"Jaguar International"

Mike Grant Decals

Reviewed by Dale Smith

Mike Grant Decals is a 'cottage' industry operation from Canada producing decals in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale for a number of offbeat aircraft subjects that would not normally be available from mainstream manufacturers such as 'Aeromaster' or 'Superscale'. 

Mike produces all of his decals in his basement, with artwork that he personally produces and then generates on his computer. The decals are then printed on a 'ALPS' printer. The inks that Mike is using are waterproof and also light-fast, and he advises that they also react well to MicroSol and MicroSet. When purchased, the decals are printed individually and made to order.

For any modellers out there who have yet to try decals made with the 'ALPS' printer, don't be anxious. The decals have good colour density and the clarity and register of the decals is first class. With most of the samples I have seen from this and other manufacturers, the finish is excellent and well on a par with 'Aeromaster' etc. 

The only drawback I have found with this style of decals is that a little bit more care is required when cutting them out, as they are susceptible to scratching and scraping. To avoid any damage, its a good idea to use a plastic ruler or scrap styrene as the hard edge for cutting them out with the hobby knife. The other point to note is that the carrier film covers the entire sheet, so each individual item needs to be cut out separately. In some cases or to avoid registration problems, separate white parts are supplied which are aligned and added during the decalling process. A little bit of extra care and they compare well with screen printed decals. All other decal and model preparation criteria apply.

The first sample I have seen from this manufacturer for review is titled 'Jaguar International'. This set comprises four schemes for the Jaguar are supplied as follows: 

1 and 2: Single and Dual Seat Jaguar from the Nigerian Air Force. These aircraft are in the wraparound camo. scheme of Dark Green FS 34079, Light Brown FS 30318 and Light Green FS 34159. 

3: Single Seat Jaguar of 5 Squadron , Indian Air Force in the standard RAF wraparound camo. scheme of Dark Green and Grey. 

4: Single Seat Jaguar 1M of 6 Squadron, Indian Air Force in the Medium Blue Grey and Light Grey wraparound scheme. The artwork for this set is attached for your perusal.

The decals in my review sample were very nicely printed. There was no register problems, all details were very clear and sharp and the colour density was very good. There are enough decals supplied to do both Indian Air Force examples , and either the dual or single seat Nigerian Air Force aircraft. Two sets of 'emergency release and entry' stencils as well as two sets of ejection seat warning triangles are also supplied. The detail on these smaller decals was also very good.

If you are looking for a different style of marking for your 1/72 or 1/48 Jaguar, you really could not go pass this selection. 

Information has also been given with the review sample, that if you happen to damage an item during the decalling process, simply contact Mike by email on decals@mikegrantdesign.com for a replacement.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Mike Grant Decals for the review sample.

Mike also has a website where you can see the rest of his range at www.cadvision.com/mikegrant/MikeGrantDecals/ . Have a look, you'll be pleasantly surprised!

HyperScale is proudly sponsored by Squadron.com

Review Copyright © 2001 by Dale Smith
Page Created 21 May, 2001
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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