i’m about ready to paint trumps 1/32 p-40. i have cutting edge decals for tommy haywoods plane. the decals give ref. to dupont colors. what are the fs#s? i use model master enamels. also in some refs. i see his plane with the #49 and some #94, which is it? thank you!
My source:
http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/f/375/10/1/21
I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in recreating a color scheme exactly… When you scale down an aircraft, you need to scale down the paint, IMHO…
i know about that. i would like to be close at least. i get conflicting pictures , one will be real light, almost toy looking, and another will be darker like r.a.f. colors. normally i paint whatever i feel like doing(it is a HOBBY), but this one is a gift.
For one thing, those planes were rode hard and heavily weathered. The actual AVG was only in combat for 6 months before the USAAC absorbed them(and most of the original pilots left), but during that time, they were almost constantly in action and the planes absorbed a lot of battle damage and rough treatment. (One reporter supposedly asked a pilot why they never did victory rolls over the field, the flyer responded that they were afraid the wings might fall off if they did.)
My point to this being that if you really weather it, it would be almost impossible to tell what the original color could have been, and that amount of paint wear would be historically accurate.
As far as the original colors, they should have been US colors already on hand that were close to the British scheme. For example, the bellies were almost surely the standard neutral gray of USAAC during that period. I have a few books at home with AVG schemes documented, I’ll check later see if any indicate FS numbers.
i do plan to beat the hell out this one. she’s gonna be nasty! but a good foundation is in order. i appreciate any help with thoe #s. thanks
Were these not the Dupont paints that they used for lend lease aircraft? The colors are not the same as the RAF standards. I do believe that the grey was close to neutral grey.
Mike T.
Well said. From the pile of books on the AVG I’ve read, that’s quite accurate.
I build mine time ago, using british green and earth colors upper side and neutral gray in the belly, overall sprayed with thinned gray to fade it out and a LOT of weathering at the end the dark earth looked more like a khaki color. I thought I just screw it out but I leave it just like that anyways, but since my little cousing shot it down just before I get my force shield… i mean… my showcase, it give me the chance to build it again, correctlly. This is a very interesting topic, since I want to build it again I want to know too more about this very awesome historic subject.
Fermis, you say you’re building the kit as a gift. Is the giftee knowledgeable on the subject, or someone who just fancies an AVG P-40? If the latter, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. 99% of the people I know wouldn’t know a P-40 from a B-29.
OK, my reference here is Osprey’s “American Volunteer Group Colors and Markings” by Terrill Clements. This is an excellent book with detailed color illustrations of many, specific aircraft and many photographs. There’s a lot about the squadrons, people and some cool stories too. I highly recommend it.
Quoted from the book:
"Since the AVG Tomohawks were taken from production lines working on a British contract, it has been widely assumed that Curtiss painted them in exact matches of the Dark Earth, Dark Green, and Sky colours in use on RAF fighters in 1940-41. In fact it is now clear that Curtiss - and other manufacturers as well - were not so fastidious, and instead typically used paints from their current suppliers that were close matches for the colours specified by foreign customers. Most paints were likely based on current US military standards.
Curtiss employed DuPont enamel camouflage paints on its products in 1940-41, and this included the brown and green colours used on the pattern camouflage of the Tomohawks shipped to Burma. TheDark Brown colour (DuPont 71-065) appears to have been virtually identical to Army Air Corps colour Rust Brown 34, while DuPont Dark Green (DuPont 71-013) was virtually identical to Army Air Corps Dark Green 30. Whether they were those specific colours is uncertain, but they are certainly indistinguishable from them, and are ‘close enough’ to the green and brown in use by the RAF."
One other important point I see noted is that Curtis used large rubber mats as masks when painting the camo, similar to the British practice. This would give you a hard demarcation line, so no freehand camo on these birds. Use a mask, or make your own with Silly Putty, Poster Tack, or whatever.
The book also notes in a few places that the aircraft were not all exactly the same. Some aircraft had more ‘vivid’ camouflage than others. There was also a lot of repainting in the field using whatever the workers could scrounge. After a while, the colors were not consistent across the whole aircraft. It is also mentioned quite a few times that the aircraft and their finishes were extremely worn.
Fermis, if you give me the specific aircraft number that you plan to model, I might be able to give you more details about it. Feel free to PM or email me.
Oh, I just noticed this in your first post.
Tom Haywood’s plane is #49 (CAF serial# P-8133), assigned to 3rd Squadron, Kunming, China, May-June 1942. This aircraft was originally assigned to Frank Swartz of the 2nd Squadron. The eyes have red pupils with a light colored center (blue or pink, its not clear). The fuselage band was repainted red for 3rd Squadron. There is a blue ‘V’ around the tiger emblem. Pilot inscription is: PILOT/T.C. HAYWOOD. Wheel covers are light gray. There is a horned bulldog applied to both sides just below and forward of the cockpit. There was no Hell’s Angels character added, but on the starboard side the aircraft retained a panda character orating from a soapbox, left over from when it was Frank Swartz aircraft.
thanks a lot for the info. my refs. are limited. i was wondering about that hub cover as well. i’ll beat her up enough to tell at one time it was green and tan/brown. thanks again guys!!!