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Yellow Wing Decals 1/48 USN F4F Wildcats

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

When it comes to colorful aircraft, few can compete with the yellow wing era of US Navy aircraft. With aluminum dope fuselage and lower wings, orange-yellow upper wings, and tail surfaces painted according to the assigned aircraft carrier, these were very colorful aircraft. Adding to the color even more, the squadrons added section colors in the form of fuselage bands and wing chevrons. The cowling was also painted in section colors, with the color there broken up depending on where the plane fit into the section.

The Decals

This latest sheet from Yellow Wings Decals provides markings for three Grumman F4F Wildcat aircraft. Two are F4F-3s in the yellow wing scheme, while the last is an F4F-4 in the intermediate blue/gray camouflage scheme. Starting with the yellow wing birds, the first is from VF-72 off of the USS Wasp in early 1941. This plane has the black tail found on all Wasp aircraft, and features lemon yellow section colors. As the aircraft is a section leader, the whole front of the cowl is painted in yellow. The neutrality star is carried on the cowl just behind the section color.

The second yellow wing aircraft is from VF-41 off the USS Ranger in early 1941. The Ranger's color was willow green, and the tail surfaces are finished in this color. This plane features red section colors, and it too is the lead aircraft of the section so the entire cowl is painted red. The neutrality star is on the upper fuselage behind the cowling and above the wing.

The final aircraft on this sheet, while not as colorful, is a bit more famous. It is the mount of Machinist Donald E. Runyon, the Navy's highest scoring F4F pilot. Runyon flew with VF-6 off the USS Enterprise and supported the Guadalcanal Campaign in August 1942. During that month, Runyon shot down eight aircraft in this F4F, and these eight victories are tallied in a scoreboard under the cockpit. The squadron's tally is carried on a white tombstone on the vertical fin, featuring 41 meatballs.

The decals are very nicely printed, with good, dense color and good alignment. They should pose no problems in application. My thanks to Yellow Wings Decals for the review sample.