From photographs I've seen, the padded uniforms of Chinese soldiers in the Korean War look much like those of Chinese soldiers of the 1940's, which had several variations of padded uniforms. Is it the case?

Which padded uniform are you referring to? The Chinese had two main ones:





They also had one without a discernable stitching pattern (although it would crease easily):





The one without the ribbed stitching pattern was used as far back as the 1930s. I believe the ribbed stitching jacket was only used from about 1949 and was seen most often being used by the PLA volunteers in Korea.

Yes, the top photographs are the ones that correspond to the kit figures. So the stitched ones are strictly Korean War ones. Thanks.