Furball Aero-Design 1/48 Team Factory: Carrier Air Wing Eight at War Decal First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | March 2018 | Manufacturer | Furball Aero-Design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Team Factory: Carrier Air Wing Eight at War | Scale | 1/48 |
| Set Number | 48066 | Pros | 18 aircraft schemes |
| Cons | None noted | Skill Level | Novice |
| MSRP (USD) | $27.99 |
First Look
Here's another impressive new release from Furball Aero-Design. This set covers the Carrier Air Wing Eight's 2017 cruise aboard the USS George H.W. Bush in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. This set covers a nice selection of F/A-18C, F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and EA-18G aircraft, complete with mission markins. Let's take a look:
The examples presented here include:
- F/A-18E, 166776, VFA-31, AJ/100, USS George H.W. Bush, Jul 2017, CAG
- F/A-18E, 166776, VFA-31, AJ/100, USS George H.W. Bush, Sep 2017, CAG
- F/A-18E, 168910, VFA-87, AJ/300, USS George H.W. Bush, CAG
- F/A-18F, 166663, VFA-213, AJ/200, USS George H.W. Bush, CAG
- F/A-18C, 165187, VFA-37, AJ/400, USS George H.W. Bush, CAG
- F/A-18C, 165221, VFA-37, AJ/404, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18E, 166783, VFA-31, AJ/107, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18E, 169120, VFA-31, AJ/151, USS George H.W. Bush, borrowed from VFA-106
- F/A-18C, 164632, VFA-37, AJ/401, USS George H.W. Bush, Skipper's aircraft
- F/A-18E, 168912, VFA-87, AJ/302, USS George H.W. Bush, Su-22 Killer
- F/A-18E, 168913, VFA-87, AJ/303, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18E, 168915, VFA-87, AJ/305, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18F, 166674, VFA-213, AJ/201, USS George H.W. Bush, Skipper's aircraft
- F/A-18F, 166682, VFA-213, AJ/204, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18F, 166639, VFA-213, AJ/213, USS George H.W. Bush
- F/A-18F, 166640, VFA-213, AJ/214, USS George H.W. Bush
- EA-18G, 168772, VAQ-131, AJ/500, USS George H.W. Bush, CAG
- EA-18G, 168775, VAQ-131, AJ/503, USS George H.W. Bush
This set provides markings for 18 aircraft options, with stenciling to support four models.
While I love the colorful CAG aircraft, there's a subtle but interesting subject here with a VFA-31 Super Hornet with modex 151. The aircraft was borrowed from VFA-106 and while it has the usual Tomcatter markings on the aircraft, the logos on the tails have Marvin the Martian in place of Felix the Cat.
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.
Grab your favorite Hornet, Super Hornet, and Growler kits, it is time to build one (or many) of these!
My sincere thanks to Furball Aero-Design for this review sample!