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This new decal
sheet from Cutting
Edge Modelworks includes markings for four different 1/48 P-40CU and H81A-2
Tomahawks. The recommended kits for these decals is the 1/48 Hobbycraft
P-40B/C or the Monogram P-40B.
The American Volunteer Group or
"Flying Tigers" is a story that will live in legend forever.
These American pilots hired by the Chinese were an impressive disruption to the
Japanese as they fought against the Chinese prior to Dec 7 1941. It is a
very big story....too big to go into here.
The first aircraft is a Hawk
81A-2 P-8133 flown by Tom Haywood of 3rd Pursuit Squadron with the AVG. This
plane is white "49" and the white numbers P-8133 on the tail with a
red band around the rear of the fuselage. This plane is painted in RAF
dark Earth and Dark Green on top and either Light Gray or Sky on the
underside. For markings this plane has the customary AVG sharks mouth and
3 other pieces of artwork. P-8133 was originally flown by Frank Swartz,
but after his death was flown by Tom Haywood. Haywood, a former USMC
pilot, had the USMC bulldog applied to both sides of his fuselage. The
remnants of an earlier 'flying tiger' decal remain on the port side only, and a
freshly applied decal was applied just aft of this on both sides. The
second decal, the bulldog, and Haywood's name in front of the cockpit appear to
have been applied over a fresh coat of dark Green. The area around the
first 'flying tiger' decal still shows where varnish had been applied to the
original decal in an attempt to keep it from peeling off during flight.
This aircraft has Chinese national insignia.
The
second aircraft is a Hawk 81A-2 P-8134 flown by Tex Hill of 2nd Pursuit Squadron
with the AVG. This plane is white "48"and the white numbers P-8133 on
the tail with a blue band around the rear of the fuselage. This aircraft is
painted in RAF dark Earth and Dark Green on top and either Light Gray or Sky on
the underside. For markings this plane has the customary AVG sharks mouth
and one other piece of artwork. P-8134 had a Panda Bear in cowboy attire
applied to the left side of the fuselage. Tex Hill approved the artwork of
the decals for his plane. This aircraft has Chinese national insignia.
The third aircraft is a Hawk
81A-2 P-8178 flown by Charles Bond of 1st Pursuit Squadron with the AVG. This
plane is white "5"and the white numbers P-8178 on the tail with a
white band around the rear of the fuselage. This aircraft is painted in RAF dark
Earth and Dark Green on top and either Light Gray or Sky on the underside.
For markings this plane has the customary AVG sharks mouth and one other piece
of artwork. The artwork is what appears to be "Adam and Eve"
white stick people painted over a large green apple with a snake wrapped around
the apple. Kill markings are also included. Thankfully these small
Japanese flags kill markings are printed as 2 separate decals to ensure perfect
registration. This aircraft has Chinese national insignia.
The fourth aircraft is a P-40CU
with the 35th PS, 8th Pursuit Group out of Mitchell Field, NY in
1941. This plane has the yellow numbers 548P on the tail. This aircraft is
painted in Olive Drab with neutral Gray on the underside. The spinner and
engine cowling band are in insignia yellow. The artwork is what appears to
be a black panther lying down inside a white circle. The plane has US
national insignias and a red and white striped rudder. On the underside of
the wings are the words in big text "US Army".
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.
A very special bonus is you get
extra Chinese Nation insignia. this Chinese markings often faded in the
intense Chinese sun so faded and non-faded Chinese national insignia are
included.
Also worth noting.....the AVG
aircraft had fairly complicated camo patterns. The camo had a sharp edge
as it was painted on using the rubber mask technique used by the British.
Black Magic has pre-cut paint masking sets available for the RAF/AVG Tomahawks
(CEBM48153 for the 1/48 Hobbycraft kit or CEBM48154 for the 1/48 Monogram
kit). These are both available from Meteor
Productions.
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