1:72 Vought F4U Corsair. Argentina

Corsairs in Argentine colors

Argentine naval aviation took the Corsairs over at the moment the US Navy was putting them into reserve, and kept them in the front line until the mid-1960s. These were the late F4U-5 and F4U-5NL forms, that is, machines with a lengthened nose, a more powerful engine and, on the night version, a radar pod on the right wing as well.

Seven machines on one sheet

Six of the seven markings offered belong to the 2nd Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Ataque. Here you will find the fuselage code 3-A-213, then aircraft 3-A-216 recorded in February 1964, machine 3-A-202, example 3-A-211 from 1964 and also 3-A-204 from about 1962. Particular attention is due to 3-A-201 in an earlier paint scheme and the last aircraft with the code 3-C-17, shown in a later finish.

A procedure that has proved itself

The surface under a decal has to be smooth and glossy, or air will be trapped under the film and the edges will whiten once it has dried. The surest route runs through a gloss coat over the finished camouflage, settling the decal from water, pressing it down with a cotton bud and a few hours of undisturbed drying. A matte varnish laid on at the very end suppresses the edges of the film reliably.

• South American operators of the Corsair, a theme usually missing from kit boxes
• Each option gives the squadron and the fuselage code of the machine
• The markings span roughly from 1962 to February 1964
• Intended for the late versions with a lengthened forward fuselage