A tale of two P-40B and P-40E -- COMPLETED !!!!!

Thanks guys, you are all too kind. This kit is a monster to make into a really nice build but it teaches you so much along the way. Thanks again.

BK

BrandonK

Thanks for all the kind words, Gents. It was a labor of love that turned into a labor of "I just want it done."

BK

 

Oh boy,  do I know that feeling. I haven't touched my build in days lol.

WOW wonderful build.  Man that's some skilled model building !

I want to do a 1/32 someday when my skills get better but I doubt if they will ever be this good .

When some one says WWII fighter plane I think of the P-40.

Thanks for all the kind words, Gents. It was a labor of love that turned into a labor of "I just want it done."

BK

richs26

Excellent job Brandon.  There is one oversight I see on it.  US P-40's used a straight arrow pitot tube which is the same as your E.  British P-40's used the crank bent styled pitot tube.

 

BK

1943Mike

Well done Brandon!

Sorry for asking naive questions but is that red button on the stick the gun "trigger"?

 

BK

Excellent job Brandon.  There is one oversight I see on it.  US P-40's used a straight arrow pitot tube which is the same as your E.  British P-40's used the crank bent styled pitot tube.

Well done Brandon!

Sorry for asking naive questions but is that red button on the stick the gun "trigger"?

Well done, Brandon.

Holy cow, Brandon! That doesn't even look like the same model I'm also building! That is superbly finished!! I absolutely love how yours turned out! That AM prop was  good choice.  ;)

Wow, that looks great.  I really like the early P-40's, and your "B" build looks super.

Pat

PS.  The "E" looks great too

Whoops, I forgot to unmask the landing light.

So, I wrapped up this project. I took too long to do this and I am glad to have it behind me.

Overall, I didn't completely pull off what I set out to do on the -B, but I am happy with what I finished with. After painting was done I added the -E clear nav lights that came with that kit and they fit perfectly with the -B and I painted them. They look great.

I eneded up installing a resin prop and spinner as I just could not get the kit part to look correct. I did this after the paint work and therefore it is a tad off on the nose fit, but I can live with it.

I have so much changed over the kit I can't even remember what all I've done.

Let's see:

Resin pit, resin prop, scratch intakes, scratch cowl flaps, scratch wheel bays, Squadron canopy, resin exhaust, scratch tail wheel and boot, AM decals, PE pit parts and sights, clear Nav lights, resin wheels/tires, crank style pitot,...

That's what I can remember. And TONS of scratch work like a full rescribe, dyheadral correction, nose reshape, etc, etc...glad to be done.

Thanks for looking.

BK

LOVELY! Just fantastic, BK.  :)

They're going to look fantastic together.

Thanks gentlemen, I appreciate the kind words.

I have to admit that building the -B is a bit challenging as there appears to be no photos of this actual plane during the war, at least that I can find. SO, that means I have to attempt to read between the lines. The decal placement, tail callout, antenna setup are all best guesses based on various sources and survivor AC. I know this is not an exact mirror of the plane LT. Taylor flew on Dec 7 and got 4 kills, but it's the best I can do with the info I was able to drum up.

I have all the decals on and now I have a bunch of small detail work to do. I still have a ways to go on this one but the finish line is finally within sight.

BK

Coming along BK. Very nice. =]

Coming along splendidly. I too am anxious for the finish - I'm sure it'll be just brilliant.

I can barely see it, but yeah its there.  

I feel your pain. I don't think I want to build another one of these for another few years lol.

The results are worth it though.  :)

Top coat is now on. The camera really doesn't pick up the subtle tonal variations caused by the base coat, but you can see it with the naked eye. I am so glad to finally be putting color on this one. I have nearly a year on it and probably over 100 hours. I won't be doing one of these again anytime soon, if ever.

BK

The E looks fantastic!!!! The B is shaping up very nicely!

I can see how this is going to work. Waiting for color. :) :) :)

Well, now the -B is in the paint booth. I gave it a dose of Alclad black primer, sanded that with 3K grit, then mottled it up with white to complete the black basing. I then applied Mr Color #317 which is a tad lighter than Tamiya Neutral Grey. I find this color more correct to my eye than the Tamiya which I find is a bit dark, to me. I'll let this dry for a few hours, then shoot the upper surface.

BK

Great guess sir!  As I said before, I can't wait for the finish!

Toshi

That's good information. Looks like my build only needs the tail to fuse aerial. Which is good, because I dread those wing wires lol.

1943Mike

That's a really spiffy looking P-40! Great job!

Anyone know why these aircraft needed so much antenna wire?

 

A guess is that the radios were poor (when they worked).  Some added aerial wire might help their range.  I do ponder those aerals from the wing tip to fuselage as it looks like a good way for a pilot to "clothesline" himself.  I doubt they lasted very long, at least on the left side.

LOL BK, we start digging around and even more questions come up. Who knows what was only back then and the few pictures one can find now is what we can use as a guide. I went thru the same thing researching my He162 build.