P-40 warhawk coral pinkish tan colour?

[PaulR]

Hi all,

am building Hasegawa's P40N warhawk, using the 'Geronimo' decals. This (I think) was based in the pacific, and is in a pinkish tan over grey scheme. Hasegawa has the top colour as an unspecified 'tan' but does anyone out there have a good out of the bottle match to this?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

Edited September 4, 2010 by PaulR

[Seahawk]

Hi all,

am building Hasegawa's P40N warhawk, using the 'Geronimo' decals. This (I think) was based in the pacific, and is in a pinkish tan over grey scheme. Hasegawa has the top colour as an unspecified 'tan' but does anyone out there have a good out of the bottle match to this?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

Think it's ANA 616 Sand, which has been matched to FS30279, as has RAF Desert Storm Pink. The latter is what I used (Xtracolor). Check your references: if rpt if Geronimo is from 45 FG, some aircraft of that unit were reportedly in overall sand: see photos on page 121 of "P-40 Hawks At War".

HTH

[billwinkes]

Hi all,

am building Hasegawa's P40N warhawk, using the 'Geronimo' decals. This (I think) was based in the pacific, and is in a pinkish tan over grey scheme. Hasegawa has the top colour as an unspecified 'tan' but does anyone out there have a good out of the bottle match to this?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

Paul

The color is ANA 616, a rather beige/tna color. It quickly faded/ weathered to a chalky pinkish tone.

Bill

[PaulR]

Cheers for the speedy response, chaps!

Much appreciated!

Paul

[English Electric]

I'm building the Smer P-40K at the moment in this scheme, and am using Humbrol 250 as a top-coat (desert sand pink) - looks the business when its dried and suitably weathered...

C

[Old VG 33]

Think it's ANA 616 Sand, which has been matched to FS30279, as has RAF Desert Storm Pink. The latter is what I used (Xtracolor). Check your references: if rpt if Geronimo is from 45 FG, some aircraft of that unit were reportedly in overall sand: see photos on page 121 of "P-40 Hawks At War".

HTH

There are some pictures of the 45FS/15FG tan P-40N-5 in "P-40 Warhawk Aces of the Pacific" And the colour seems the same above and under.

Patrick

[Don McIntyre]

I used Testors Flesh (in the small bottle) for my AMT P-40F, but I think it may be a little too pink…

[Matt Roberts]

I have heard that the color was an Corps of Engineers color and not an ANA color that was normal on aircraft. For the ones based on Canton Island I used Desert Storm Tan - the armor color. The ANA sand was most common in North Africa (and the B-24s in Alaska called the Pink Elephants). Even on the P-40s that have the 'RAF'-like camo I have used DS Tan as a replica of Middlestone with Vietnam era TAC Tan as the 'Dark Earth' close enough for USAAF North African airframes.

It's funny to think that the 'tan' is as bad as trying to get a handle on olive drab in all of it's many tones and faded glory.

[Seahawk]

I have heard that the color was an Corps of Engineers color and not an ANA color that was normal on aircraft. For the ones based on Canton Island I used Desert Storm Tan - the armor color. The ANA sand was most common in North Africa (and the B-24s in Alaska called the Pink Elephants). Even on the P-40s that have the 'RAF'-like camo I have used DS Tan as a replica of Middlestone with Vietnam era TAC Tan as the 'Dark Earth' close enough for USAAF North African airframes.

It's funny to think that the 'tan' is as bad as trying to get a handle on olive drab in all of it's many tones and faded glory.

Now you mention it, that rings a distant bell with me. If so, it would presumably be 306 Sand, which the David Klaus book matches to 30277. Despite being only a couple of numbers different, this loses most of the pink for a browner, more cafe-au-lait colour. US DS Tan, again according to Klaus, is FS 33446, which isn't in my FS595A set.

In the caption in "P-40 Hawks At War" Joe Christy and Jeff Ethell say: "The 45th FG's Warhawks were painted overall 'sand', very close to the 'sand' in the RAF 'sand and spinach' or, as one pilot described it to us, '... about the colour of good ol' Georgia red clay'." Which seems to leave either interpretation as a possibility. I've never been to Georgia.

[Matt Roberts]

One thing I try to do is look at the tonal differance in the B&W pictures. It's not a real accurate way of doing it but it does give me the impression that USAAF 'Mid-stone and Dark Earth' is a more 'faded' look than the actual RAF colors, hence DS Tan and TAC Tan. Now the B-25s does look 'darker' to my eye so that I use the ANA Sand color, I also have used it on 57th FG P-40s that flew with the Desert Airforce on the push westward from El Alamein.

Honestly I don't know if it is 'right' or not but it does look closer to the B&W pics scattered through out my library.

[Steven Eisenman]

Yep Army Corp of Engineer sand. It was also used on the P-39s in the SWP.

The Sand color used on aircraft was very unstable and turned the classic Tittie Pink. The Engineer sand seemed to be a bit more stable.

Also remember the P-40Fs in North Africa had the sand applied over OD. So the base color was dark, which could make the sand a bit darker. They were also painted in the US before being put aboard the carriers. The SWP P-40s were painted in the field.

A P-40K.

[Mike Starmer]

The 'desert pink' surely is in Bullitin 41 as No.49. This is a darker and stronger red than FS30297 . In fact the Humbrol colour 250 is just a fraction too dark but nearer than anything else that I have seen at shows.

[Nick Millman]

Is there any evidence for the Army Corp of Engineer Sand or is it just speculation?

The P-40N's were painted the same as the P-39Qs of the 46th. The earlier P-39Ds were not re-painted and the OD upper surfaces had faded to a colour described as "approximating a dirty Nile Green". When 25 P-39Qs were delivered to Canton Island to replace the older Ds in August 1943, they were gradually re-painted because the OD "stood out too well against the treeless, white coral of Canton". 1st Lt Ben C Warren, the Squadron Engineering Officer described the re-painting thus:-

"We gave them a coral sand sort of coating on the top and painted the underside sky blue. Looking up you could barely see them against the sky".

John W Lambert described this colour as being similar to "desert pink". However photographs show very little contrast between the top surface and under surface suggesting the colour was quite light and bright. In discussions and on models/art the sky blue undersurfaces are often missed and neutral grey presumed instead. You can Google Kanton Island, Canton Island, Abariringa Island, Mary Island, Mary Balcout's Island or Swallow Island (all alternative names) to see colour photos of the coral sand colour. The island is now part of the Republic of Kiribati.

Incidentally the P-39Qs used the 150 Gal "bathtub" belly tank on ops, pioneering long range sorties with it, and the tank was retained during combat. It was not popular and adversely affected handling characteristics, causing some landing accidents.

Nick