Thanks to the wide availability of F6F kits, most all of which are pretty easy to build, we now have a nice sheet for F6F-5 Aces. All of these aircraft are overall gloss sea blue, which makes them a snap to paint. You'll notice that some of the -5s have the small window that is more common with the -3. Early build -5s had this feature so all you really need to worry about is having the proper cowling without the two lower cowl flaps.  There are really nice kits out there by Hasegawa and Academy. Even Heller and Frog did this aircraft as well as others so finding a kit shouldn't be a problem.

First up is Cdr David McCampbell's USS Essex-based plane. There are always concerns over the markings of ace's planes as often they had a plane specially done up just for publicity photos. I'm sure that there is probably something incorrect about these markings, but most of us don't really consider that a major problem and will happily use what is provided.

Next is Lt(jg) Ray Hawkins VF-31 plane from the USS Cabot.

The last is 'Death n Destruction', a VVF-83 plane from the USS Essex late in the war. This plane was flown by three different pilots to earn its kills.

Stencils and insignia are provided for all three aircraft, making this a most usable sheet.

Review copy courtesy of . Thanks for your support.