Brigade Piron (2)

This set covers the following vehicles, belonging to the First Belgian Independent Brigade, also known as Brigade Piron, while in Belgium in 1944:

• Daimler Mk1 Armored Car “CALAMITÉ”, Armoured Cars Squadron, 2nd Troop.
• Daimler Mk1 Armored Car “CORSAIRE”, Armoured Cars Squadron, 2nd Troop.
• T17E1 Staghound Mk1 Armored Car “ARDENT”, Armoured Cars Squadron, HQ Coy.
• Daimler Dingo “COBRA”, Armoured Cars Squadron, 2nd Troop.
  

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 vehicles. The instructions only give a reference for "CORSAIRE", however, which might be hard to find (Armored Car, Issue N°17, May 1993). A good additional source might be "Les moutons noirs de Piron" (Hugues Wenkin, Weyrich)

Looking at the decals themselves, it is immediately clear that they are printed to a very high resolution, with no visible 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.

According to our erstwhile editor Marc Mercier, who knows a thing or two about the recce vehicles used by the Belgian Army, the decals appear accurate, based on the available information. Note that the Staghound had a fake gun, which looked a bit different from the real gun.

Conclusion

Braille Scale continues to expand its series of well-printed decals, with a new addition that will certainly appeal to my fellow countrymen.
While previous sets I had reviewed were well researched, this set seems to be no exception. Highly recommended.

Review sample kindly provided by Braille Strike.

Article Last Updated:
01 May 2020