Main painting
Ok, time for the paint. I hand masked the canopy using tape and Gunze masking solution and attached the four canopy parts to the cockpit area using PVA glue.
The two tone grey/white scheme was sprayed on using Gunze acrylics (Light Grey H324 and White H316) and then once dry it was all sealed with several coats of Klear ready for the decals, but just before the decaling stage I sprayed the anti-glare panel in front of the pilots screen.
Decals
The decals were a bit disappointing out of the box as there was only 1 scheme to choose from so I decided to use Furballs ‘USMC Rhinos’ sheet instead and they are beautiful decals to work with they really are. I chose the VMFA-314 markings, which operated, from Chu Lai AB Vietnam in 1968. I still had to use the hundred or more stencils, which are supplied on the Academy sheet, and these also performed flawlessly! It took me a few nights adding them all but it doesn’t look right without them.
