P-400/Airacobra Mk.1 in winter

[66misos]

Hi,
I started colorizing this picture:

As far as I know photo shows former RAF Airacobras Mk.1 in Vaenga airport.

This should be instruction sheet from AZ Model (found at internet):


My colors so far - yellow number over white (or alluminium/silver) surface - usuall appearance I found at the internet:


Colors are not definitive, just to get overall impression.

I found pictures at the internet where outer half of the wing is Olive Green (RAF???) or red. IMHO, the whole wing is one quite relective color. The bright area is the reflection of the shining fuselage on the wing and also on the fin. And the darker area is reflection of the cloudy sky.
Note solid "shadow" on the left part of the second digit of the board number. It does not look like "5". Plus I miss there horizontal "shadow" in the middle like on the "9". That second digit looks more like "6", similar to "60" on the next plane.

Regards,
  66misos

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Misos,
interesting work.
I agree that the disuniformity of the wing is due to a reflection from the fuselage. Something similar can be seen on the stabilizer.
A wavy line separes the shiny uppersurface from the undersurface, probably still in neutral grey.
On the whole, the use of silver as winter camo looks credible on these planes.
The star on the tail seems roughly oversprayed with the inter paint. The blending zone should be less saturated.
I've doubts about the yellow number. Silver or white looks more likely, it would justify the shadowing. Other planes seem to have red numbers, without shadowing.
The instructions of the AZ sheet have a wrong shape of the numbers, too small and too back stars and don't put into evidence the wavy division line.
Regards
Massimo

[66misos]

Hi,
a little update today:



Regards,
    66misos

[Massimo Tessitori]

Hi Misos,
I think to see a very weak '60 or 63 behind the star of the second plane. Probably there was some number under the winter layer.
I think you should desaturate the transition part where the winter paint blends on the star on the tail.
The cyan dominant of the background is too uniform, I would turn the sky to a more violet shade.
Regards
Massimo

[66misos]

Hi,
another update.
Massimo, I do not see there any numbers. Probably you have better eyes.
There are quite long shadows on the ground, time closing to sunset. So clouds are more violet, or less cyan, made according to the "cloudy sky" pictures on the web.

Regards,
   66misos

[66misos]

Hi, I cleaned sky in the picture above. Hope picture could be finished.
Caption could be: "P-39D/P-400, 2 gsap, winter 1942/43. Ex-RAF P-400s or P-39Ds photographed at the Vaenga airport. Note long barrel nose gun and 12 exhaust pipes. Aircraft seems to be painted alluminium on the upper surface, note bright reflection of the fuselage on the upperwing and tail on the fin."
regards,
   66misos