distinctive CAG Super Hornets from the West Coast squadrons |
| Cons | None noted | 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 provides the Air Wing Commanders' (CAGs) aircraft for the West Coast Super Hornet squadrons. The CAG aircraft sport the most colorful schemes of contemporary Navy aircraft and this set provides a nice selection of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets plus an EA-18G Growler.
The examples presented here include:
- F/A-18F, 165804, VX-9/NAWC-AD, XE/200, NAS Pt Mugu, 2006
- F/A-18F, 166795, VFA-22/CVW-14, NK/100, USS Ronald Reagan, 2008
- F/A-18E, 165860, VFA-27/CVW-5, NF/200, USS George Washington, 2010
- F/A-18F, 166842, VFA-41/CVW-11, NH/100, USS Nimitz, 2010
- F/A-18E, 166859, VFA-115/CVW-5, NF/300, USS George Washington, 2010
- EA-18G, 166859, VAQ-138/COMVAQWINGPAC, NL/510, 2010
Take a close look at the decal sheet. The sheet is printed by Cartograf and the printing is very well done. What's more, none of these decals require the modeler to stack multiple layers of markings atop one another to recreate artwork. This trend by some other decal companies of producing multiple-layer decals is unfortunate as it puts the burden on you to do the work of what should have been done by the decal maker.
This set provides two complete sets of maintenance stencils and markings to replicate two aircraft, and what a nice selection to choose from! These decals are designed for the Hasegawa Super Hornets though you should be able to adapt these to any Super Hornet kit.
My sincere thanks to Afterburner Decals for this review sample!