the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I talked to a 96yo gentleman by the name of Hal Jenson, a mechanic with the
57thFG/64thFS. I asked about the Pink P-40's. He promtley said "bull****"then he told me that indeed, the
aircraft(s) where NOT pink, they where actually a "light sand" colour. He also
said that the finish was not a true flat, but a very dull semigloss appearance.
He could not account for the Pink every now or then, other then the fact the either:

1. some pigment bled through the paint.
2. somehow the sunlight was the cause.
3. the crew on the carriers spayed a protective coating
on the P-40's.

thats enough for me and I went ahead and painted my P-40 to what he said they
should look like. Gentleman like that are an absoulute pleasure to talk with.</p>

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I believe the same although I am no expert. I am sure the pink was a weathered effect.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

There used to be a real P-40 flown by a Lady I think Sue Parrish that was painted pink. It was said that the color of th the WW2 planes appearing to be pink was caused by sun in the desert. THe last I heard is that her Plane is in a museum Indiana.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

You are absolutely correct. Unfortunately Sue Parish passed on this year. Here's a link to her lstory.

http://www.airzoo.org/page.php?page_id=111

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

You are very lucky to be able to talk to someone who was actually there! Our WWII veterans are rapidly passing away. God bless them! Anyway, I had always heard that the pink was from the tan paint weathering in the sun.

Once at my field I had the honor to talk with a Spitfire pilot from England. I had my Pica Spitfire out that day and flew it around for him. Unfortunately he and his son left just as I was landing and I didn't get to talk to him again. I never got to find out how a British pilot ended up living in Kentucky!

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I belong to the Commemorative Air Force, The Military Vehicle Preservation Association, the VFW and the American Legion. I talk to them, fly with them, and ride with them all the time.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I waa member of the CAF 1979 1989 and Maintence Officer GoldenTriangle Wing Beaumont, Texas. Had to stop because of back In jury. I met and got to talk to WW2 pilots.When I was with the Blue Angels I served with some of the Navy's great WW2 pilots. It was an honor to talk to these pilots.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

Not sure about P-40s but there is a definite provenance to desert theatre machinery being pink. For example the British Long Range Desert Group (later to become the SAS) had sand finished long wheelbase Land Rovers that had the nickname "Pink Panther". In addition, the sand colour that British Jaguars and Tornadoes were painted in for the Gulf War in '91 has a definite pinky hue - to the extent that the specialist model paint manufacturers actually refer to Gulf Pink in their product descriptions.

example:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...adoGR10002.jpg

I believe the pink hue in sand is a result of the silicates in the sand picking up and reflecting light.

cheers
Rick

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

fortunatly this isn't a gulf war 1 paint we're talking about here. mucho thanks for the info/theory though..
heres a pic that should put this two rest. was takiin in Tunsinia/43 I believe. notice its tan.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

My Grandfather flew P-40s with the 64th FS in Africa. He told me that the paint did indeed develop a very slight pinkish hue as it weathered in the sun. But it was slight, not ridiculously pink like Sue Parish's bird. And it was sort-of mottled, not uniform across the aircraft. The thing is: color is very subjective. For instance, it is known that people with light blue eyes are more sensitive to light, so colors probably looks a little different too. I think opinions differ on this pink debate, even amongst those who were there.

If you decide you want some pink, then I would recommend that after your base coat of tan is down, that you add mix just a little pink into your tan and apply to a few spots, rather like if you were doing german mottled camo. Then spray on your dark olive/brown camo blotches color over the mottled tan.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

great ideas you have there.. and I give my upmost thanks and respect for your Grandfather serving
with one of the most sucessful P-40 groups in all theaters.

Jays Overcash was just desert tan, so I'll definatley consider doing some very slight mixed pink
mottle here and there on my TF P-40. thanks for the pics btw... awesome to look at/ study from.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

Yeah - those ARE great photos, huh? It's awfully rare to find such nice war-time photographs of the subject you are modelling. When I found them, I had them printed them on photo paper and sent them to GPa. Wow... was he suprised!

When you get your bird built up, I'll be sure to send him some photos. He takes infinte delight in knowing that people today still recognize was he and his outfit accomplished some 65 years ago in the desert. [8D]

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: P-40K-5

fortunatly this isn't a gulf war 1 paint we're talking about here.

No, I realise that we're not talking Gulf War1 colours here - that was merely offered as an example of how sand theatre paint schemes have an association with pink.
Howeve, the reference to the Pink Panthers of the Long Range Desert Group is from WWII so totally contemporary with your P-40 concern - or did you miss that connection?

Anyways, always happy to offer a bit of theory here and there.

cheers!

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

actually, it has no relavance to my P-40 concern, as the RAF as far as I know never painted P-40's pink, or even a solid
desert sand. you've pointed out Britishvehicles painted pink, but no RAF P-40's painted likewise. so as far as that being
a connection to American P-40's.. then I must have missed your point . sorry.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

Oh never mind....all I was suggesting was that it is far from impossible that the P-40 may have been painted a hue that had a pinkish tinge to it since there are other, period and up-to-date, examples of equipment painted in such a fashion - nothing more.

Call me devil's advocate if you want.

Hope you bottom this issue. If I were you, I would just paint it as you see fit and the naysayers and rivet counters be damned!

Happy modelling!

cheers
Rick

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I agree . Its your plane .;)
Semper Fi
Joe

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

I totally agree. build it ones owns way. howeveron my birds Ilike detail.. more specifically, accurate detail.
and not wiki's or some so called "restored" P-40 detail. period correct photos, testimony from people who
were actually there, and tons and tons of research.

edit:
I should add that you guys here are also a very knowledgable and definatley know your stuff.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

in the first pic is a paint chip of the color I used, the second pic is that at certain angles,
notiable looking from the bottom up (pilots view point) theres a pink-ish hue.. interesting.

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

True.

RCU member 'The Mouth' can tell you all about it. Post #48 has the pics.
Sue Parrish did fly the actual airplane.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_94..._2/key_/tm.htm

RE: the Great Pink debate (or not)
 

yep she did fly one. but as far as it being an accurate representation of what flew in N.Africa.
not even close in color or otherwise.