Completed: 1/48 Airfix P-40B Warhawk

richs26

Brandon, I think your OD 41 is about perfect as these were brand new aircraft.  The first B model had first flown on March 13, 1941 with the first C model flying in April, 1941.  Everybody seems to think that they had to be extremely weathered aircraft, but they weren't. 

I think that you would find that any aircraft in South East Asia service would be very weathered. If you do not think so, just check out p-40 300 which was one of those new P-40's that sat on the field with Welch's 160. Brandon, you may want to think about it. 

http://www.pewteraircraft.com/STRUCKOFF/NEW%20SOC/P40B/P%2040B.htm

Shipwreck, that photo was taken after May 12-15, 1942 up to July-August, 1943.  On May 12-15, the Army and Navy issued a directive to remove the red dot from the white star, and to remove the red and white tail stripes from Navy and those Army aircraft which operated in Navy theaters.  During July and August, 1943, the red surrounded stars and bars were used which were replaced by the blue surround.

Richs26, thanks for pointing that out. This pic was after 12/7/41, but we do not know when. According to http://wwiisquadronpatches.com/NationalInsigniaHistoryUSAircraft.html, it could have been the next month, January 1942. The source says it was accomplished by May 1942; so the pic was taken sometime after the Pearl Harbor attack. My point is that 160 was not in show room condition and could have looked a lot like 300 did in the photo! My Revel P-40 rendition of Welch's air craft is heavily weathered; because I do not have a photo of it, there is no way of knowing if it is right or wrong! It is just something to think about.

Thanks for all the input. Sorry I've been MIA - girlfriend is still sick but things are looking up.

I haven't fully decided how much to weather this one. I may oil filter it with some yellow and green hues to fade parts of the paint, and maybe some white to tone down the markings slightly. We'll see. I read that Welch's plane was relatively new to Hawaii, but not sure if the plane itself was new or if it baked in the sun somewhere like California or Arizona for a bit first.

-BD-

Ok, so some progress and a question - what color are the fuel and glycol filler caps under the glass on the port side? I've seen warbirds with the fuel cap red and glycol either yellow or silver, but I know FAA rules could dictate them being something other than accurate for the era. I like the idea of red for fuel, as that fits with what we saw on other planes in the era, but no clue about the coolant.

Anyway, I have the markings on and the flat coat down. I added the prop, undercarriage and starboard rear window as well as removing the canopy mask. Not a big change, but here's a pic.

Airfix didn't include the iron sights on this one, so I stole the set from my Hasegawa P-40E, for which I have the Eduard PE sights. I didn't like the solid plastic reticule, so I cut it off and am forming one out of wire and will add stretched sprue for the crosshairs. I'll use the post as-is.

I also don't see Airfix including an interior gunsight, but don't know what the P-40B looked like on that front. So more research is needed, but if someone here has the answer, that would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking!

-BD-

BD,when I built my Welch P-40, I had the same question about the color of those circles behind the port cockpit. The only way you can know is by a color photo of the plane. Well we may have to revert to drawings at this time. The majority of them are dark for the forward one and a lighter color for the aft one (B&W prints). My P-40 160 has olive drab for both caps per Don Greer's drawing on the cover of P-40 Warhawk In Action 205. The black fuel cap is certainly the most common. There was one drawing that had red! So, what ever yo do will be just fine. And, your model is looking real good!

Red is a normal color for fuel caps, yellow is for oil.  The back filler I am pretty sure is glycol and personally I would go witha light grey on that one.  Red for the front which is fuel.  That's what they taught us in A&P school in the 60's, for fuel and oil.

Brandon,

She's looking real good!

As to the filler cap colors, I would go with John's suggestions.  That's what they painted on the reconstructed P-40B.

https://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/p-40/images/dsj_p-40b_08.jpg

Although I have seen black and white pictures that seem to indicate the caps may have been overpainted with the color under the rear canopy panels, whatever that might be.

Gary

On the fuel cap color question, I failed to mention that the P-40Cs that I came across all had red fuel caps!

The fuel caps were black at the factory:

https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2548/4128882043_0088161e91.jpg

and red for the Tigers:

http://www.fossilwalks.com/stuff/modelp40b/leftsideplane.jpg

Glad to finally get to see a WIP of the new Airfix kit for the -B. You're doing it justice so far Brandon. I can already see the things I would scratchbuild on her. =D

Happy Holidays, Brandon!

Have you had any time to sit at your bench lately? I'm excited to see if you've gained any more progress.  :D

I recieved this kit for Christmas! I am very impressed! Dry fitting the fuse with the lower wings was the first indication that this kit is well engineered. After trimming the tabs the pieces fit perfectly and stick together without glue.

Boy am I earger to find some bench time for this kit!

I'll probably be doing a comparison with the old Monovell kit as I go along.

I'm looking forward to seeing yours finished! :D

Thanks, everyone! I decided to go with red and yellow for the caps to spice it up with some color. And I actually finished this one today (yay forbeing home sick?), but can't seem to get photos where I want them, so I will do another shoot when I feel up to it.

Here is the progress I made yesterday. I decided to oil dot filter it to give more tonal variation to the paint.

I also finished building the gunsight (crosshairs added with stretched sprue).

Hopefully I can post completion pics today.

Bvallot - let me guess: flaps, gunsight, fuel/glycol caps, something with the tailwheel, and brake lines for the main gear legs?

M Brindos - awesome! Yeah, it's a fun kit. I'm glad I have the second one to build as a Tiger. I have seen some people complaining abut this and that on this kit, but I'm just thrilled to have a modern kit that has a cockpit with realistic depth, thoughtful engineering and is affordable. This was probably the biggest hole in 1/48 aircraft in my opinion. I always expected Hasegawa to release one, but I'm glad it was airfix so I could get two for the price of a single Hasegawa.

-BD-

Ok, I don't see myself improving on these photos today, so I'm calling this one done.

I really enjoyed this kit. Could it be better? Of course - what kit couldn't? But it was a great experience anda lot of fun. I wish Airfix had icluded the gunsight and done a better job with the seat, but those are easy fixes, and I'm thrilled they got the shape and depth of the cockpit right.

Some nice touches were the different canopies for open and closed, as well as landing gear, if in-flight poses are your thing. The wheels seem kinda clunky, but I don't know enought about P-40s to comment on their accuracy. The decals were amazing, and I am looking forward to building the other one as a Flying Tiger. I may even get the Desert Air Force one when Airfix inevitably releases it, as I like the paint scheme and the original shark mouth there.

Buy this kit with confidence if you're looking for an early P-40. It's the best one we have on the market today.

Thanks for looking and for following along!

-BD-

BD, you did yor normal great job on this model. Thanks for sharing your journey.

I have this kit sitting on my shelf. It is a very nice kit that I just had to buy. At my age I do not add any new kits to my stash! It is certainly the nicest P-40B out there; but I am not sure it is four times nicer than the old Revell kit. It cost me four times as much!

Heck, YEAH! Love it! The dot filtering was just the thing it needed to give it a just a touch more interest.

I started into mine. :)  I couldn't resist. Currently I am distracted with the pilot. Without any chute under his butt he sits too low, so I'm having to rework him to fit the controls. Namely that means I've had to reposition his limbs. I will have to make a new control stick to reach his hand and his left arm needs to move more to his left to touch the throttle, which I will have to scrape off to build new ones that sit away from the side wall.

That, to me, is the only thing I so far don't like about this kit. Of all the details they did add, separate throttle and window crank would have been a bonus. They don't look right molded to the side panels. They look... flat. I HAVE to fix that.

So far I've cut his legs and toes and bent them down to touch the rudder pedals and I've carved the Mae West into a fur collared jacket. Since the AVG pilots didn't wear floatation vests over China. I also need to carve the O2 hose off of him and make a new one that will look separate from his chest (so it can go over the seat belts). I just need to figure out where it goes, or I'll be routing it under his seat (I don't think that's where it goes).  :/

Brandon, I've been drooling over this build of yours for weeks and I am very happy to see how good it looks all built up. Very happy, indeed!!

Nice work, my friend.  :D:D:D:D:D:D

Gorgeous Brandon. I think you've sold me on the Airfix kit....may have to try one. =]

Wow, that looks stunning. Now I am afraid to complete my Revell. You've really set the bar high on this one.

BK

My, your P-40 came out nice! I'm off to throw rocks at my Revell P-40. Excellent job!

Max

Ladies and gentlemen, I have no doubt that this Airfix kit is the best 1/48 P-40B that you will find. If you have been on this forum very long you would have noticed that some of the members have built some really good Revell P-40B's. The Revell kit is not up to speed with the Airfix kit; but it is still a very good kit. I would suggest that if there is a problem with the Revell offering; the problem is not with the kit but with the modeler!

And Max, I just noticed your post. I am not throwing rocks at you; but defending a good model in the Revell P-40B that which can be purchased for a fraction of cost of the Airfix kit!

Mike, Shipwreck, Bvallot, Max and Brandon - thans, guys!

Shipwreck - I hear ya on the Monogram kit. I built that one as a kid. However, for me the raised panel lines kill it. I have yet to find a way to recreate them where they get sanded down in seam-filling process, I'm not adept enough at sanding to sand around them, and I don't have the patience to sand and scribe a whole kit. So for me, that's the only turnoff. I fully believe that the Monogram kit is superior to Trumpeter and Hobbycraft/Academy kits, as well as the Bronco kit simply because of the shape and cockpit depth.

I've seen some amazing builds of the Monogram P-40B on this forum, and I can think of Mike and Bvallot's in particular.

-BD-

No matter what kit you have sir, in your hands you do magic with the kit!  And this build is just fantastic.  Great finish, I love it.  I'm going to have to get this kit too!

Toshi

BrandonD

I hear ya on the Monogram kit. I built that one as a kid. However, for me the raised panel lines kill it. -BD-

 

BD, I do not under stand your problem with raised panel lines on the Monogram kit. P-40's have over lapping panel lines. Both raised and recessed kit panel lines are only poor representations of them. Butted panel lines are better represented by recessed panel lines. Over lapping panel lines are better represented by raised panel lines. There is no gap in over lapping panels. So in the area of panel lines, the Mono kit is superior to the Airfix kit. Now I do understand that the holy grail of modelers is recessed panel lines; but I am not sure that it cannot be sacrificed for accuracy.

The Monovell P-40 is still one of my favorites. This kit does blow it away (even with the sunken panel lines) in terms of parts fit, but we all know very well why that is. I've still got one in the stash. I've never built the British version or the Pearl Harbor version of that kit. The PH version is the one I'm doing next time.  :)

Toshi, you'll enjoy this kit. It deserves all the hype IMHO. I'm finding there is a bit of minor flash on my kit and there are a few poorly located EP marks, but overall it's the fit of the parts that I am really enjoying.

Shipwreck, there will ALWAYS be a place on my bench for a Monovell P-40B. ;)

Brandon, that last Flying Tigers P-40B I did was all sorts of wrong lol. Wrong colors, no FX, and no scratch building at all.  BrandonK's Monovell P-40B was waaaaayyy beter than my last attempt at it.

A note for anyone who chooses to use the pilot in this new kit; He doesn't sit on a chute, so he sits too low in the pit. I raised my pilot up almost 4mm to get him up above the cowling. I've had to modify his limbs accordingly and make a new control stick to meet his hand. He is then a bit too wide at his arms and I had to sand him down a bit to get him squeezed in there. Still, he cleans up really well and I know I'm going to enjoy painting him.  :)

A question of curiosity maybe someone will be kind enough to answer for me? I hear that not all of the P-40B's had shoulder harnesses and just had lap belts. Is that true? I'd like to know before I add that detail to my pilot.

Shipwreck - I have no problem with raised panel lines as far as accuracy. My disdain for them comes with my inability to fix them when I inevitably sand them away during the build process. WIth recessed panel lines, a quick once-over with the scribing tool fixes lost panel line detail. With raised panel lines, I have no idea. I've thought of stretched sprue, but can't think of a way to attach it that doesn't make it worse than not having the panel line there. That's literally the only thing keeping me from building Monogram's Kingfisher, because I'd like to build it, but I know that for my lack of ability regarding raised lines, I'd want to sand and re-scribe the whole thing, and I just don't think I have the patience for that.

-BD-

Thanks, silentbob. That sounds like a good plan on how to deal with the raised lines. I'll look forward to seeing how that comes out. It sounds tedious, but I find seam filling to be tedious no matter what.

-BD-