First Look

If there's one thing that the Canadian Armed Forces have become renowned for, it's striking and colourful paint jobs on their aircraft. A particularly popular canvas for such schemes has been the CT-133 Silver Star (T-33 in the US nomenclature). This scheme is that applied to CT-133 serial Number 133119 from 414 Squadron to help commemorate the Canadian Air Force's 75th anniversary.

Whilst the scheme itself is quite simple, as far as decals go, quite a bit of stencilling (for a special scheme) was also applied to this jet, therefore the sheet may seem a little lager than one might expect. Everything required is well covered  on the single, A5 size sheet, even including some markings for the inside of the canopy. The decals are beautifully printed with bright, solid and crisp colours, they seem reasonably thin and have absolutely minimal carrier film. The registration is spot on and the stencils for the black areas have been printed in what seems to be a dark silver colour (it looks like grey at first glance) which matches the colour used for the front of the jet. Two versions are supplied for the large Maple Leaf on the underside of the aircraft. One is a solid item (for an "undercarriage up" depiction) , the other is made up of several smaller parts which are shaped to fit over and around the undercarriage doors and openings. The red wedges for the underside are also provided as decals and marked clearly to indicate where they should be cut if the flaps are lowered (extra walkway decals are also provided for the upper surfaces, again, for the "flaps down" option).  Leading Edge's attention to detail and accuracy is exemplified by a small note, printed directly *on* the decal sheet (under the roundels), to explain that "roundel details are correct for this aircraft" as well as providing decals for some openings and vents applicable to the Canadian version to give the modeller an "easy option" if they wish. 

The instruction sheets include a colour "title sheet" as with most Leading Edge sets, which gives an overall impression and guide for the scheme, and one, A4 size, black and white decal placement and painting guide sheet (click thumbnail to left for larger image). The instruction sheet is up to Leading Edge's usual standard and gives very clear and useful information to help reproduce this scheme as well as details and modelling tips and interior colour guides.

Possibly the biggest problem a modeller may face is choosing just which one of the ever increasing number of Canadian special and attractive paint jobs to do. This particular scheme, reproduced on a sheet of this quality must surely be a top contender.

Thanks to Dave Koss at Leading Edge for the review sample
 

The full range of Leading Edge Models products can be viewed at www.lemdecal.com

The product range can be ordered by contacting Leading Edge at lemdecal@telusplanet.net or by snail mail (E, 83 Skyline Cres., N.E. Calgary, AB, T2K 5X2 Canada)