Avia Decals 1/144 Tu-134A in Europe Decal First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | December 2014 | Manufacturer | Avia Decals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Tu-134A in Europe | Scale | 1/144 |
| Set Number | 14405 | Pros | Six colorful options for the Tu-134A |
| Cons | None noted | Skill Level | Novice |
| MSRP (Euro) | TBA |
First Look
Avia Decals is a decal line associated with Begemot Decals from Russia and this release covers the 1/144 scale Tu-134A airliners in service with some of the Warsaw Pact nations. As with Begemot's decals, these are really nicely laid out and printed, and this set also includes a set of vinyl masks to help with painting the landing gear wheels.
This release covers three airlines with two examples from each airline:
- Tu-134A, DDR-SCI, Interflug, East Germany
- Tu-134A, DDR-SCX, Interflug, East Germany
- Tu-134A-3, SP-LHD, LOT, Poland
- Tu-134A-3, SP-LHE, LOT, Poland
- Tu-134A, OK-CFE, CSA, Czechoslovakia
- Tu-134A, OK-HFL, CSA, Czechoslovakia
I was pleased to see the LOT options as I was still stationed in Berlin when the hijackings began from Poland and elsewhere into Berlin's Tempelhof airport (and the USAF station there). If I recall correctly, that first hijacking was aboard a LOT Tu-134 and it was interesting to see the aircraft out on the tarmac. When other LOT flights made unscheduled landings into Tempelhof, we were considering opening a LOT ticket counter in the terminal since there was always going to be at least one vacant seat in the aircraft and someone figured out that LOT stood for 'Lands On Tempelhof'.
This set will work with the Zvezda kit though you can adapt them to the AZ Model or other Tu-134 kits in 1/144 scale.
For more information about this set and the other releases from Avia Decals, check their website at http://www.aviadecals.com
My sincere thanks to Begemot Decals for this review sample!