P-40E WIP
This little kit fitted together extremely well. only places I had to use some sprue goo was around the landing gear fairings near the wing leading edges, to further blend the upper nose scoop bulge and where the aft part of the wing transits over into the aft fuselage. Nothing some good sanding couldn't take care of.
I had a Loon Models spinner and seats set for this kit, but decided to only use the seat as the spinner was riddled with tiny air bubbles. Instead I used a Hobby Boss easy assembly kit's spinner. Those Hobby Boss kits are really finely engraved for the simple kits they are! 👍
I decided to paint the portion behind the rear windows 'fresh' olive drab and glue the clear panels in before final painting. In retrospect I could have just left them off and attach them after painting. Small lesson learned...
As mentioned before: fit was great! 👍 (The only reason there is sprue goo on the radiator chin is because I rescribed some panel lines.)
When attaching the windscreen I left a dollop of CA on the upper nose. learning from Matt McDougall that this stuff takes CA clean off without harming the plastic I gave it a try.
Indeed! Worked like a charm! It only took off the lacquer paint as well... Oh well, easily fixed though!
Modeling lesson 2: Whenever concentrating on putting on window masks (or doing anything for that matter) watch where you put your elbow! Preferably NOT on the sheet with masks... Luckily the Eduard sheet comes with masks for both the P-40E/M and totally different P-40N. 😄
As can be seen in the cover picture and the instructions, when the US transferred these aircraft to the 'non-US' AVG the American national insignia were painted over. This shows as freshly painted OD circles over the quickly faded OD the planes were originally delivered in.
Finding the right diameter and cutting and applying masks to the wings was simple. Just a matter of lining up the panel lines symmetrically.
Voilá!
The ones on the fuselage needed a bit more attention. the left side has a first aid compartment and the fuselage sides are curved. I used the sticky part of a Post-it to cut the circles from and attached them symmetrically.
Them I reattached the negative masks...
...and once in place, removed the inner portions.
Worked as well!!! 😄
Exactly where they need to be! 👍
After the primer coat, but before coming in with different OD shades, I sprayed the wings and nose polished aluminum and covered it with hair spray. When dry I started chipping away the OD on the wing walk areas and ammunition covers.
Being all lacquers, it took a lot of persuasion to start the initial flaking, but once it started big chunks came off at once... 🙁
Not liking what I saw, I reapplied hair spray and OD in the offending area and went in a lot lighter this time.
After a (quite thick) gloss coat to seal everything in, it was time for my Warhawk to get its menacing grin!
With markings as prominent as these, symmetry is of utmost importance and luckily the Cartograf decals were very responsive and a breeze to work with.
What's a Flying Tiger without a flying tiger??? 😉
Weird combination of US ARMY titles and Chinese National markings.
Once the main markings were on, it was time for stencils... Being a factory delivered aircraft and only having some portions painted over meant that a vast array of stencils would still be present. Only at some locations did the Academy panel lines or details not line up with the Special Hobby kit or instructions. Not bad at all!
And here she is with all spraying work done and details loosely attached.
A picture I found online of this very aircraft.
And 'Pete' seems content! 👍
Comments
6 28 August 2020, 05:00 - Private message
Erik LeijdensLooking mighty fine Patrick 👍. Always nice too see a good sharkmouth
28 August 2020, 05:33
Patrick HagelsteinDank je wel Erik! I have a couple of future P-40 builds (Special Hobby ones) planned for later and wanted to veer away from the obligatory shark mouths........ But...... I could not not build one, so I used some spare Special Hobby decals on this one. I have to admit, it felt relieving to put those on to that big grinning intake. 😄
28 August 2020, 15:37
Patrick HagelsteinThanks David! Same here! I used this build as a work-up to my next Special Hobby P-40. I learned more than I expected as well. 😉
15 October 2020, 03:13
Daniel KlinkVery cool result Patrick once again 👍
and you inspired me for a little built between the Builds found a started Academy M/N in a cupboard
15 December 2020, 22:34
Patrick HagelsteinThanks Joshua and Daniel! 👍 Daniel, I degraded the Academy P-40E to a training build once I received the Special Hobby one. But to be fair to the Academy one, I should have regarded it with the same respect as I did for that Special Hobby one as it truly is a great kit once you put a little work in it. Fit is awesome, panel lines are sharp and consistent and the overall shape is spot on! The interior is a bit sparse to current standards, but in the end the seat, floor, sides and IP can be painted up nicely. Please do enjoy your P-40 as it is a much overseen gem. 👍
16 December 2020, 03:46
Album info
While not a prime project, I liked building it more and more until when almost finished I realized I hadn’t taken any in progress pictures... 🙁
