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Capt Ralph Parr's F-86 'Barb'


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I have long wanted to do a model of Capt Ralph Parr's Sabre '24778' using the kit decal sheet found in the Hasegawa Sabre kit #00483. The kit decals have his name in red on the canopy rail and the name ' Vent De La Morte' in black.

I always try to use photo reference for verification but I am finding contradictory information. A somewhat blurry colour photo can be found on the back cover of the Squadron/Signal Publication 'MiG Alley' by Larry Davis. The aircraft name is in black but it is hard to make out the name and colour on the canopy rail. In season one, volume one of 'Dogfights' shown on The History Channel there is a colour photo of Capt Parr standing next to his aircraft. The aircraft and pilot name are black. There is a b&w photo of FU-778 on page 76 of the Crowwood Publications 'North American F-86 Sabre' by Ducan Curtis in which the pilot's name appears dark (black?) while the aircraft name appears much lighter (red?).

Can anyone verify the correct colours in question i.e. are the kit decal markings correct? Is there a larger, clearer colour photo of 24778 available somewhere?

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Hey Brian,

The following photo suggests 2 things. The pilots name looks like it's in black with no color on the canopy frame. The 'Vent De La Morte' looks to be a combination of 2 colors. My guess is black and red.

FU-778 photo

This next photo shows the name 'Barb' which looks like it's red with a black border.

FU-778 photo 2

Cheers,

John

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Thanks for your comments, John. The first photo you included is the same one as in the 'Dogfights' DVD, except the latter is in colour. He is wearing a red scarf and a dark (black or dark blue) jacket. The aircraft name appears lighter then the pilot's name because of the glare on the metal finish. I read somewhere that Parr flew more than one Sabre. Wonder where the Hasegawa researchers obtained their information?

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There is another Sabre with "like" markings. The tail number was 959. In the Osprey book of the 4th Interceptor Wing, there is pictures of Parr but neither of the Sabres in question. Like you said, where did Hasegawa get the information? :bandhead2:

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