They may be assembled to make the swastikas displayed on the tails of Nazi aircraft.

Some European countries still forbid or restrict that symbol's depiction on commercial items, so supplying them in halves is a work-around.

Photos will guide you where exactly they should be placed on your individual a/c.

Cheers

That's also why they aren't shown in the instructions - showing them "assembled" would be promoting nazi symbols :-)

Hi;

    If you notice they have an angle on the outside corner where the arms join. This is so they can be joined to form Swastikas. European Union Laws do not permit the depiction of this emblem in print or in photos!

Thank you all. What is FSM's policy re swastika? Allowed or not on airplane's tail? Need to know so I can take photos with and without it? 

Believe it or not, when I was stationed in Germany, stores opened up the model kit boxes and either cut out the swastikas or put a blob of black paint on the decal as well as marking out the insignia on the instruction sheets.

This was for kits like Tamiya or ones from the US. Models made by Revell of Germany omitted the markings.

Even certain units like the SS had their markings made unusable or otherwise blotted out on decals, box art or instructions.

The "make your own" swastika is a fairly novel idea to include the markings for countries that allow it and to "not include it" for those that don't.

I worry about some guy with dyslexia assembling them into tiny little boxes by mistake...

. Nuff said. 

castelnuovo

Thank you all. What is FSM's policy re swastika? Allowed or not on airplane's tail? Need to know so I can take photos with and without it?

No problem with the FSM site. However, be aware that some photo-hosting sites apparently have 'nanny bots' that will remove shots with prominent swastikas.

Never had it happen with an aircraft, but I once posted photos of a Bismarck model -- I believe it might have been on Photobucket -- where the shots with the deck swastika at the bow disappeared within minutes of my putting them up. (I'm supposing the fact that they were high-contrast closeups with the swastika center-shot may have helped the AI spot it.) Once I went back and blanked out the center of the marking, the photos 'stuck' just fine.

FSM will not display them on the cover of the magazine.

For those weho need them, one piece aftermarket decals are probably a better way to go for size and alignment accuracy.

Wikipedia has a very well written page about the symbol, it's history and current regulation.

Bill

OR  .  .  .   the split is simply because half the decal is on the tail fin, and the other half is on the rudder. 

It just could be that simple; remember Occam's razor; the simplest answer is most often the correct answer.

OR  .  .  .   Everybody else is correct; as I could only find one picture where the decal was split. All others show the swastika only on the tail fin.

My two cents worth.

HooYah Deep Sea

OR . . . Everybody else is correct; as I could only find one picture where the decal was split. All others show the swastika only on the tail fin.

The split across the fin and rudder was largely before about 1936. After that, on the fin alone became standardized (at least for military aircraft).

And...it's a 262.

Bill

gregbale

 However, be aware that some photo-hosting sites apparently have 'nanny bots' that will remove shots with prominent swastikas.

Thanks for this. Will have to test imgur and see what happens. 

Tanker-Builder

European Union Laws do not permit the depiction of this emblem

Here in the UK we are no longer subject to EU laws but, even when we were, swastikas were not actually banned.  Seriously disapproved of, certainly, but not when used in an historical context e.g. in period photos or artwork, or, for that matter, on models (but not provided as decals).  In Germany and Austria, they are very definitely illegal, for obvious reasons.  Other countries, however, ban them (or not) as they see fit.  Some may see them as a reminder of what has happened before and a warning not to let it happen again.

A couple of years ago I had to source some swastika decals for a kit (since none were included), and ended up buying them from a company in France!

I have been to a couple of shows where vendors have boxes of decal sheets. I picked up a few a couple of years ago. They have the swastikas in all scales on a single sheet. I just checked the sheets I have and there is no manufacturers name on them. Looks like they were either made by the vendor or the manufacturers name was cut off the sheet. If you can't get any, drop me a PM and I can send you some in the scale that you need or a few in every scale that you might need. No problem.

Jim 

Stay Safe. 

Read the Wiki article.

Not an EU law.

Thank you Jim. I will try to asseble them from the decal sheet and see what happens.

If the edges of the decal film follow the shape of the black portions, it could be as simple as making the swastika decals a little easier to apply.  Having only 2 arms at a time to keep from ripping off or folding back on themselves while positioning the decal would be much easier than having 4.  Could just be an engineering decision.

I've used similar swastika decal halves from manufacturers' kit sheets without any problems whatsoever. Like any other decals, if you work patiently and take the time to line everything up properly, it's pretty much a piece of cake.