Diamond T Trucks

This set covers the following vehicles:

• Diamond T969 Wrecker, 3623rd Truck Company, Red Ball Express, France 1944, with open cab
• Diamond T969 Wrecker, 1st Infantry Division, 701st Ordnance Light Maintenance Company, Normandy, June 1944, with closed cab and .50 ring mount
• Diamond T969 Wrecker, 601st Refrigeration Truck Company, Germany 1944-45, with closed cab
• Diamond T981, 453rd Ordnance Evacuation Company, France 1944, with open cab

Modelers should be aware that the drawings used in the instructions are only meant as a help for placing the decals, and not for the specific features of the tank; references for three vehicles are given, but are not very specific (e.g. "David Boyle Books", without specifying which one).

The set doesn't mention which kits would be the best suited to take these decals, but I guess IBG might be a good source.

Looking at the decals themselves, it is immediately clear that they are printed to a very high resolution, with only a very slight trace of pixelation; even the smaller items are still readable. The only thing that gives them away as not being printed by the big decal companies is that they are printed on continuous film. Being laserjet printed, it is also wise to protect them before weathering starts on the model.
Something very peculiar to these decals (and actually to all of the latest releases by Braille Strike is that the multi-color decals are printed "upside down". In other words, the colors are printed first and the white at the end. This means that you have to flip the decals over when putting them on the vehicle (which is easy) and that it is difficult to judge the quality of the multi-color decals while still on the sheet, as the (translucent) white creates a sort of haze over the rest of the colors. I hope to be able to use them soon and tell our readers how this turns out. Just remember that the decals that are in one color only are NOT upside down.

My scanner always has trouble scanning white decals on a blue background, that's why the image from the Braille Strike website has been included on the right.

Conclusion

Braille Scale continues to expand its series of well-printed decals.
While previous sets I had reviewed were well researched, I can only assume this was the case here as well, as the mentioned references to use are not clear. Sadly, you will probably need these references to get an accurate representation of the actual vehicle.

Review sample kindly provided by Braille Strike.

Article Last Updated:
18 April 2020