Falcon 900 of the SAAF

Computer printed decals

Broplan kits

Besides the South African option, the decal sheets in both kits also offer French and Italian examples, along with a Spanish option for the 900EX.  The Italian Falcon 50 decal has a quality control problem, having a reverse image of the Aeronautica Militaire lettering on one side, but if this part of the decal is cut away and applied back to front, the problem should be solved.  Missing items on the 900 are the tiny Squadron badge and “EAGLE” lettering for the SAAF option, though the badge and two names are supplied for the Falcon 50 - ZS-CAQ ‘Nong’ and ZS-CAS ‘Arend’.  A major omission on both which really irritated was the lack of decals for the over wing escape door and main door outlines. The instructions simply advise to paint this in grey, and on the 900EX, even that advice is omitted for the escape doors.  Easier said than done...!  I used carefully cut strips of grey decal lettering as a guide, then over painted and scraped and trimmed away the excess with a scalpel blade.  Not so good, considering the price of the kits!  Another problem is the black “SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE” and “ZS-serial” lettering on both the SAAF versions, which should be dark blue, matching the cheat line trim, which also seems too dark.  Despite five heavy brushed coats of Kleer/Future, the cheat line stripe decals still broke in places when applying.