Yak Attack (ED48007)
Yoxford Girls (ED48008)
Exito
1:48
Reviewed: Jun 2020
Exito was originally founded in 2008 as an internet hobby shop. In 2010, they expanded by launching a brick and mortar store in Cracow, Poland, and soon achieved a strong position within the domestic modelling market. Initally via an Ebay shop and more recently via an English version of their webstore www.exito.site Exito has slowly but surely expanded internationally.
Exito produces their decal sets in both 1/48 and 1/72 scale. The decal sheets are printed by industry leader, Cartograf of Italy, which ensures top printing quality and ease of application. These are complemented by instructions that differ from the plain market standard.
What you get are essentially high quality colour prints with accurate and inspiring illustrations created by Anders Hjortsberg & Janusz Swiatlon. Each subject is presented on 200gsm heavy weight paper in A4. Large side aircraft profiles are printed on the front, and the remaining artwork, photos and all necessary information laid out on the rear side.
This way you not only get some cool decals for your model kit, but also attractive posters to adorn your man cave, at the same time!
Exito Decals 1:48 "Yak Attack" (48007)
Exito's seventh decal set is entitled "Yak Attack" and includes markings for three striking Yak-1b fighters:
- Yakovlev Yak-1b, flown by Capt. Vladimir P. Pokrovskiy of 2nd GIAP / 6th IAD, Air Force of the Northern Fleet, probably late 1943
- Yakovlev Yak-1b, coded "White 42", flown by Snr. Lt. Garri A. Merkviladze of 152nd GIAP / 12th GIAD, 1st Ukrainian Front, Germany, spring 1945.
- Yakovlev Yak-1b, most likely coded "White 20", flown by Snr. Lt. Fotiy Y. Morozov of 31st GIAP / 6th GIAD, 4th Ukrainian Front, first half of 1944.
When looking for a Yak-1b kit in 1:48 onto which you could put these decals, I was surprised to find that the options are pretty limited. According to scalemates.com, whilst several kits have been released from Eduard and more recently by Zvezda it appears these are all based on the original 1998 molds from Accurate Miniatures.
None of the Exito marking options have previously been reproduced in decals in an accurate manner. The Exito instruction sheets include photos of all depicted aircraft, some of which you may have never seen before, or at least not reproduced in this quality.
Exito Decals 1:48 "Yoxford Girls" (48008)
The P-51D Mustang has become one of the most popular modelling subjects of the last few months with new kit releases from many manufacturers. Exito has decided to ride this wave with their eighth sheet entitled "Yoxford Girls", which covers three P-51Ds from the famous 357th Fighter Group, all featuring some sexy nose art:
- P-51D-5-NA, s/n 44-13712, flown by Capt. Robert W. Foy of 363rd FS / 357th FG, Leiston, UK, late July-early August 1944.
- P-51D-5-NA, s/n 44-13691, flown by Lt. Arval J. Roberson of 362nd FS / 357th FG, Leiston, UK, early autumn 1944.
- P-51D-20-NA, s/n 44-63629, flown by Lt. John A. Miller of 363rd FS / 357th FG, Leiston, UK, late spring 1945
