Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

Eagle Strike's 1/48 scale Birds of Prey Pt. 2 are available online from Squadron.com

Eagle Strike 48-148 is the second of two new sheets covering the Curtiss P-40 family. 

Part two also provides full markings for four machines but this time, each option is a different mark of the P-40.  The individual aircraft are as follows. 

P-40E 'DOTTIE II" of the 8th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group based at Dobodura, New Guinea in April of 1944.  The machine is in the U.S. equivalents of RAF dark green, dark earth and sky grey.  The spinner is yellow and the forward and lower portions of the engine cowling and forward fuselage are red.  The use of red paint also extends to the undercarriage fairing.  The supplied markings comprise:

• The name "DOTTIE II" in yellow

• 49 plane-in-squadron number in yellow for the cowling and the fin.

• Red and yellow "ying and yang " designs for the wheel covers

• A complete set of national insignia.

P-40K-1 of the 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group at Hani main, Tunisia in May of 1942.  The aircraft is in sand upper surfaces with neutral grey under surfaces a sports a red spinner.  The supplied markings comprise: 

• White (with a thin black outline) 13 plane-in-squadron number for the fuselage

• Nose art (both sides) comprised of a black scorpion on a white background

• "Kill" markings consisting of five swastikas on white circle backgrounds.  This marking is a two-part decal with the swastikas being applied over the top of the white circles.

• Further artwork of a white skull for the left fuselage side

• U.S. ARMY titles for the lower surfaces of the wings

• Red, white and blue fin flashes

• A full set of national insignia

P-40L 42-10658 "SPIKE" flown by Colonel W. Moyer, the Commanding Officer of the 33rd Fighter Group, Peastrum, Italy in 1943.  The machine is in olive drab upper surfaces and neutral grey lower surfaces.  The supplied markings comprise: 

• Nose art consisting of the silhouette of a white nail with the word "SPIKE' in black for the left hand side of the nose

• The serial number in yellow for the fin and rudder.  This decal also incorporates a yellow diagonal stripe

• A set of yellow theatre bands for the wings.  There are also a set of separate thin black bands supplied for this option.  No mention is made of them on the placement guide but my bet is that they are for the edges of the theatre bands

• "Kill" markings comprising of eight yellow Swastikas

• Red, white and blue segmented markings for the wheel covers

• A complete set of faded national insignia

• The data block stencil

P-40N-5CU 42-105405 "O'Riley's Daughter" flown by First Lieutenant Jack A. Fenimore of the 7th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group.  The machine is finished in olive drab over neutral.  The spinner is medium blue with a white stripe.  The use of blue extends to the lip to the intake cowling and a stripe across the fin and rudder.  It also wears white empennage and wing leading edge theatre markings.  The supplied markings comprise: 

• The white stripe for the spinner

• Nose art consisting of a naked woman and a bar with three liquor bottles and a glass on a yellow background with the words "O'Riley's Daughter" in white

• White 28 plane-in-squadron number for the nose

• 7th Fighter Squadron shield for the left hand side of the fuselage beneath the cockpit.  Three separate decals are supplied for this marking.  The first one is an one-piece decal that incorporates the shield and a white rectangular background whilst the second one has a separate white background to avoid any register problems (none on my sample)

• The blue stripe for the fin and rudder.  Unfortunately, this stripe incorporates the serial number which means that you will have to mix your paint to match this decal when you paint the spinner and intake lips

• A single Japanese rising sun flag "kill" marking.  Again, this is supplied as a single marking as well as two separate decals to avoid register problems

• Pilot's name in white for the fuselage side beneath the windscreen

• A full set of national insignia.

• The data block stencil

The sheet also includes two comprehensive sets of stencil data. 

The placement guide is the industry standard A-4 sized sheet and it shows left hand side colour profiles of each option on the front and smaller upper and lower surface plan views of each option on the back.  There is also a four-view line drawing of a P-40N showing placement of the stencil data.  As with Part 1, the placement guide carries a short discourse on the likely colours worn by these machines and refers the modeller to the book "Sam's Combat Colors #3" by H.C. Bridgewater for a fuller explanation. 

The decals themselves have been "printed in Italy".  Everything is sharp and clear and in perfect register with an absolute minimum of film surrounding each design. 

The decal sheet and placement guide come packed in a clear plastic zip-loc bag. 

Again, this is an excellent sheet as far as I'm concerned.  It is value for money as it provides full markings for four different machines in a variety of finishes. 

Recommended.

Thanks to AeroMaster / Eagle Strike Products for the review sets

On-line sales are available from the AeroMaster Products / Eagle Strike Productions web site.
 

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2004 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 25 October, 2004
Last updated 26 October, 2004

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