Chinese Lancer

[Wrench 9,460]

Odd thing is, I'd actualy started re-doing this skin before the person asked about it in the Release Forum...

 

 

Based off Gramps' original USAAF OD skin, repainted (hell of a time trying to match that green -anyone have the FS number or RGB values for it????), with new panel & rivet lines, wear and tear, etc. All markings you see here are decals (including the turbocharger bucket assembly - but that's on the belly, and out of frame). New cockpit, using an existing one that's a little closer to what Republic had in them...

ID numbers are extraploations from the 4 -count 'em!!- 4 actual listings I could find; so they're mostly uneducated guesswork.

Added the tail lights, as per the 'style' of pre-war AAF birds; still trying to figure out where the landing light should go.

 

Anyone have any info as the actual serial assinged by CATF?? Similiar to Baltika's P numbers as seen on the AVG Tomahawks? If any turn up, I can make those decals pretty rapidly.

 

Otherwise, all it needs is the readme written. Obviously, you'll need the DAT's original P-43 to create this from; inis will be supplied, creating a China-only version, the P-43A-1. Some small internal tweeks to the data ini links the canopy open/close to landing gear extension/retraction, the addition of a seat for the pilot, and VERY light armor (rice paper!!!?) There are some obvious differences; some references state the 4 MGs were all wing mounted; I'm leaving them as is. Easier, and we won't need a new LOD without the cowl bumps. As usual, conflicting reports state totally different things.

 

I even created a parked version for the airbase, based off the Parked P-47D (razorback). Unfortunately, it has the 4 bladed prop, but it's only a target at best, and eye candy at worst.

 

Later!

Wrench

kevin stein

[geezer205 0]

Based off Gramps' original USAAF OD skin, repainted (hell of a time trying to match that green -anyone have the FS number or RGB values for it????)

 

Anyone have any info as the actual serial assinged by CATF?? Similiar to Baltika's P numbers as seen on the AVG Tomahawks? If any turn up, I can make those decals pretty rapidly.

 

Some small internal tweeks to the data ini links the canopy open/close to landing gear extension/retraction, the addition of a seat for the pilot, and VERY light armor (rice paper!!!?) There are some obvious differences; some references state the 4 MGs were all wing mounted; I'm leaving them as is. Easier, and we won't need a new LOD without the cowl bumps. As usual, conflicting reports state totally different things.

 

I looked through what references I have for the Lancer, but couldn't find many hard answers. China received 107 P-43A-1 fighters, which had "improved" armor and self-sealing fuel tanks (which leaked). China also received 18 P-43A-1s that had been converted to photo recon, and designated P-43C. All my refs list the armament as 2 x .50s over the engine, and 1 x .50 in each wing.

 

I suspect, but can't prove, that many internet sources are wrong about ALL Chinese aircraft being painted Russian-style dark green. One of China's biggest problems was inadequate logistics, so it is likely that aircraft-grade paint availability was just as bad as aircraft parts availability. Many photos clearly show US aircraft with finishes that resemble the notorious weathering of Olive Drab. These shots of Chinese lancers also have Olive Drab-style weathering. Chinese Lancers

 

The US actually used THREE different Olive Drabs during WW2 - the type specified in USAAF production orders was often unavailable, so the type specified by Army Material Command was frequently substituted. This type faded very quickly due to the absence of cadmium, which was used as a stabilizer - the steel industry had priority for cadmium to make armor plate. Russian colors varied wildly for the same reasons: paint manufacturers could not consistently obtain the pigments they needed so they made frequent substitutions. Locally manufactured Chinese paint - if it was used at all - would almost certainly have had the same problems.

 

Bottom line: the Lancers may not have been painted dark green. Many otherwise excellent references inaccurately show Olive Drab as green, and the Lancers would almost certainly have been delivered in Olive Drab, because the US aircraft industry had been directed to standardize on paint colors - many aircraft built for the British were not painted in Ministry Of Defense colors, but in their nearest US equivalents.