Wildcat colors

My mistake - X-18 is flat black. XF-18 is medium blue. Got to get my eyes checked.

It should be Non-Specular Dark Sea Blue.

F4Fs wore all of the 1940s US Navy paint schemes: Yellow Wings with a Aluminum Lacquer lower wings & fuselage, Overall Non Specular Light Gray, Blue Gray over Light Gray, Atlantic/ASW scheme of Dark Gull Gray over White, Tri Color Sea Blue & Intermediate Blue over White, and finally the overall Gloss Sea Blue. Plus the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm scheme of Slate and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky.

FM-1 most successful fighter in WW2.

I had the pleasure of watching a Wildcat fly at Reno in 2010.

FM-1 or FM-2? That was a true hot rod due to a more powerful engine and weight reduction on the airframe... not to mention the abysmal quality of most air opposition by the time the -2 was in combat service...

stikpusher

FM-1 or FM-2? That was a true hot rod due to a more powerful engine and weight reduction on the airframe... not to mention the abysmal quality of most air opposition by the time the -2 was in combat service...

Stik, the Tamiya kit is an F4F-4/FM-1.  The kit I have (61034) has both intermediate blue and tricolor schemes.  The mix the OP is asking about is Intermediate Blue.

Yup, I know that the Tamiya kit is a F4F-4, slightly different from the FM-1 which reverted to the F4F-3's armament of 4x .50s. The F4F-4 had folding wings and 6x .50s, compared to the F4F-3 with non folding wings and 4x .50s. The pilots of the -4 were unhappy with the weight change of the folding mechanism, more guns with fewer rounds per gun and resulting shorter firing time due to more guns being carried, as opposed to the increased weight of fire. The original 4x .50s was more than adequate for most Japanese aircraft, hence the return to the original armament in the FM series.  

I was asking about the FM-1 being the most successful fighter in air to air compared to the FM-2.

Stik, I think the FM-2 operated at a disadvantage because it was used mostly in the Atlantic on convoy escort, so the earlier marks had more opportunities to score.  I've always thought the F4F deserved better press.

The FM-2 was also used on escort carriers in the Pacific for support of all amphibious landings in the last phases of the war there- when the Kamikaze threat emerged and the resulting "target rich environment". The escort carriers were often targeted by the Kamikazes and the FMs found themselves doing double duty of CAS for the guys on the ground as well as CAPs for their ships.

But I certainly agree of the F4F/FM family being underrated in writing. Like the P-40 it held the line and came back swinging.

Thanks everyone for all the info. Now that I can read "XF-18" instead of "X-18" I like the mix much better. Although using the X-18 black might have been closer to the dark gull grey Stikpusher mentioned. My first attempt at aircraft since I'm an armor guy at heart. Only problem is I can't hide mistakes with dirt,  mud, and stowage.