Barracudacals 1/32 P-40 Decal Sheets
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Barracudacals continues to come out with some great new subjects for their decal line, and their latest 1/32 sheets offer up some markings for the Curtiss P-40. These are the first parts of two series, one on the P-40E and one on RAF Kittyhawks.
P-40E Warhawks Part 1, BC32006
This sheet provides markings for three P-40Es, designed for use on the new Hasegawa 1/32 kit. All three choices come from various points around the Pacific and Asia. Starting with the coldest one first, we have Yellow 49 from the 343rd FG based in the Aleutians. This aircraft has a large tiger's head on the cowling, making for a very striking aircraft. This motif is provided as a one-piece decal for each side, so be ready to work with a large decal in applying this one. In addition to the tiger's head, this plane has vertical white stripes, one on the rudder and one on the fuselage, and a yellow spinner.
The second option is White 85, George Preddy's “Tarheel” from the 9th FS, 49th FG out of Darwin, Australia. Preddy bailed out of this aircraft after a mid-air collision on a training mission. The overall scheme on this one is fairly mundane, with just a small white 85 on the tail and the name “Tarheel” on the port cowling. Well, mundane until you go to the right side, where there is a large dragon covering the cowling under the exhausts. A small secondary decal sheet provides the U.S. ARMY for the wing undersides (also used on Yellow 49).
The final option is Colonel Robert Scott's White 7 of the 23rd FG. This aircraft has the serial number painted out and roundels only on the wings. Of course, it has the classic sharkmouth (is there an aircraft more suited to a sharkmouth? I think not), and Scott's string of victories under the windscreen. The flying tiger emblem is on both sides of the fuselage.
P-40s of 112 Squadron RAF Part 1, BC32005
The second P-40 sheet from Barracudacals covers a trio of desert RAF aircraft: one Tomahawk Mk. IIb and two Kittyhawk Mk. Is. The basic markings are the same across all of these aircraft, and it is the subtle differences between each plane that makes them unique. Starting with the Tomahawk, this is P.O. Neville Duke's GA-F, serial AK402. It had the original camouflage of Dark Green, Dark Earth, and Light Gray, but for desert operations the Dark Green was painted over with Middlestone and the Light Gray with Azure Blue. The application of the Middlestone ran across the fuselage roundel, a common trait on all of these 112 Squadron aircraft. The serial was carefully masked around, and there was a gray patch on the rear fuselage.
The second scheme is Neville Duke's Kittyhawk Mk. I, GA-V, serial AK578. Like the above aircraft, this one had its original camouflage of Dark Green, Dark Earth, and Light Gray redone with Middlestone and Azure Blue. The serial was irregularly masked, and the sharkmouth (present on all these aircraft) is a more rounded shape, but with some really big teeth. As Duke shot down a Macchi C.200 in this plane, those teeth must have worked.
The final option is Kittyhawk Mk. I AK772, GA-Y “London Pride”. This one is a bit different from the other two with regards to the camouflage. While the original Dark Green was replaced with Middlestone (with the characteristic overspraying of the roundel), the undersides were painted in a much darker blue than the expected Azure Blue. Dark Mediterranean Blue is the general consensus, although some researchers believe it to be Deep Sky. This variation will definitely make for something a bit different on the shelf.
These two new decal sheets are beautifully printed by Cartograf and have excellent color density and register. There should be no problems in application. Additional to the individual markings, a set of stenciling will allow for the finishing of one model, with some extras for a second. With the new Hasegawa P-40E kit now available, these sheets are both timely and worthwhile. My thanks to Barracudacals for the review samples.