This decal set is intended for the Eduard 1/48 F4F-3 Wildcat and is one of the three Wildcat decals sets from Starfighter Decals. The Early USN Wildcats set provides markings for six different aircraft: F4F-3A Number 3916 Ens. Daniels VF6; F4F-3A Bu. Number 3914 Lt. Rawle VF-6; F4F-3A Bu. Number 4031 Lt. E. O’Hare VF-2; F4F-3A Bu. Number 3976 Lt. J.S. Thatch VF-2; F4F-3 Bu. Number 2531 Ens. McCuskey VF-42 and F-1 Bu. No. 4031 Lt. Cmdr. Paul L. Ramsey.

The decals are easy to work with, however, there are a few things to watch out for. The tail rudder decals are larger than the kit’s rudder piece. To get the edges to lay down, you will need to apply MicroSol or a similar product. Apply a decal on one side and allow it to fully dry, and then apply the opposite side. BUT…pay attention to the strips so that they line up. Next, use care when positioning. These decals are thin, and moving them around too much on the surface of the plane will cause them to tear.

With applying MicroSet, the decals adhere to the surface nicely, and after the they are set, using a little MicroSol will allow them to settle nicely into the fine recessed details and also conform well to compound surfaces.

Starfighter’s placement guide is adequate, but you will need to also consult the kit’s guide. For example, Starfighter only depicts (for all the versions) a right-side, upper-left wing and bottom-right wing views. There are also discrepancies of the exact placement between Eduard’s and Starfighter’s guides. Consulting other resources will be helpful.

Overall, this is an excellent decal set and I really like the way they become seamless with the paint. If you are going to build the Eduard Wildcat kit, I recommend you try one of Starfighter Decals sets for your build! Thank you for Starfighter Decals / Marks Models and Toys and to IPMS USA for the opportunity to provide this review.

Thank you Bill & Phil for all you do for the Reviewers!