1:72 IJN Aircraft Tail Codes 280mm Black

Aviaeology AOD72C22M: tail codes of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, 280 mm, black, 1:72

This is a sheet of tail codes. They are not national insignia and not technical stencils; Aviaeology has separate sheets for those. The figure 280 mm is the height of a character on the real aircraft, so in 1:72 scale a character works out at just under 4 mm. The black variant is less usual than the red: it was used above all by units operating in the southwest Pacific on machines that were not in green camouflage. Behind the brand stands the Canadian SkyGrid Studio, and the manufacturer's part number is AOD72C22M.

The real subject

The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service marked its machines with a combination of characters on the vertical tail surface. The characters said which unit the aircraft belonged to, and the number of the machine itself went with them. The color followed from the camouflage and from the unit: black characters were carried by machines that were not in green camouflage, and red ones are more common overall. For a faithful model the choice of the color of the code is therefore just as important as its size.

Application tips

The characters are put together one at a time, so measure out the position of the code in advance. A gloss coat belongs under a decal and, once it is dry, a protective coat according to the final surface. Because the characters in 1:72 are very small, work with a damp brush and with tweezers and take care that the characters stand at the same height. Press the remaining water out with absorbent paper, so that bubbles do not form under the film.

Who the set is for

• builds of Japanese naval machines in 1:72 scale
• modelers who need the code of a particular unit
• aircraft in a camouflage that a black code belongs to
• dioramas with several machines of the same unit

This is an accessory for a model, not a kit. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.