Zotz Decals | Douglas A-20G Havoc in the PTO WWII
Reviewed by Dennis Sauter
I was excited to see a package arrive from Zotz Decals today that contained their wonderful new Douglas A-20G Havoc in the PTO WWII decal sheet. This marks Zotz’ first foray back into the decal realm after a hiatus of a few years. Welcome back, Zotz! And what an introduction back onto the scene indeed.
It’s their standard zip-loc bag comes a folded, full-color cardstock decal placement guide covering the eight subjects provided in this sheet. Descriptions for each option are provided and give the modeler a brief, interesting description of each aircraft. Note, the decals aren’t numbered, and the profiles show the aircraft fully painted up, so study your subject(s) carefully, and locate the associated decals on the provided decal sheets. Fortunately, these Havoc’s aren’t too complicated, and because the profiles are clear, finding your decals won’t take much effort at all. A simple paint list (4 colors; Medium Green, Olive Drab, Neutral Gray, and Yellow) is provided to accompany the full-color profiles. For several of the decal options, a zoomed-in depiction of the decal is provided next to the profile to show which decal is associated with the profile. Nice touch!
The decals themselves are absolutely beautiful. They are in great register, and the colors are vivid and bold with great saturation, and are printed on two sheets. I can’t note on transparency as I haven’t used any yet, but I have every confidence they will look great on your painted model.
A note for those who are applying a skull and cross bones to your plane’s nose: the decals don’t have the holes punched out, so be mindful when applying them. As for the details of the decals, it’s clear these options were well researched and produced to the highest standards. All the tiny scripts are legible even down to the tiniest data plate dialogue. Nicely done Zotz!
In a first for Zotz, masks are supplied for a few items: the shark mouth for 42-86726 “Jack’s Hack”, and the national insignia for the fuselage and wings. The masks are well printed, but be aware that not all parts of the masks are supplied. The photo below will show what I am talking about. This will require some care and planning in your approach to paint using these masks, but it shouldn’t be hard to handle. An additional sheet of masking material that is clear is also supplied, so should you want to get creative and create more masks for your subject based on the decals, you can do that. I’m not sure if this will be provided in the market release, but it was in my set!
Well, there you have it folks! A most welcome set of decals from Zotz that will marry up nicely with the outstanding HK 1/32 A-20G kit. I can highly endorse these decals, and I can’t wait to get them onto my Havoc! These should be hitting your favorite online retailers soon.
© Dennis Sauter 2023
This review was published on Sunday, October 01 2023; Last modified on Sunday, October 01 2023