1:48 Allied Star Insignia Yellow

A recognition star on the roof and on the hood

The common marking of the Allied ground units came out of a plain need: friendly aircraft had to recognize from altitude what was driving beneath them. A five-pointed star was therefore painted on the horizontal surfaces of vehicles, that is on hoods, on cab roofs and on cargo beds, and in a smaller form on the sides as well. Units across the armies that advanced together used it, so it appears on jeeps, trucks, armored personnel carriers and tanks.

Besides the plain star, the variant inscribed in a circle took hold too. The circle was to close the outline of the marking off, so that the sharp points would not make such a conspicuous aiming point for a gunner. Both forms were in use at the same time and often differed only according to who painted the marking on the vehicle.

Sheet contents

The sheet brings yellow stars and yellow stars in a circle. The manufacturer offers the same motif in a white form as well, so the choice belongs to the particular subject, not to a general rule.

The size of the marking was governed by the area it would fit on, and not by a regulation down to the last centimeter. Period photographs show stars of markedly different sizes on the same type of vehicle, which makes a modeler's choice easier.

A note for builders of vehicles

Scale 1:48 is a minority one with ground vehicles and markings are far harder to track down for it than for 1:35. A thin film also makes it possible to lay the marking across rivets and across the lip of a fender, where painting through a stencil would end in the paint seeping under the edge.