McDonnell (later McDonnell/Douglas) has had a pretty good track record when it comes to developing quality aircraft. Starting with the FH-1 Phantom  and ending with the current F-18 Hornet, their aircraft have generally been the best around and have met all specs. One of those that McDonnell would rather forget is the F3H Demon. Unusual in McDonnell aircraft, the Demon only had a single engine. It was this engine that made the Demon so forgettable. The darn thing just never did produce the kind of power that was needed for a quality naval fighter. In fact, it was often quite borderline.

Nevertheless, this didn't stop the Navy from ordering a number of them and issuing them to several squadrons. Mercifully, such was the pace of aeronautic developments, that the Demon was not kept in service for too many years and it quickly disappeared from the scene. McDonnell went on to develop the F4H (later just F-4) Phantom II and the Demon was soon forgotten by all but those who flew it.

In 1/72 we are 'blessed' with a couple of choices for kits. One is the Emhar injected plastic kit. This kit isn't really as bad as many make it out to be, but it is also not exactly state of the art. The other kit is the very nice Rareplanes kit. Unfortunately for most, this is a vacuform kit and though well detailed, that is enough to prevent many from ever building it.

This particular sheet has two subjects on it. There are enough common decals for one aircraft. Superscale has been nice enough to split the upper wing decal so that it will fit on either side of the wing fence, a nice touch. 

The first subject is a VF-41 Demon from the USS Independence. This aircraft is also the CAG bird so has the required multiple colors on the tail. It also has a red ship name on the fuselage spine, a very unusual treatment.

Next is a VF-161 F3H from the USS Oriskany. While not as colorful as the CAG bird, the red wing and tail tips add much to the plane. 

Either scheme would be a big improvement to the kit supplied ones and will make for a nice model.

Review copy courtesy of me and my now empty wallet!

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