The North American FJ-2 Fury was a rushed attempt to make the successful F-86 into a carrier-borne fighter.  The addition of features to “navalize” it (folding wings, tailhook, and crash-barricade engagers/ deflectors) added weight but without a major increase in power to offset it.  The result was a fighter that did not perform as well as the F-86 and was somewhat marginal in terms of carrier suitability.  The FJ-3 Fury was better thought-out and corrected many of the deficiencies of the FJ-2.  The result was a better performing Fury that was regularly deployed on aircraft carriers.  As a fighter of the Cold War, early FJ-3s had overall gloss sea blue finishes while later FJ-3 and FJ-3Ms (“M” denoting AIM-9 capability) were painted in gull gray over white.

This decal sheet depicts 2 colorful Navy FJ-3Ms in the gull gray/ white scheme.  Number 204 represents a jet from VF-173 aboard USS Randolph (mis-spelled “Randolf” in the instructions) in 1957.  It has yellow lightning bolts on the tip of the tail and both wingtips.  This jet is also has an F-86-esque yellow fuselage stripe and ram’s horns that wrap around the intake.

Number 208 represents a colorful jet from VF-124. It has blue diamonds on the tail and flanking the modex.

Although two complete sets of national markings and “NAVY” marks are included on the sheet, it appears that only one set of maintenance stencils is on the sheet.

Since the only injection-molded FJ-3 in 1/48^th scale at the time this sheet was printed was the ESCI FJ-2/3 Fury, it is no surprise the instructions recommend that kit.  (Ironically, the only other FJ-3M option in this scale includes these same markings.)

If you happen to have a 1/48^th ESCI FJ-2/3 Fury in the stash and you are looking for aftermarket decal options, you’d do well for yourself to track down this sheet.

December 2009 

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