Mike Grant Decals

1/72 KC-135E Tiger Meet Scheme

Product Article by Steve Bamford

 

 

 

This latest decal sheet from Mike Grant Decals is for a USAF KC-135E that attended the Tiger Meet at Cold Lake Alberta Canada in 2003.  

During the Tiger Meet last year in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada....this KC-135E flew up from the 108th Refueling Wing to join in the exercise and associated fun.  This KC-135 not only had a great Tiger Meet Scheme......but there was even a Tiger Tail coming out the back end of this plane's tail. 

It's common to see fighters painted up in Tiger Meet Schemes......but something like a KC-135 a rare event on the Tiger Meet Social Calendar.  This particular scheme has a patriotic note to it with a large American flag flying directly beside the Tiger on the side of the fuselage.  The artist that did the original artwork did a stellar job getting the look and feel correct and Mike Grant Decals has followed through and gotten their artwork to look equally as beautiful as the full sized plane. 

Although the AMT KC-135 is no longer in production....this kit is still to be found on E-Bay and swap meets and other places where out of production kits are sold.

Mike Grant Decals produces small runs of Alps printed decals, which means the decals are on one large clear carrier film.  This is not an issue that detracts for the usability of the decals, but I like to mention it.  These decals do require a tiny bit of extra care to make sure you don't scratch them during installation, but all this is laid out in a page of text instructions that are included with the decals. 

The actual decals themselves are flawlessly printed and have a level of clarity that will make you grin when you see them.  The colours are solid and look very accurate to the actual full sized plane. 

There is one page of colour instructions that show the decal placement and paint scheme colours.  Although these decals are designed for the AMT KC-135......they might also fit the Heller kit with a tiny bit of effort. 

A very welcome decal sheet and sure to please folks wanting to build their KC-135 as soon as some interesting decals were released.....now you have no excuse....those interesting decals are here. 

Special thanks to Mike Grant Decals for the review sample.

Steve 

Photos and text © by Steve Bamford