F4U-1 Corsairs Part 2

EagleCals Decals, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Brad Fallen

Eagle Cals 1/32 F4U-1 Corsair Pt.2 Decals are available online from Squadron.com

The EagleCals range currently includes six F4U Corsair sets, each available in 1/72, 148 and 1/32 scale.  Three are for F4U-1 Birdcage Corsairs (Parts 1 and 2 of which I reviewed in April 2014,) and one is for Fleet Air Arm Corsairs.  The remaining two are for F4U-1As (although EagleCals correctly labels them as F4U-1s, given that ‘F4U-1A’ wasn’t an official designation).  Alan Sannazzaro examined Part 1 here last month, which leaves Part 2 for me to look at now; EagleCals has kindly provided the 1/32 scale set for review.

Like Part 1, this release features four aircraft – three from the US Navy’s VF-17, and one Royal New Zealand Air Force machine.  All were finished in the mid-war tricolour scheme of Non-Specular Sea Blue upper surfaces, Non-Specular Intermediate Blue fuselage sides, vertical stabiliser/rudder and outboard underwing surfaces, and White undersurfaces and inboard wings. 

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Thumbnail panels:

Details are as follows:

• BuNo 17684/‘White 29’, flown by Lt.(junior grade) Ira ‘Ike’ Kepford, Bougainville, 31 January 1944. 

• BuNo unknown/‘White 3’, flown by Lt.(jg) James ‘Big Jim’ Streig, February 1044.

• BuNo unknown/ ‘White 34’/‘L.A. City Limits’, flown by Lt.(jg) Doris C. ‘Chiko’ Freeman, March 1944.

• BuNo 56455/NZ5248 of No.21 Squadron RNZAF, May 1945.  A Donald Duck emblem was painted on the port forward fuselage.

These aircraft weathered heavily in the harsh South Pacific climate, so I’d recommend taking a close look at period photos as you prepare to paint and finish your model.  These are readily available online, with photos of Kepford’s and Streig’s machines particularly easy to find.  Kiwi Corsairs are also well documented, although I’ve yet to find a photo of the exact No.21 Squadron aircraft represented here.

The decals take up three equal-sized sheets and – as usual for EagleCals – are superbly produced with good colour matches and density, and no signs of misregistration.  Being 1/32 scale the fuselage and particularly wing insignia are quite large, and will require careful application on a very glossy surface.  There is some nice attention to detail – for example the weathered starboard insignia of Streig’s Corsair.

The smaller unit and personal markings are also finely reproduced.  Helpful additions are Hamilton Standard propeller logos, white strips to represent the ubiquitous fuel tank sealing tape, and spare numerals in two fonts for replacing or making new BuNos.

Instructions are an EagleCals highlight, and these are no exception.  Full colour port or starboard profiles are provided, along with generic overhead and underwing views of USN and RNZAF Corsairs.  Decal placement is clearly indicated by both arrows and number or letter.  There is also a brief written description of each aircraft that includes information about the pilot (where known), colours, markings, stenciling, and propeller type.  Several references are also cited.

This set is a welcome addition to the growing range of markings available for Tamiya’s 1/32 F4U-1A kit.  I’m going to be finishing mine as the RNZAF machine, but the three VF-17 options – flown as they were by successful and famous pilots – are also very attractive.  Thoroughly researched and superbly printed and packaged, EagleCals ‘F4U-1 Corsairs Part 2’ is definitely worth considering if you’re thinking of an F4U-1A build in any of the three major scales.

Highly Recommended

Thanks to Eagle Editions for the review sample

EagleCals decals are available from Eagle Editions Website

Text Copyright © 2016 by Brad Fallen
This Page Created on 1 September, 2016
Last updated 1 September, 2016

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