1:72 Fairey Barracuda Mks.I, Mk.II and Mk.III

Fairey Barracuda Mk.I to Mk.III - decals 1:72

An Xtradecal decal sheet in 1:72 scale for the British Fairey Barracuda carrier torpedo and dive bomber. It covers the Mk.I, Mk.II and Mk.III forms. It serves to finish a model that has been built.

The carrier bomber of the Fleet Air Arm

The Barracuda replaced obsolete biplanes with the Fleet Air Arm and was its country's first all-metal carrier strike design. The high-set wing with its characteristic Fairey-Youngman flaps gave the crew a good view downward, and the tail surfaces had to be placed high on the fin because of air vortices. The Mk.II received a more powerful engine and became the most numerous, while the Mk.III carried radar for finding surface targets. The best known of its operations are the attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz lying in the Norwegian fjords.

Practical advice

• Dark naval camouflage calls for a really glossy surface.
• Split the markings over the flaps and the struts into parts.
• Use lukewarm water and the decal will not then roll up.
• Apply the softener to a marking that is already in place.
• Finally unify it with matte varnish and add wear.

Who it suits

• For builders of Royal Navy carrier aircraft
• For anyone interested in British operations in Norway and the Indian Ocean
• For collections of less usual types

The particular aircraft on the sheet are not stated here. Obtain the paints and the varnishes separately.