This new decal
sheet from Cutting
Edge Modelworks includes markings for four different 1/32 F4F-4 Wildcats. The recommended kit for these decals is the
1/32 Trumpeter F4F-4.
The first Wildcat on this sheet is
an F4F-4 flown by Lt. Jim Swett BuNo 12094, of VMF-221 out of Guadalcanal.
Markings on this aircraft include a white "77" on the side of the
fuselage and a smaller white"77" on the side of the engine
cowling. This plane also has 7 Japanese flag kill markings on the side of
the fuselage under the canopy. This one has tail art of a "caveman
wearing a diaper and carrying a club" that was only on this plane for a few
days before the pilot was asked to remove it. The pilot doesn't think the
caveman markings were on the right side.....but a right side decal is included
in case you decide to use it. This plane also has a stripe on the tail
that had been painted over......it appears as a shadowy line going diagonal
across the left side of the tail. The paint scheme is the Standard Navy
two-color camouflage of Blue Gray 1 over Light Gray 602. This Wildcat had
a non-standard antenna arrangement with the tip of the mask being painted
white.
The
second Wildcat on this sheet is an F4F-4 flown by Capt. Marion Carl of
VMF-223 out of Guadalcanal in Sept 1942. Markings on this aircraft include
a white "2" on the side of the fuselage and a smaller
white"2" on the side of the engine cowling. This plane also has
19 Japanese flag kill markings on the side of the fuselage under the
canopy. The paint scheme is the Standard Navy two-color camouflage of Blue
Gray 1 over Light Gray 602.
The third Wildcat on this sheet is
an F4F-4 flown by an unknown pilot with an unknown unit. One interesting
point to this plane is that it flew in Operation Torch and it also flew at
Guadalcanal. Markings on this aircraft include a black "8" with
a smaller black "26" on the side of the fuselage. This plane
also has an North American Indian head in full head dress on the side of the
fuselage under the canopy. One very interesting feature of the paint
scheme is the yellow surrounds to the roundels have been painted out.
these were applied for the invasion of North Africa. If you do not wish to
paint your own surrounds, you can use the decal versions provided with this
decal sheet. They have somewhat ragged edges to simulate the actual
roundels (see decal sheet below). The paint scheme is the Standard Navy
two-color camouflage of Blue Gray 1 over Light Gray 602.
The fourth Wildcat on this sheet is
an F4F-4 flown by Capt. Joe Foss of VMF-121 out of Guadalcanal on Oct 23
1942. Markings on this aircraft include a black "53" on the side
of the fuselage and a smaller black "53" on the side of the engine
cowling. Capt. Foss worked directly with the artist to create the side
profile included in the instruction sheets for this decal set. The paint
scheme is the Standard Navy two-color camouflage of Blue Gray 1 over Light Gray
602.
The decals were flawlessly printed and the clear
carrier film is trimmed very close to the crisply printed colored areas.
The colours look good and will cover very well. The artwork is interesting
to say the least. You get enough national markings for at least two one
aircraft.
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