Starfighter Decals 1/72 USN at Guadalcanal Aug to Nov 1942
By Matt Bittner
A great concept that Starfighter Decals started a while ago was to release a decal sheet that was tied to a specific event at a specific time-frame. They've already released Pearl Harbor and and Midway sheets, etc., but this time around Starfighter concentrates on the battle at Guadalcanal during August through November of 1942. Because these releases are for an event, they tend to include multiple aircraft types in the one release. For this set, Starfighter Decals has chosen markings for the Wildcat, Dauntless, Avenger and Catalina. The following aircraft are catered for:
- SBD-3, B-18, VB-6, 8 Aug 1942, flown by Ens. Rober Shaw and AO2/c Harold Jones
- SBD-3, White '0', Bu.No. 03213, flown by CDR Harry D Felt and Chief Radioman C.A. Snyder
- SBD-3, Black '16', VS-71, Bu.No. 03315
- SBD-3, VB-11, Spring 1943
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 5192, LT James "Pug" Sunderland, VF-5, 7 Aug 1942
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 02069, ENS George Wrenn, VF-72, 26 Oct 1942
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 03430, LTJG V.E. Graham, VF-11
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 12163, LTJG C.R. Stimpson, VF-11
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 5075, Machinist Donald E. Runyon, VF-6, 24 Aug 1942, USS Enterprise
- F4F-4, Bu.No. 03417, LT Stanley W. Vejtasa, VF-10, 26 Oct 1942, USS Enterprise
- TBF-1, White "64", Bu.No. 0421, VT-8, USS Saratoga, Sep 1942
- TBF-1, White "GC", Bu.No. 0471, VT-10, USS Enterprise, Oct 1942, CAG CDR R.K. Gaines
- TBF-1, White "T-1", Bu.No. Unknown, VT-10, USS Enterprise, Oct 1942
- PBY-5A, Bu.No. 05045, Assigned to HQ South Pacific Force and personal aircraft of Vice Admiral McCain, First Allied aircraft to land on Guadalcanal, 12 Aug 1942.
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The recommended kits are Hasegawa except for the PBY which is Minicraft. Since the decals are printed by Cartograf, the quality is top-notch and registration appears to be first-rate. All aircraft are finished in USN Blue Gray on top with Lt Gray on the bottoms. The instructions are also first-rate and point out any differences between aircraft (for example, the last TBF was flown with .50 cal guns on the wing tops, right at the roots, and the instructions point this out). As usual, though, even with the excellent instructions you'll still want to track down references.
Another excellent multi-craft collection from Starfighter Decals. If you want to build a machine that flew during the fighting at Guadalcanal, you'll definitely want to pick up this sheet.
Huge, huge thanks to Starfighter Decals for sending this to us for review.