Dora Wings 1/48 Vultee Vengeance MK.II P2

The Decal Sheet

General:
On all serials, the shape of the '2' is incorrect. As stated above, I find the stencils to be too bold and, probably, not applicable to many RAAF aircraft. None of the aircraft depicted in the instructions can be built accurately using this decal sheet. The comments below are by no means exhaustive but, give an idea of some of the problems with the decal sheet.

A27-200. NH-A:

  • Indicated placement of serial and codes is incorrect.
  • The codes are Sky Blue, which is correct for this squadron. They are 34"x16" on the decal sheet, which is what I measure them to be on the aircraft.
  • The fuselage roundel seems to have a larger than normal white centre in the photo but, this may just be due to poor quality of same. It is probably the standard 32"/19" roundel.
  • The fin flash on the decal sheet is the wrong shape. It should be 24"x24".
  • The '0's in the serial should be round not oval.
  • The over painting ahead of the fin flash and around the fuselage roundel are not apparent in my photos.
  • The colours in the emblem are totally wrong.

A27-220. GR-A


This image is on display at Townsville Airport, reportedly taken at Charters Towers. Sourced via Facebook (Steve - Editor).

  • This aircraft never went to Nadzab. Presumably markings are based on this photo taken at Tsili Tsili.
  • Indicated size and placement of the serial and codes is incorrect.
  • The Codes should be Medium Sea Grey not Sky Blue. They are 28"x16" on the decal sheet. I measure them on the aircraft as being 28"x18" on the aircraft, which makes those on the decal sheet as being a little narrow, but passable, if you are willing to over paint them or accept the incorrect colour .
  • There is no fin flash provided on the decal sheet. Due to the angle of my photo, I could not determine if this aircraft had a fin flash or not at that time. Other photos I have of Vengeances taken at Tsili Tsili show a fin flash. However, once again, I was in luck. Our esteemed Editor, Steve, produced a shot showing that A27-220 did indeed have a fin flash. And yes, the white in the flash was often different to that on the fin and, sometimes, a small sliver of the original camouflage was visible around the white.
  • Pluto is not very accurate - check out his rear legs - and collar, tongue and ears are not quite right. Probably OK for guvmint work though. The lettering of 'MUSTAPHA' is incorrect. As to the colour of the bomb mission symbols, I doubt that these are yellow. The photo above appears to have been taken on orthochromatic film - note the dark skin tones of the crew and also the propeller tips. Going by these and the tones of the crews' uniforms, I would suggest that the mission symbols would more likely be a light grey, or perhaps a sky blue, colour.

A27-240. GR-E

  • Codes should be Medium Sea Grey. When No. 24 Squadron was at Tsili Tsili many of the aircraft had their codes reduced in size. Presumably there was some over-painting of the camouflage on the rear fuselage when this was done, but it is not evident in photos. Was the entire A/C repainted??
  • Emblem looks OK but, I have doubts about Sky Blue background - possibly yellow??
  • Again, I doubt that the mission symbols are yellow.

EZ999 NH-Y

  • This is an odd choice. EZ999 is a Vengeance Mk.IA, not a MK.II. This is the aircraft held by the Camden Museum of Aviation. It never saw operational service with the RAAF, is finished in fictional markings and, presumably, is included as acknowledgement of the assistance given by Steve Long, of that museum, in the design of the kit.
  • You will have to add the cooling vents on the top and sides of the engine cowling if you wish to model this particular machine.

Images showing the cooling vents (here on EZ999) present on many Mk.IA airframes. They are top and bottom of the cowling, marked by a Yellow arrow. They are partly open here, when closed they are very difficult to see (Steve - Editor). Photos: Roger Lambert.