Decals for
British Armoured Vehicles

Bison Decals, 1/35 scale

Reviewed by Jay Laverty

These are a welcome addition

Considering the vast amount of Allied armour kits currently available in various shapes and forms, the lack of decals available is somewhat surprising. That isn't to say the efforts of great decal firms like Archers and Quartermasters Depot haven't gone unnoticed but the more variety the better as far as I'm concerned. Bison Decals recently stepped into the aftermarket decals world with some excellent releases covering German, Gulf War and Sfor as well as Ifor subjects.

The first of these new releases 35010 covers Shermans serving in Northwest Europe in 1944 and 1945. Click on the following link for a detailed preview of the vehicles available on the sheet.

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/bison/35010.html

There are a couple of corrections noted on this page so if you have this sheet already it is important to take note of them.

There is a lot of variety on this sheet and a couple of different marks of Sherman ( Mk. I , Mk.III, and Mk, V) mean that it will come in handy for any Shermanaholic with several kits screaming out for some variety. Clearly printed instructions make decal placement simple using the help of line drawings. Now that all of the conversions are available for Dragons M4A2 kit it is nice to see Akilla included on this sheet, even if it wasn't intentional.

Te second sheet returns to the subject of Shermans albeit in their British improved 17 pounder state. T

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

This version of the Sherman has always been my favourite and this sheet does not disappoint. Covering both acknowledged types of Firefly, several interesting schemes are included, including one from the Czechoslovak independent tank brigade, as well as a IC with British 60lb. Rockets, serving with the 1st Coldstream guards. The rockets weren't very effective in a ground firing role, but it used to scare the hell out of the Germans! Click the following link for a detailed preview of the vehicles available on the sheet.

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/bison/35011.html

The third sheet is perhaps the most surprising subject matter, and once opened is a very pleasing sheet indeed. A couple of wading Centaurs, a wading Cromwell and a Comet to boot. Time to get on the phone to Accurate Armour me'thinks, as they produce the wading kit for Centaurs and Cromwells along with a very nice Comet!

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Getting back to the decals, once again we are treated to a wide variety of vehicles serving with a few nationalities ranging from Royal Marines, Czechoslovakia and even a post war Greek Cromwell Mk.IV. Click on the link below to see a detailed preview of the vehicles that are available on this sheet.

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/bison/35012.html

The quality of the three decal sheets is excellent and as they are printed for Bison by Microscale that is enough of an assurance of quality for me. The register is perfect and the colours spot on. As they are printed Silkscreen they have individual film for each transfer and will prove easier to work with than some of the laser jet decals out there. Armour modellers who dont normally use gloss varnish on their models will need to adjust their methods to suit these glossy printed markings, although a simple coat of matt varnish overtop means the gloss finish isn't permanent.

So, in summary, we can say bravo to Bison Decals for producing some very interesting and high quality decals that will no doubt add a little variety to the show tables.

Highly Recommended.

Next...

I will be back soon with a look at the next releases from Bison Decals,

• BD-35013 BUFFALO. BRITISH LVT-4 AMTRACS

• BD-35014 SWIMMING & WADING SHERMANS

Brits in the water! Sounds like trouble.

Thanks go to my boss David Hannant for providing me with the review samples, although I'm not sure if he realises that he won't be getting them back!

Review Text Copyright © 2005 by Jay Laverty
Page Created 24 February, 2005
Last updated 24 February, 2005

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