Sheet #

Microscale 72-086 for USMC F-8 Cruasders

Price:

$4.50

Units:

See review

Review By:

Ryan Koschatzky

Notes:

 


The Crusader first flew in 1955. The Marines started to receive there F-8's in 1957. The Marines gained notoriety with the Crusader in July 1957, as then Maj John Glenn, set the record for crossing the country at Mach 1+ at cruising altitude. The Crusader went on to fight in Lebanon in 1958 with VMF-333. The also had a major role in the Cuban Missile Crisis with the RF-8's of VCMJ-2. Now with this brief history lesson over (more to follow), let's get on to the decal sheet. 

There are markings for four different aircraft and decals to do only three aircraft, the insignia is not supplied with this sheet. The color scheme is the same for all four aircraft: Gull Gray (FS) on the top and White (FS) on the bottom. 

The first decals are for a F-8E of VMF(AW)-235 *Death Angels* 150318/ DB19. The Death Angels was the second of only four Crusader units of the Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam. There are markings for *Capt. H. Rhoden* placed below the canopy. There is four white stars on a red stripe with a white outline on the tail. The ventral fin has six white stars on a red stripe with a white outline. The last red stripe is around the air intake with six white stars also outlined in white.

Here is a photo of '318'

The next one is for a F-8D of VMF(AW)-333 *Fighting Shamrocks* 148639/DN14. There is decal for a plane captain *L/Cpl Borsoff*. The fin tip is dark brown. The  tail has a decal of three green shamrocks on a white background with a green stripe outlining on the top and bottom.

The third decal is a F-8C of VMF(AW)-334 *Falcons* 145559/WU12. There is a decal for *Maj. McMahon*. The fin tip is black with white leading edges. There is a red falcon on the tail with a black outline. The ventral fin also has a red lighting bolt with a black outline on it. 

The last decal is for F-8E of VMF(AW)-232 *Red Devils* 150871/WT02.The Red Devils were the third F-8 unit in Vietnam. They replaced the Death Angles in December 1966. The pilot for this bird is *Maj. Williams*. The tail has a red devil inside a white rhombus with red trim. There is also a *The Stinger* decal that is placed behind the top gun port. The Red Devils is the oldest Marine Fighter Squadron. They turned 70 years old this month.

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