Back in the dark ages, there were few aftermarket sheets and almost none for 1/48 subject. Lo and behold, Microscale came on the market and there was a glimmer of light. It would only be natural that they'd pick what was really needed first off. That included a sheet on Corsairs.

First up is 'Pappy' Boyington's VMF-214 F4U-1D in a tri-color scheme. Now we all know by now that there were darn few, if any -1Ds in this scheme so it is probably a -1A. Of course, I'm more than willing to have my mind changed. We also know that he probably didn't fly this plane as, is so often the case, 'hero' photos were taken next to a plane that was spiffied up for the occasion. This plane is shown with red surround insignia that I seriously doubt was used.

Next is Ira Kepfords VF-17 Corsair. All I said about the -1D and camo schemes above applies here as well, though he actually did fly the plane that was shown.

In the overall gloss sea blue is this late war F4U-4 from the 2nd Marine Division with red/white checkered cowling and rudder. I should mention that I've seen this exact same scheme on F4U-1D Corsair kits!

What is for sure an F4U-1D is this VF-84 plane in overall gloss sea blue with the arrows on the fin and wing.

Any stencils and insignia for these planes will have to come from a separate source. I also highly suggest researching these planes to verify their sub-type and markings. One thing about these old decal sheets is that they were taken from book drawings that themselves were often in error. Fortunately, things like this are not as common as they used to be!

Review copy courtesy of my ever growing decal pile!

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