Aviattic | ATT32035: Fokker D.VII Lozenge Print Decals - 4 and 5 Colour
Reviewed by Mike Swinburne
Do you have a Wingnut Wings Fokker D.VII kit, and do you want to depict that kit in a scheme featuring lozenge pattern-covered wings but feel the Wingnut kit decals just don't look right? Well look no further, Aviattic offers the lozenge set you want, custom-shaped to fit the Wingnut D.VII series! There are multiple sets available depicting any combination of factory fresh or faded fabric, 4 colour and five colour lozenge print, and also any of the four rib tape colours used (blue, lilac, lozenge, or plain linen). In total, there are 24 different combinations available for your D.VII. With this particular review, we look at four of these combinations: Five colour with lozenge-print rib tapes in factory fresh and faded finishes, and four colour with natural linen rib tapes, again in factory fresh and faded finishes.
Aviattic has by now become well known for offering decal sets for fabric-covered models, simulating a realistic fabric effect printed into the artwork. With multiple decals available for WWI German lozenge patterns, there is an added benefit of having what is widely considered to be the most accurate and carefully-researched colours and shapes.
The decal sets are printed on a clear background with continuous carrier film. While you do need to carefully cut along the outline of the pieces you'll use, the approach allows for various preshading effects before application. This in and of itself is not unique to the large scale model industry, but no others offer the fabric print effect however the Aviattic products go one step further and feature a fabric effect which add a layer of realism other companies currently do not offer.
For true realism, you need to apply these decals over a gloss white basecoat, however this allows you to preshade your basecoat and the effect will give a lot of depth to your model. You can also use a light tan as your base coat if you want to simulate a brown-doped fabric surface, common when field crews wanted to tone down the original colours printed in the fabric. When I built my D.VII last year, I used a tan basecoat for the wing and white for the ailerons to simulate fresh control surfaces added and was very pleased with the result.
My experience with Aviattic's decals has been overwhelmingly positive. While you do need to cut the piece you need from a decal sheet containing continuous carrier film, the decal film itself is very durable and slightly elastic. This comes in useful after the decal has set on your model surface as in the event you need to trim around any details, your risk of damaging the rest of the decal is greatly reduced. The decals snuggle down fine with Microset or Solvaset; and without setting solution, they should go down without difficulty if your surface is smooth enough. Very highly recommended!
Aviattic decals can be purchased directly from Aviattic's web store and several online retailers. Thank you to Richard from Aviattic for the review sample.
© Mike Swinburne 2015
This product is available from the following LSP sponsors
This review was published on Wednesday, May 06 2015; Last modified on Thursday, February 25 2016