PYN-up Decals 1/48 & 1/32 F4U Corsairs

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Another new aircraft for PYN-up Decals is the F4U Corsair, and they have decided to release this sheet in both 1/48 (PYN48019) and 1/32 (PYN32002) scales, taking advantage of the new Trumpeter 1/32 Corsair kit. The aircraft presented are the same, being an F4U-1 flown by 1st Lt. Edwin L. Olander of VMF-222 out of Munda in October of 1943, and an F4U-1A flown by 1st Lt. Stout of VMF-422 out of Engibi Island in May of 1944.

Starting with Olander's machine, this is an early birdcage Corsair, camouflaged in M-485 blue gray over M-495 light gray, and is very weathered. The plane, BuNo 02576, is coded White 576, over a previously painted out code. The national insignia have simple white bars, with no outlines. The plane carries the name "Marines Dream," next to a sitting blonde woman wearing a skimpy top and a small skirt. On December 13, 1943, this plane flipped over while making an emergency landing at the unfinished Torokina airstrip on Bougainville, with many photos of its recovery documenting the markings.

The second aircraft, the F4U-1A from VMF-422, is just your standard Corsair from that time period. Camouflaged in ANA 607 Sea Blue, ANA 608 Intermediate Blue, and ANA 601 White, this plane has red outlined national insignia and is coded White 8. This plane carries a small piece of artwork on the tail, that being a Vargas cowgirl. Apparently this artwork was not painted on the fin, but lacquered on instead after being prepared off the plane. The instructions state that it is unknown whether this artwork appeared on the port side, but they include extras just in case.

Both of these aircraft offer something interesting for Corsair aficionados and are bound to be popular. While the Marines were not much into extravagant nose art like their counterparts in the USAAC, these aircraft prove that they were just as willing to decorate their aircraft in their own fashion. My thanks to Meteor Productions for the review sample.