AML 1/72 Finnish Gladiator
and Lysander Decals

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

AML has started a new line of decals and these two sets are the first offerings. AML is a Czech company better known for plastic kits (such as their Fiat G.50 reviewed in this issue) but if these decals are any indication of things to come they will quickly become known for excellent decals as well.

The first sheet is for Finnish Gladiators. The instruction booklet is printed in full color and provides side view and top and bottom views where applicable. There are decals for a total of seven Gladiators, some Finnish and one Swedish in Finnish service. There aren't enough Finnish roundels to do all eight planes, but there is enough to do about four, depending on which ones you choose.

The Finnish planes are mostly finished in the standard black and olive green over light gray. There is one finished an interesting scheme consisting of light earth, light green, dark earth and dark green over a silver dope/black split undersurface. The Swedish example has markings showing it at two different times during its career in the Finnish Air Force. The plane is finished in the standard Swedish scheme of dark green over blue gray, but a temporary white camouflage has been applied to the upper surfaces and fuselage sides. A yellow F is on the rudder. When this plane returned to Sweden, it was painted up with some rather interesting markings. The Finnish roundels on the fuselage sides were blacked out and a skull and crossbones painted in the center, along with a set of wings on the forward fuselage and another skull and crossbones in blue on the tail.

The Lysander sheet is not quite as large as the Gladiator sheet, providing markings for only four Lysanders, but it is every bit as good. Like the Gladiator, the instruction sheet is printed in full color and side, top and bottom views are provided. Two of the Lysanders are wheeled versions and the other two sport skis.

Three of the planes are in the standard Finnish camouflage of olive green and black over light gray, while the final scheme has a temporary white winter camouflage over the light gray. Enough roundels are provided to finish three out of the four Lysanders, and like the Gladiators the serial numbers include a portion of the black camouflage around the last number, allowing the olive green camouflage to show through where the number is. This will work very well on the three that are in the standard camouflage, but for the one that has the white temporary camouflage they should have changed the black to white.

Both sheets are very well printed, thin and are in perfect register. Both sheets include stenciling and data as well as a placement diagram showing where everything goes. The actual sheets are printed by Tally Ho!, so if you're familiar with their decals you have a good idea of what to expect here.

These first two sheets from AML are very nice sheets of some interesting subjects and I am looking forward to seeing what they do next.