Oh, I know the plane itself DID exist. I even have the Navy BuNo: 02576. And like I said, I HAVE seen one war-time photo. Unfortunately, it's onyl from the port side as a crane is lifting it out of the mud. You can only see the dorsal surface of the wings, and the vertical stab had been torn off during the wreck. You CAN see the "Marine's Dream" pinup quite clearly on the port cowl, though.
The discrepency is in the squadron information, the noseart placement, the vertical stab and lower outer wing panels (I'll probably use the star w/bars on the lower wing, as that's what most images show).
As far as the squadron, I'm seriously leaning towards VMF-214. There are dissenting sources, but the majority indicate Swashbucklers/Black Sheep.
Incidentally, I did some research on the Corgi die-cast miniatures, and the general impression I get is that they ARE pretty careful in their research.