1:72 Vought Corsair II

The second part of the markings for the Corsair in 1:72

The Vought F4U is one of the most striking machines of the Second World War and modelers' interest in it does not fade. The brand therefore divided the decal release into two follow-on sheets, so that the whole breadth of schemes, from the early machines with a framed canopy to the postwar examples, would not have to fit into one package. This item belongs to the continuation, that is to the second part, as the numeral after the name of the type suggests.

The machine itself is recognizable at first glance by the wing bent into an inverted gull shape, the long fuselage and the large propeller. It flew from the spring of 1943, at first mainly from land bases in the southwest Pacific, because for carrier operations it was at the outset considered too treacherous. The Royal Navy, meanwhile, managed it on a deck earlier than the Americans, and New Zealand pilots sat in its cockpits too.

In 1:72 it is a rewarding build: the model fits on a shelf together with several neighbors and the markings make up most of the visual effect. That is exactly why it pays to reach for a separate sheet, whose printing holds sharp edges even on the small numbers that box decals usually let bleed.

Polish the surface before applying them, leave the motif in the water only until it comes loose and draw the excess water off with the edge of a piece of paper. On an area this small, every unnecessary movement of the tweezers means a folded carrier film.

We recommend sealing the finished model with a flat or satin varnish according to how worn you want the machine to look. Carrier and land-based examples alike were exposed to salt mist and dust, so a perfectly glossy surface would look out of place on them and would needlessly betray the edges of the applied motifs as well.