This new decal
sheet from Cutting
Edge Modelworks includes markings for four different 1/48 P-40E's M's &
N's. The recommended kits for these decals is the 1/48 AMT P-40N and
AMTech P-40E. The four P-40's features in this sheet are from the CBI or
China/India/Burma theater of operations during WW2.
The first aircraft is a P-40M
flown by Capt. Paul Royer of the 25th FS, 51st FG out of Yunnanyi, China in
1944. This particular has a Tiger mouth on the lower sides of the
nose. This Tiger mouth is quite different from a sharks mouth in
appearance. Directly behind the Tigers mouth is the text "Miss
Julie". This aircraft has 3 Japanese kill markings and the national
insignia are American. The paint scheme is Olive Drab on top and Neutral
Gray on the underside. There is some Medium green around the edges of the
tail/rudder. The prop spinner cone is white and there is a diagonal white
band on the rear part of the fuselage. An extra set of kill markings has
been included for the right side, but it is not sure if they were on the actual
aircraft. The serial numbers on the tail were applied over a fresh coat of
Olive drab which isn't as faded as the rest of the aircraft. On the tail
is the white serial number 214.
|
The
second aircraft is a P-40E flown by Maj. Ed Rector, CO 76th FS, 23FG out of
Kweilin, China in 1942. This appears to be an ex-AVG Flying Tigers
aircraft. The Chinese national insignia are painted over (these are dark
green circles and provided as decals). The upper surfaces are a British
camo pattern of Dark Earth and Dark Green and Sky Type S or Pastel Blue on the
underside. This plane sports a classic Sharks mouth as well as 5 Japanese
kill markings....extra kill markings are provided in decal form for the right
side, but it is not believed this plane had kill markings on the right side as
well. On the side of the fuselage behind the cockpit is the classic flying
Tiger artwork that was used by the AVG Flying Tigers. On the fuselage is
the white serial number 104.
The third aircraft is a P-40N-15
42-106238 flown by 1st Lt. Carl Hardy of the 16th FS, 51st FG in China in
1944. This particular has a Sharks mouth on the lower sides of the
nose. Directly behind the Sharks mouth is the white text "KLAWIN
KITTEN". This aircraft has 1 Japanese kill marking and the national
insignia are American. The paint scheme is Olive Drab on top and Neutral
Gray on the underside. There is some Medium green around the edges of the
tail/rudder. The prop spinner cone is white. An extra set of kill
markings has been included for the right side, but it is not sure if they were
on the actual aircraft. On the tail is the white serial number 367.
The fourth aircraft is a P-40N-5
flown by Capt. Wang Kuang Fu of the CACW 7th FS, 3rd FG in China in
1945. This particular has a very aggressive looking Sharks mouth on the
lower sides of the nose. Directly above the Sharks mouth is red text in
Chinese which reads 'Tai Gong Jin' in Chinese.....the first two characters are
'Tai Gong' and can be considered to have the meaning of "an experienced sophisticated
and farsighted great-grandfather". The last Chinese character is
'Jin' which means "present day" in Chinese. The paint scheme is Olive Drab on top and Neutral Gray on the
underside. There is some Medium green around the edges of the tail and the
rudder has blue and white stripes. On the tail is the white serial number 663
and on the side of the fuselage is the capital letter "I" and the
number "3". This plane wears Chinese national insignia.
The decals were flawlessly printed and the clear
carrier film is trimmed very close to the crisply printed colored areas.
The colours look good and will cover very well. The artwork is interesting
to say the least.
|