1/48 Hasegawa P-39Q and AMT P-40N

Gallery Article by John Doerr on Sept 23 2009

 

P-39 and P-40 of the 15th Fighter Group

I got fascinated by the 15th Fighter group from reading about them on the forums.  They were based in Hawaii in WW II but frequently deployed to other bases in the Pacific.  In the summer and fall of 1943 they were deployed to the central Pacific.  Their new bases were on coral islands so the aircraft were painted "coral" with a custom mix of light blue undersides.  

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From what I have been able to determine the P-40s of the 45th FS were painted a very light pink coral with a mic of insignia blue and whit undersides, very close to the RAF Azure blue in color.  The AMT P-40N kit was used.  The fit was good.  While not as detailed as the Hasegawa kit the build was not as finicky and still looks OK.  The Hasegawa P-39Q kit was used for the 46th FS build.  They were painted a darker coral with a much lighter blue on the undersides

I can only wonder about the usefulness of the coral paint scheme when parked on white surfaces or flying over the blue Pacific.  On both build I had painted the tank neutral gray on the assumption that the tanks would have come from supply and not been custom painted.  On the other hand, we both know what happens when you assume...........

John Doerr

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Photos and text © by John Doerr