M. Brindos

And then there is the fact that the molds are so out of shape for this kit that it is a ton of work just to make it look decent in the first place.

That's a good point, but that's really more of a tip to anyone who wants to build it, that he should look for an old boxing on the second-hand market.  I would look for the white box myself, when Monogram just put a photo of the finished model on the cover, or an earlier one.

And then there is the fact that the molds are so out of shape for this kit that it is a ton of work just to make it look decent in the first place. The instructions and markings need a major update as there are color call outs for wrong colors and the markings are a combination of three different squadrons all on one plane.

This one is just a fun build for nostalgia's sake if you're not investing some serious time and AM into it. I'm not surprised this build ended up going in the bin after he opened it up lol. Anyone who can make a good looking bird from this kit is a really good modeller in my opinion. This kit presents a LOT of challenges.

Heck, the painting guide in the back of the instructions is just a couple of B&W photos of the built model, for each of the three schemes available. They're angled and only show one side of the plane so you have to guess how the camouflage goes on.

But when you do get done with it, it looks great on display!

So yeah. It is what it is. For accuracy, there isn't much else to choose (for a B model), but there are far better detailed kits (Hasagawa comes to mind), that's for sure. We're all waiting to see the new AirFix release, and we're all hoping its as good as we want it to be lol.

Drew Cook

...Nice model, but a couple of nitpicks...although the majority of the AVG pilots were former Navy and Marine Corps fliers, they didn't wear "Mae West" life preservers while flying and fighting over China.  

I think you're underestimating yourself and your abilities, I like your P-40. Remember, there's no such thing as failure, you learn what NOT to do and you have to start learning sometime. Break the rules, but don't break the law, the only way to get better is to get out of your comfort zone. 

Hey,

I don't see anything wrong with that old Monogram P-40B kit, or the pilot, for that matter!

Nice model, but a couple of nitpicks:

The AVG (American Volunteer Group) "Flying Tiger" P-40B/Cs were originally intended for the Royal Air Force, and as such, had their brown-and-green camouflage topsides already spray-painted in the RAF pattern, even to cutouts for the RAF roundels  - but with pre-cut rubber mats used as masking, so the demarcation lines were "hard," not "soft" or feathered, as on your model.

Also, although the majority of the AVG pilots were former Navy and Marine Corps fliers, they didn't wear "Mae West" life preservers while flying and fighting over China.  

I haven't built that kit in 30 years but I had a blast with it back then. Your build turned out really good there Max. Hang with the crowd here and you'll find yourself getting better and better as time progresses. You really won't notice a benchmark at first but soon you'll sit back and look at your work one day and it'll hit you, "Man............did I just pull that off?". Again, great looking turnout.

Actually, I too, think he looks more like Pappy Boyington then Abbot Costello. Even a little like John Belushi as well. Stick a fat Cigar in his lips and you could easily claim either lol.

If you thought this pilot (P-40) was goofy, you should see the ones in the Revell SBD Dauntless kit. I think they'll paint up okay, but they are better than the poor German fellows from the Lindberg Stuka I recently finished lol. They all seem to be really skinny though. Not sure what's up with that lol.

Tanker - Builder

Gee Baron ;

 I didn't know Buddy Hackett flew P.-40s ! The figure sure looks like him ! . T.B.
 

Hodakamax

Lou Costello I thought.

Max

Heh heh, yeah, I've always thought he looks a little like Pappy The figures in the set are not among the better sculpts in Hasegawa's catalog; they're all a little stocky.

Tanker - Builder

Hi Mike !

 I guess I am doin it wrong then . I make everything clean as the day it came out of the yard , factory or Armory ! I just like the idea of , " Okay , folks here's where it started " !

 

Nope. You're not doing anything wrong lol. Even a clean tank has dirt on it somewhere. The moment they drive them out of the factory they somehow magnetically attract dust in the very least lol.

I need to finish up my M-41. I'm doing that one as a "clean" tank lol. Basically just a little dust in the cracks, but no faded or chipped paint. I have yet to figure out how I'm going to weather the exhaust covers.

Anyways, back on topic here. lol  :)

Max, I think you've definitly got the hang of it. Those two simple tricks will get you started and perhaps you won't be too afraid of adding a pilot the next time one is included.   :)   Like every other aspect of model building, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

I'm looking forward to the next little feller you get to paint up.  :)

Lou Costello I thought.

Max

Gee Baron ;

 I didn't know Buddy Hackett flew P.-40s ! The figure sure looks like him ! . T.B.

Hi Mike !

 I guess I am doin it wrong then . I make everything clean as the day it came out of the yard , factory or Armory ! I just like the idea of , " Okay , folks here's where it started " !

Yep, he looks great!  You've got the trick down, perfect.

Bravo Max!  He looks perfectly blended into the rest of the model.

Excellent job on the P-40 and good rework on the pilot.  There is only one glaring issue is that the P-40B's and the AVG Hawks never had drop tanks.  It is a glaring issue that Monogram put it from the very beginning.

OK, You guys are great coaches! Not perfect but quite the improvement. I had some brown kid's washable water based paint which I thinned and used as a wash. I repositioned the little guy and I think it's at least as good as the rest of the build. He looks rugged as pilots should be!

Thanks Gang, You can teach an old dog new tricks! LOL!

Max

For just an OOB build it looks fantastic. Excellent work.

Okay, maybe a bit pale lol. But you've got the idea and that looks better already. I also agree that a sepia wash or any dark brown acrylic paint thinned down to watery will help flush out those details better.

Also worth noting if you decide to fix it, is that the pilot sits a little low in the seat because he's not sitting on his chute. Add a cusion of 2mm under his but and he'll be sitting about the right height. I skipped it on my build and he sits a little low in the pit.

Your pictures don't show it, but did you cut off the location tab on his back? I did that and filled the slot in the seat so he would sit forward and not look like he was napping lol.

Very nice finish on your P-40!  And regarding the pilot, I second Scott's advice.  My technique with 1/48 figures or smaller is to block in the basic colors, and then use washes to tie everything together.  That's actually a nicely sculpted figure, as are the rest of Monogram's figures from the time this kit was issued up to the time of the merger.  A wash of burnt siena or some other brown will pick out the sculpted details.  In 1/48, I might add a line for each eye, too, remembering Shep Paine's advice that people outdoors tend to squint in daylight.  Here's an example, the USN pilot from a Hasegawa set of pilots in in 1/48:

I did add eyebrows, but then just let the wash do the work.  This was a figure I painted up to use in displaying or photographing a model, so I could give a better sense of the scale of the aircraft.

Best regards,

Brad

Hi Max,

Looks great, that old kit really has not aged well.  I also built it a few years ago and thought to myself, "man, it wasn't this bad when I last built this model".  That was 1973 and I used bottle paint and tube glue.  I fought a really bad wing warp and gaps between the wing and fuse. 

For you're pilot, try to give him a thinned color wash of an earth tone.  I usually use burnt umber or dark earth. It will dull down the yellow and pale and blend everything.  

Cheers,

Scott

Max, you did a great job on her man! Looks nice. Not-so-great molds actually makes a better modeler out of us. Fixing seems and misfits gives you plenty of practice. I personally enjoy building kits that don't fit just right sometimes. I also like the silky smooth fit of most Tamiya kits as well.

M. Brindos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As to your pilot, Max, a simple application of eyes and eyebrows with a fine tip marker or pencil will help him out a lot. Trust me.  :)

 

 

 

Wow, thanks Mike (for both advice and opinions). Two minutes with some color pencils made a world of difference on the little guy. Might use him after all! Mighty small work for Max but I'll probably work on him a bit more.

That darn camera sees 10x better than Max! LOL. He still looks a little pale, perhaps from a scary flying experience.

Thanks again to Mike and Gang!

Great looking model. Don't feel bad about not weathering your model. I've been building for 20 years and my last kit was the first one I attempted to weather. It was a lot easier though as it was an artillary piece. I didn't have to worry about exhaust or panel lines. Nothing wrong with that pilot. I did my very first one with the kit I'm building now. I used to have a huge stash of 1/48 pilots and air crew because I'd just throw the figures in a box and not mess with it. P-40 is one of my favorite models. I've built probably 6 or 7 of them over the years. I think it's because it was my first skill level 2 build when I was a kid. That's always made it kind of special to me. Anyway, great build and excellent camo work. 

I like mine clean, too, but I do just a little weathering sometimes.  For all the years its been around, this kit still captures the shape of the P-40B better than any other in 1/48.  Looks like the new Airfix P-40B in 1/72 is real good for shape too.

Greg

Hey there, Max.

Good you rescued this from the trash, good looking model and a nice, clean build.

Your figure piqued my interest (I mean the little pilot, not your physique) because I am in the process of painting my first 1/48th figure (as an adult). It's a pilot too. Spend a couple hours 'blocking him out' (and secretly wishing M Brindos or some other fig painter expert was there looking over my shoulder). I was thrilled, a modeling task that held my interest for over 7 minutes, regardless that I had no clue what I was doing.

Your guy looks just fine, and thanks for giving me some sort of sense of direction on the yellow vest, which I presume is a life-jacket.

 

Well if you were anywhere near the Seattle/Tacoma area here in Washington, I'd be more than willing to help you with that.  :)

As to your pilot, Max, a simple application of eyes and eyebrows with a fine tip marker or pencil will help him out a lot. Trust me.  :)

I did mine clean too. I added some chipping and exhaust staining, but I didn't dirty it up at all. I liked the way it turned out and I'd love to build it again! The kit is really showing its age and the pieces no longer line up the way they used to, but with a lot of TLC (a TON) the old bird can look really amazing.

Not that mine turned out amazing, lol. But there are things I would do different the next time around.

You did a good job on the old classic.

Hey Max, I don't see anything wrong with her from the photos. You might try picking out the panel lines, but assuming this is an older kit with the raised lines I don't think a simple sludge wash will work, I'm sure someone would have some ideas here.

Don't sweat the pilot, figures are a PITA. I've been doing them for decades and still can't get them the way I want them.

Hey Patrick, I am always envious of the oil, mud and ding guys and I'm actually building a very slightly used Stuka to ease into all of this. Wow, this is harder than it looks. Lots to learn to keep up with those guys! I'm old and fixed in my ways but I can experiment. Thanks for your opinion!

Max

Max -

That's a beeyutifous P-40, perfectly finished. I build clean as well, I was in the airline business and our company was insistent on maintaining a clean fleet.

The saying was, "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." If the airplane appeared in poor condition, customers would likely think it was in questionable mechanical condition as well. 

At most I might do a little exhaust tracking, never mud or weathering. Old habits are hard to lose. Clean machines for me.

Thanks for the post and photos, looks great.

Patrick