Warbird Information Exchange

The nose art is coming along nicely. I was there Friday and got pics of it with the outlines all drawn in. I will go out tomorrow again to check on the progress. It is being hand painted, yet another step taken to ensure authenticity.

I, for one, also am a fan of it's new paint job. Plus, Bob Neale is from the Seattle area, why not honor a local hero? (forgive my spelling if it is incorrect... Responding via iPad is not my preferred method of posting.)

Tomahawk VIII by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
The artist was given photographs of the aircraft that were taken when it served so he could replicate the original as closely as possible.


301_stitch by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
Here you can see the aircraft from the back where the artist has also outlined where the "Adam & Eve" squadron insignia will go.


373 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
After several coats of white paint, the teeth and eyes are now done!


393 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
White paint dry, time to add color!! After continuing to reference vintage photographs, the painter has finalized how the tongue should look and begins applying the bright red paint.


394 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
More progress!


007 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
After missing a day of work, here is the finished shark mouth!


012 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
Working on the insignia right now, he has a copy of an original photograph to the left for reference.


087 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr
So far so good!


093 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr

Check back in Monday for the next update!

Gorgeous!

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WWAAAAYYY too clean and neat looking. They need to throw dirt all over it and chip off about 20% of the paint to start making it look like a "real" AVG bird!!!!

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All I did was press this red button here...

The paint had to be new and fresh at one point.

You thinkin' a little more like this?


FHC Fly Day 5-22 286 by fight2flyphoto, on Flickr

She's a looker! Thanks for posting some photos! Nice link on russian p-40 recovery, hadn't seen that webpage before.

Looks to be coming along nicely. I notice that the camo pattern on some parts doesn't match up with others (note the left horizontal stab filet.) I've seen photos of mismatched rudders on AVG aircraft..did the original #7 have other mismatched parts as well? The AVG planes were originally built for the Brits, but I don't know if Curtiss followed the early war Brit practice of painting every other plane on the line in a "mirror image" camo scheme..swapping parts between planes with different camo patterns would explain mismatches.

DISCLAIMER: this is not a complaint, and in no way meant to start a paint job flame war..I'm just legitimately curious.

It's cool that the sharkteeth and other markings are being painted by hand..just like the originals. Do they plan to use decals for the "Flying Tiger" emblem? Photos of some original AVG planes show the tiger surrounded by a dark background, because they were decals that were given a coat of varnish to seal them down.

SN

It was obviously done intentionally, and I'm willing to bet that you have it right! I know they are VERY particular as to how their airplanes are painted, and they use numerous photographs to replicate even the exact camouflage patterns, even hand-painting sections that would have been done on the field. I'll try to get back to you on the answer.

Weren't the Flying Tiger P-40's taken over second hand from the RAF in Burma? The brown and green on this don't look like the standard RAF colours though.

I think it looks great by the way. The shark moth suits the P-40C much more than on later models.

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Taken over from a RAF order - they were never delivered to the RAF.

From FHC website

"In 1998, Paul G. Allen began acquiring and preserving these iconic warriors and workhorses, many of which are the last of their kind. Allen's passion for aviation and history, and his awareness of the increasing rarity of original WWII aircraft, motivated him to restore these artifacts to the highest standard of authenticity and share them with the public".

Suppose they have a different interpretation to 'authenticity' than a few of us.

Oxford Dictionary.
1. of undisputed origin and not a copy

regards

MS

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'Coups De Foudre'
(511FS, 405FG watering hole), St Dizier, France 1944/45

Frankly, this P-40 looks amazing.
You cannot go wrong with matte finish

Keep in mind that every damaged or crashed airplane in the AVG became the parts bin for others, so if one had a faring with bulet holes in it, a servicable one from a wreck would probably be installed to keep the airplane in 'ready' status while the damaged part was patched or repaired and went into the parts bin and if the paint lines didn't match, so what? Look @ photos of in theatre applied invasion stripes vs. what turns up on a restored simular aircraft @ a modern day airshow, one laid out with a stick and a piece of chalk by a Private outside vs. being laid out by a custom painter using a laser line.

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Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-

If they aren't going to paint it in it's original combat colors, they're doing about as good a job as you could ever hope to have on painting it to represent another airplane. That much cannot be disputed. Thanks for the pics.

Yup, that's the plan indeed!




That horse is dead already. Lets move on.