Perhaps one of the greatest carrier-based aircrafts of World War 2, the F4U Corsair was fast, tough, had great agility and packed a damaging punch. Over any theatre of operation, the Corsair could match any plane in the skies.

Commanding officer of VMF-214 “Black Sheep”, Major Gregory Boyington was one of many Navy pilots to reach the ace status using this very aircraft. Boyington flew several Corsairs during his career, including his famous "White 86". Decorated with 20 miniature Japanese flags, Boyington's F4U-1A Corsair was nicknamed “Lucybelle”. Used mostly for publicity photos, it is not known if this aircraft was ever used in combat. As seen on the above photo, the 20 victory flags displayed on the port side were applied slapdash and vary in size, position, and alignment.

I used Tamiya’s 1/48 scale model to produce the “Lucybelle”, as well as Eduard 1/48 seatbelts (USN & USMC aircrafts). Color scheme is Dark Sea Blue over Intermediate Blue and Flat White. This is a great looking model of Boyington’s F4U-1A Corsair "White 86".

Above: Reference photograph of the F4U-1A Corsair "White 86".