Author Topic: Pheon Decals 1/32 scale #32073L Harry Cobby Australian Ace & Instructor  (Read 2054 times)

Offline Dave W

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Pheon Decals – #32073L 1/32 scale Harry Cobby Australian Ace & Instructor



Reviewed by David Wilson

Scale: 1/32nd
Price £15.50 plus postage in France, £22.50 untracked outside France. Full details on the Pheon website.
Stockist: Pheon Decals at https://www.pheondecals.com/#
Contents: Decals with 4 marking options.


Comment:
Pheon’s latest decal release has a decidedly Australian flavour to it, depicting aircraft flown by leading Australian Flying Corps (AFC) ace Harry Cobby. It’s a limited edition set with a note it will not be reprinted.
The decals are designed for the Wingnut Wings Clerget-engined Camel and the Wingnuts’ Hisso-engined SE5a.
The four aircraft options are divided into three Camels, two flown by Cobby, and a third by Captain "Tabby" Pflaum, plus a distinctive all red SE5a flown by Captain Les Holden at British training bases.


Captain Arthur Henry ( Harry) Cobby, (later Air Commodore Cobby) was the leading fighter ace of the Australian Flying Corps during World War I, with 29 victories, even though he saw active service for less than one year.


His life story makes for fascinating reading and he remained a prominent figure in Australian aviation history until his death in November 1955. His background features in the accompanying notes, outlining Harry Cobby’s aerial victories and medals, with 29 victories including five observation balloons while he flew Sopwith Camels with 4 Squadron AFC.
The set is especially welcome as it expands the range of marking options afforded for the Wingnut’s Clerget Camel which, although OOP, is still proving a popular seller among Wingnut fans.
The decal set features explanatory notes on each option, with three A4 sized pages of full colour side profiles on very high quality art stock, general colouring notes, a references list and an especially useful guide to decal application.


The decals for this set are produced, as always by Fantasy Printshop and continue the world class standard we have come to expect from Pheon. However while the set includes all the necessary unit and individual markings, it does not include the upper and lower wing roundels.


Special mention should be made of the distinctive additions Cobby personalised his Sopwith Camel with, by fitting it with aluminium cutout profiles of silent movie comedy star Charlie Chaplin. These are reproduced as decals with eight variants on the sheet.
The decals are in perfect register and colour tones seem spot on and no visible imperfections.

Marking options:
The decal set covers four aircraft (one aircraft featuring two variations based on specific periods of use).
 1.a       Harry Cobby’s E1416, “A” Flight  No. 4 Sqn AFC.

1.b        Flight Commander “A” Flight, No. 4 Sqn.

2.         Cobby’s E7267,  No. 8 (training) Sqn. A.F.C. at Leighterton, England.

3.         Capt. “Tabby” Pflaum, Training  Sqn. A.F.C. at Leighterton, England.

4.         SE5a B129, Capt. Les Holden, Training Sqn. A.F.C. at Minchinhampton, England.




As a personal aside, I am overjoyed that Rowan has included Les Holden’s all red SE5a in the set as this is a model I have long wished to make. Its inclusion makes an excellent decal set become an instantly outstanding value for money set!




Conclusion:
Very Highly recommended.
Our thanks to Rowan & Sabine at Pheon for the review sample.
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