Hobby Master 1/72 SkyMax Flying Heroes
SM1012F8F-1B Blue Angels US Navy, 1946 season (with decals for 1 to 5 airplanes)
General Background
Designed to emulate a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and to outperform the Japanese A6M5 Zero, the Grumman F8F Bearcat was first flown on August 21, 1944. This single-engine US Navy aircraft was Grumman's last piston-engined fighter, possessing a number of innovative features including uniquely which would snap off if g-forces reached a certain level. Though the Bearcat was considered one of the best-handling piston-engined fighters in history, it didn't become operational after the end of WWII. Still, the Bearcat earned an important place in history through its postwar service with the US Navy and its use by the Blue Angels aerobatic performance team.
