Gekko Graphics 1/48 A-4G/K Skyhawks Royal New Zealand Air Force Part 1 Decal First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Gekko Graphics is a name many will recognize as producing high quality decals of interesting and overlooked subjects. Many will also know that Gekko Graphics shut down their business, but good news folks, they're back. Richard Chafer, owner of Gekko recently advised that he had restarted the decal line and was kind enough to share three of his releases.

This first release provides a very interesting array of marking options for the A-4G and A-4K Skyhawks of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. You can see Part 2 of this series here. Twenty (20!) different aircraft are covered in this set (and this is only part one) which provide a nica array of camouflage and markings covering thirty one years of Skyhawk operations from 1970 through 2001. The aircraft included in this set are:

1. A-4K Kahu, NZ6202, 2 Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1980s
2. A-4K Kahu, NZ6212, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, 2001
3. A-4K Kahu, NZ6206, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, 1998
4. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6208, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, late 1970s
5. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6202, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1980s
6. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6202, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Darwin, Australia, May 1984
7. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6205, 2 Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1980s
8. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6209, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, 2001
9. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6203, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, late 1970s
10. A-4G Skyhawk, NZ6203, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1980s
11. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6218, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, 2001
12. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6203, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1980s
13. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6206, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, March 1976
14. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6204, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, March 1989
15. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6214, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, 2001
16. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6212, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Nowra NAS, Australia, late 1990s
17. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6206, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, late 1980s
18. A-4K Late Kahu, NZ6201, Composite Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, March 2001
19. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6206, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, 1987
20. A-4K Skyhawk, NZ6202, 75 Sqn, RNZAF, Ohakea AFB, NZ, 1971

These decals are beautifully printed and in perfect register. They're printed by Cartograf, so you won't see any decals that need to be stacked atop one another to recreate a design. While there are profiles and markings for twenty aircraft, there are enough national markings for three, and maintenance stenciling for perhaps two. Nevertheless, at the $16 USD, you're getting lots of options and good quality for your money. With all of those nice Skyhawks released by Hasegawa, now you have some interesting color options to choose from.

My sincere thanks to Gekko Graphics for this review sample!