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Tally Ho! 1/72 Curtiss P-40 Part II

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

If P-40s are your cup of tea this is a sheet you'll want to pick up, especially with the new releases by Pavla and AML of early P-40s.  There's a total of five choices on this sheet, three of which are early P-40s (or Tomahawks), while the other two are P-40Es.  You get two Soviet, one AVG, one US and one South African, with complete national markings and a full set of stencilling.

The first Soviet example is a Tomahawk Mk. IIb of `47IAP, flown by A. S. Chlobystov out of Murmansk, winter 1941-41.  It's got a temporary white camouflage over the original dark green and dark earth over sky scheme.  A large white 58 is on the fuselage and there's a string of eight victories to go under the rear windows.  This is provided with either white star outlines on a red bar or red stars on a white bar.  The second Soviet example is a P-40E flown by G.V. Gromov in 1944.  Painted in dark green and dark earth over medium sea gray, it has had its tail repainted in AMT-1 brown and AMT-4 green.  The patch under the string of victory stars is also painted AMT-4, adding a bit of interesting contrast.  A  large number 70 is on the fuselage side.

The AVG example is Gil Bright's mount featuring a panda bear on the fuselage side.  Camouflage is listed as dark earth and dark green over sky, with Chinese Nationalist roundels on the wings and a blue band around the rear fuselage.  The standard AVG sharkmouth is also included on the decal sheet, as is the white #38 for the fuselage side.  There are two styles of panda bears for the opposite side for you to choose from (one facing forward and one facing aft).

The US example is a P-40E of the 7th FS, 49th FG flown by Lt. Clyde V. Kinsley in the Southwest Pacific in 1943.  This plane also is finished in dark green and dark earth, with medium sea gray undersurfaces.  The tail is all white, and the spinner is blue with a white stripe.  On the nose is some caricature artwork of a pilot cat labeled Typhoon McCoon.

The final example is a Tomahawk Mk. IIa flown by F/O Aitken of the 2nd Squadron, South African Air Force, in Libya at the end of 1941.  It's finished in the standard desert scheme of middlestone and dark earth over azure blue.  South African AF roundels are in the usual position, and on the nose is a large emblem featuring a cheetah centered on a large winged circle.

This sheet is a welcome one, all the more so since it includes a complete set of roundels for all the planes.  The full set of stencilling for one aircraft is a nice addition, making this a great set for P-40 fans.