P-40E/K colour scheme options

[Mark Joyce]

1 hour ago, Blimpyboy said:

FCM sheet 48022 has a British camouflaged E in US service, as well as a K in a fetching blue scheme.

 

https://modelingmadness.com/scott/decals/fcm/48/fcm48022.htm

There appear to be some issues with FCM's sheet.  As Seawinder already pointed out, "Jinx" was likely faded OD and not the blue shown on the sheet.  Also, it's unlikely that "Typhoon McGoon" had a white tail empennage; all the photos I've looked at indicate that the white didn't appear on 49th FG P-40s until the "K" models came into usage, and even then it wasn't commonly applied until the "N" models came on the scene.

 

Another case of decal makers basing their markings on artistic profiles instead of photographs and evidence.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Blimpyboy]

6 hours ago, Mark Joyce said:

Another case of decal makers basing their markings on artistic profiles instead of photographs and evidence.

Hmmmm,

 

It’s getting so’s a chap can’t trust these profiles...

 

That’ll teach me for not reading through all the posts properly. 😓

[Buz]

On 9/4/2020 at 12:07 AM, Mark Joyce said:

There appear to be some issues with FCM's sheet.  As Seawinder already pointed out, "Jinx" was likely faded OD and not the blue shown on the sheet.  Also, it's unlikely that "Typhoon McGoon" had a white tail empennage; all the photos I've looked at indicate that the white didn't appear on 49th FG P-40s until the "K" models came into usage, and even then it wasn't commonly applied until the "N" models came on the scene.

 

Another case of decal makers basing their markings on artistic profiles instead of photographs and evidence.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Mark

 

100% correct with Typhoon McGoon...........she had a white tail as she was actually a K model not an E (ah bless, love some decal makers - but they do get you thinking and researching).........Jinx 100% faded and oxidized Olive drab..........and colour  film that wasn't all that stable for long term preservation all lead to people calling it blue.

 

Buz

[Mark Joyce]

7 hours ago, Buz said:

Mark

 

100% correct with Typhoon McGoon...........she had a white tail as she was actually a K model not an E (ah bless, love some decal makers - but they do get you thinking and researching).........Jinx 100% faded and oxidized Olive drab..........and colour  film that wasn't all that stable for long term preservation all lead to people calling it blue.

 

Buz

Well, I'll be!  I still learn something new everyday.  All I can say is that I checked all my books and resources and couldn't find a photo of the nose art for "Typhoon McGoon," so as it has been listed as an "E" model likely had no white tail.  Do you know of any good photos of the plane, Buz?

 

Apparently FCM still didn't do too much thinking and researching, since the decal sheet shows "Typhoon McGoon" as an "E" model!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Edited September 6, 2020 by Mark Joyce

[Hornet133]

Mark, I assume Buz will have sent you images to show you what 'Typhoon McGoon' looked like, but just in case I will attach some I had. They may interest someone else anyway.

 

First off the nose art. I am surprised you did not find the 1st one as it has been in several books, being an official USAAF photo. I am not sure of the source for the 2nd, it looks like an official photo but maybe not. This IS the same airframe but interestingly the Nose # has been repainted between the two photos, and the name added.

 

Buz said it had a White tail, that may be correct if the airframe was still in existence after Sep 1943 (Buz would know but I don't have that information), but originally it did not. The 3rd photo is from movie film taken at Port Moresby in early 1943, and this still shows no White tail.

 

Maybe Buz was thinking of it's replacement when he said White tail as there was a 'Typhoon McGoon II' as per the fourth photo.

 

Steve Mackenzie

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by Hornet133
re-order images

[Mark Joyce]

26 minutes ago, Hornet133 said:

Mark, I assume Buz will have sent you images to show you what 'Typhoon McGoon' looked like, but just in case I will attach some I had. They may interest someone else anyway.

 

First off the nose art. I am surprised you did not find this as it has been in several books, being an official USAAF photo 

Thanks for posting both, Steve. Actually, I don't recall seeing either before.  I had perused my books on the 49th FG and found a different one, also showing the nose art.  As with these, the P-40 has the 'fish-tail' exhausts that I normally associate with a 'K' (or late model 'E', having the same extension on the tail), although I've been told to not put too much emphasis on using that feature for a definite determination since the exhausts are easily replaced/exchanged.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any photos showing the tail area of "Typhoon McGoon."

 

Edit: I think I posted while you were editing, so thanks for the additional photos and information.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Edited September 8, 2020 by Mark Joyce

[robstopper]

I have finally tracked down and decided on a subject!

 

I'd wanted to do the Merlin-engined P-40F/L, but I could only find a P-40E/K in 1/48 scale, so I tried to find examples of that model with the colour scheme I wanted to do.

 

After a bit of digging around, I came across this one, known as the Desert Shark, built by Fagen Fighters.

 

http://www.fagenfighterswwiimuseum.org/aircraft/desertshark/desertshark.html

 

http://courtesyaircraft.com/aircraft/n4420k-curtiss-wright-p-40e/

 

It's got all the attributes I wanted -

 

Desert camo? Check!

Shark Mouth? Check!

USAAF markings? Check!

 

Now, the only proviso is that it's not, as far as I can tell, a totally authentic WW2 combination. It's a P-40E, which has been painted to represent an aircraft from the 325th FG, (and I think possibly the 317th FS from that group), and as far as I can tell, they only operated the P-40F and L models.

 

So, whilst it's maybe not 100% historically accurate, it WILL portray an actual, physical aircraft and won't just be a flight of fancy on my part

 

[warhawk]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:35 AM, Blimpyboy said:

From https://thejivebombers.com/2020/01/20/pursuit-ships-during-the-1941-louisiana-maneuvers/ (caption reads: Bearing the light blue markings of the “friendly forces” during the maneuvers, this P-40 of Hamilton Field’s 77th Pursuit Squadron readies for another mission against the bad guys of the red force.)

 

Another one of those early models with flush gun ports, where You can't really tell if that's tape over them or something else... 🤔

 

Edited December 6, 2020 by warhawk

[robstopper]

So, after a bit of deliberation, and procrastinating, I did in the end go for the Fagen Fighters example as inspiration. Its a bit of a hybrid, as its not a genuine WW2 scheme, so it would never look as weathered as I've made it, but it's the look I was after, so heavy artistic license has been applied, even tho it's a "real" aircraft.

 

 

Edited February 3, 2021 by robstopper
Duplicated text

[Mark Joyce]

Genuine or not, you did a stellar job on the build.  Well done!

[robstopper]

thanks Mark, kind of you to say. It's not as good as many on here would achieve, but I'm happy with it.

[robstopper]

Another couple of shots