|
MDC
- Model Design Construction ¶¶¶¶¶ Reviewed by This is a somewhat odd,
although very important (and rare) decal subject. During WWII,
the German aircraft industry used various metal sheet suppliers. Each
of these suppliers was required to print its name/logo and metal grade
on one side of the metal sheet. This printed side was usually placed
on the inside of the parts produced with the sheet and hidden from
sight. However, as the war went on, internal aircraft parts were not
painted and these manufacturer stamps were often left exposed in places
such as wheel wells, hatches, cowls and wing structures. Later in the war,
when aircraft undersides were no longer painted (Me-109 K, Fw-190
D9), entire panels were seen bearing these stamps. The problem was:
how to depict such stamps on the model... This MDC decal sheet comes to help here. It is an entire sheet containing three types of manufacturer stamps.
You get enough rows
of stamps to decorate at least a couple of 1/32 models with each manufacturer.
Besides the aforementioned
Bf-109 K and Fw-190 D, many other German aircraft showed these stamps
late in the war, particularly on internal areas, where the priming
was abandoned to speed up the production.The photo below illustrates
one of such cases, the firewall of the Me-262. During the final months
of the war, the RLM 66 interior color was applied only on heavy-traffic
areas, and therefore the manufacturer stamps became quite visible
in some places.
 Firewall of a captured Me-262, showing the manufactuer stamps. Photo courtesy: David E. Brown (thanks David!). Of course many modelers may think this sort of thing is a bit too much. But if you are looking for the ultimate authenticity, no doubt this sheet will help to enhance your model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of MDC. Thanks for your support. |
