Aftermarket of 2012

My aftermarket company of the year is Caracal Models. Proprietor Kursad has been producing limited run decals for a number of years, but he moved his company into afterburner in 2012 and released 20 decals, mostly in 1/48th scale.

If you're not familiar with the company, Caracal produces decals for military aircraft from the post-World War Two era to the present. Kursad has been particularly adept at timing his releases to the releases of new kits, hence his decals for Kinetic's S-2 Tracker, C-2 Greyhound, F-5A Freedom Fighter, and F-94 Starfire. He has no less than three releases to support the new Kinetic T-45 Goshawk. Kursad is doing something right; almost half of his 1/48 decals are sold out!

If there's something you want to see, speak up on the Caracal Models forum on the Aircraft Resource Center. Kursad seems genuinely open to  hearing ideas and responding as best he can.

2013 can only be bigger and better for Caracal Models, particularly with the unfortunately closure of Afterburner Decals, which should expand his customer base. Kursad has already talked on ARC about upcoming releases of T-38 Talons, ANG F-4 Phantoms, and Sikorsky H-34s. I'm excited to see what he'll do next, particularly when he invests more in the scale I work in, 1/72.

Runner up: Flexible antenna bases for the 1/35 Sherman from Adlers Nest. Yes, flexible antennas! Available from Tasca.