And in other P-40B/C news, the Flying Heritage Collection's P-40C was recently repainted. It had been finished in "movie paint" since its restoration was completed back in 2003, which was made up of a wax-based solution, which was never intended to last on the aircraft, though after FHC purchased the aircraft, they never got around to putting some
real paint on it.
Following FHC's strict adherence to accuracy and authenticy, the scheme chosen, that of A.V.G. pilot Bob Neale's personal mount (a Seattle local, if I recall), was reproduced in exacting detail, down to using reproduced rubber mats and the exact paint and camo-pattern type that Curtiss used for painting RAF-marked P-40's, of which the P-40's that the A.V.G. used, were manufactured for. The interesting aspect, is that the paint that Curtiss used for RAF schemes, wasn't exactly the same as the paint that was used on RAF planes in England - close, but not quite - and FHC was able to reproduce the exact paint that Curtiss used, and that would have been present on A.V.G. P-40's. The aircraft also becomes the only early P-40 flying today, of the same type that was flown while the A.V.G. was the original A.V.G., and painted in the most accurate of markings carried by the early-model P-40's during that time.
You can see some excellent photos of the paint-work progressing, by paging through the photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fight2flyphoto/6244552073/in/photostream/
Another interesting detail, is note how the camo-paint does not always line up between rudder and vertical fin, or between the fairings. The paint that was applied to the fairings, was applied when the fairings were not yet fitted, so when assembled, the camo didn't usually line up perfectly. Also, as the aircraft were painted for RAF use, the camo-paint was intended to have a RAF tail fin flash applied, which when done so, the tail fin-to-rudder camo lines would have actually appeared to line up (some where under the RAF tail flash, even though they did not). Also in the rubber mats, were cut-outs for the RAF roundels on the wings, which you can see on A.V.G. P-40's, and on the reproduced scheme, as the Chinese Nationalist insignias were not applied in the exact spots provided for the RAF roundels.