Thanks Terry, Karl, CR, Wayne, and Andy
Pic 1
Here you can see Bluey clowning with the other pilots in front of the dispersal tent. Through the trees and closest to the tent is his ship A29-142 parked close by in case of scramble. Benefits of being a CO - you don't have to run as far!
For many years it was thought that no photo existed showing the complete codes A29-142 wore, and profiles were based perhaps on this photo showing only part of the "ID" codes.
Pic 2 3
These two profiles have appeared in an IMPS newsletter and a Kagero publication. Basically correct, I will be making a couple of changes though. A29-142 was delivered in Curtiss factory lend lease colours. DuPont 71-009 "Brown" and DuPont 71-013 for the top surfaces and DuPont 71-021 for the underneath surfaces. When assembled in Australia the underneath was resprayed RAAF Sky Blue and the US markings over sprayed. A complete re-spray underneath was warranted to remove the "U.S. ARMY" in large letters, but on the top surfaces the stars were over sprayed with what appears to be RAAF Earth Brown. I've been using a reference called "P-40 Camouflage Special" by Ian K. Baker that goes through the changes that were made.
Pic 4
Here a photo courtesy of the "Aviation Heritage Museum of WA" which has a better view of 142, including the style of codes that it wore. Standing along side is the "owner".
Pic 5
Canopy and side windows successfully installed, and not without a few nervous moments. The side windows need the up most care to get them cleanly off the sprue without mishap. Job done, whew!
Pic 6
First step is to cover the canopy in interior green.
Pic 7
I'll start on the upper surfaces first for this one. First is the Brown.
Pic 8
I'm going to fade the paint on this one quite a lot. Somehow the fabric control surfaces always seemed to fade quicker, so I did a quick mask and added more white to the DuPont Brown. Here's how it turned out. When I fade the overall paint, it won't look so starkly different. Rudder was also done, although you can;t see it in the photo.