Hey guys,
Working on Hasegawa’s P-40E kit. The aircraft has several lamps I’m not sure which color to paint the lenses, and I could swear that some are not just standard illumination lights and as such have different colors, but I could be wrong. There are two on the bottom wing surface, one closer to the front leading edge near the gear, the other farther back towards the fuselage centerline and the rear wing joint. There are also two on the fuselage sides, one on each side about at the location the pilots feet would be, and one on the left upper fuselage behind the pilots head, on that panel behind the left rear window panel. Can anyone tell me the purpose of each of these lamps and the proper color for them? I’ve checked out the 'net quite a bit to no avail, and I don’t have the money to buy a proper book on it.
Thanks for any help you could give,
Chris
Hi Chris,
Here’s what I was able to glean from the Detail and Scale book ‘P-40 Warhawk, Part II’ (an excellent reference book, by the way), and hopefully refers to the lights in question:
The one on the bottom near the leading edge is the landing light. It appears clear, although the housing itself seems to be metal so silver would work (this from a black and white photo).
The one on the bottom fuselage centerline is an identification light. As with the landing light, it appears clear although the housing is silver-colored.
The two on the fuselage sides are formation lights, blue on both sides.
The ‘light’ under the rear window panel is actually the landing gear warning horn, and looks silver-colored in the black and white photos I have.
Hope this helps,
Mark
I THOUGHT I had read somewhere that those fuselage lights were blue! Couldn’t for the life of me remember where though. I wonder why Hasegawa chose a clear part to put in the recess for the gear warning horn behind that window? At least, I think they call out a clear part for that. Huh.
Anyway, thanks for the help, Mark. I’m enlightened. I think on payday I’ll pick up that book if I can.
Chris
You’re welcome, Chris. Unfortunately, I picked up the book after I completed my Hasegawa P-40E, so didn’t paint those fuselage lights blue!
Mark