1/48 Monogram/Revell (Monovell) P-40B - Completed pg. 6

Have you got a picture of that, Max?  :)

Yep, don't look too close, the whole model was a quicky. Dashing huh? 

Max

I really should throw this one away and do a new one for the Museum. You are starting to be an influence on me on these P-40 things. That kit really is junk but you've certainly made your point that they can be saved! LOL!

First, I love the stash lol.

Second, don't toss it. Its a classic and deserves its place in your museum for nostalgic reasons alone.  :)

Third, you'll be much, much happier with the new Airfix offering. Trust me.

Me, BK, and many more before us have made a very nice model out of this kit. It has been around since '67. There is a cult following for it lol. 

There was a time when the old Monogram kits were some of the best available. Monogram was king for an entire generation.

Keep it and display it proudly. :)

Mike, If you haven't read it , you would enjoy this. I met & talked to him a long time at the Titusville Warbird show. I met a lot of Tigers there. R T Smith signed this to me. I was a kid when they flew & they were hero's to me.

I have 2 of his plane in my collection now. I 1/32 Trumpeter & 1 1/48 Monogram. Yours is really beautiful.         Gene

The new Airfix kit is a gem and worth adding to that collection of yours. The Tiger markings are for R.T. Smith's a/c. I'm working on it right now.  :)

I do think I need a copy of that book, Gene.  :D

If Tamiya new-tools a P-40B in 1/48, anything like the new P-51 or Ki-61 they've recently released, then the new Airfix could be knocked out of the park as the new riegning king of the P-40B kits. 

The Airfix barely requires a little putty to make things smooth, but the new Tamiya kits barely require sanding. They're that good. lol I hope they consider making a new-tooled P-40B to add to theri lineup. I would be a happy man!  :)

I've put a little work into the nose gun fairings this morning. The stock parts molded to the front nose part have rounded with age and I want to square it up more. Those styrene blocks I've glued on in front of the blisters will be whittled down to shape and puttied in to make them seamless. Then I  will drill new holes for the extended .50 cal barrels.

Work still continues. I'm hoping I can make mine as awesome as Brandon K's. He's got a lot more detail and work into his. Fortunately my subject is referenced with flaps up and cowl flaps closed.

MG fairings are cleaned up and finished. 

I then started on the tail wheel. I made a couple of layers of 0.5 sheet styrene and then applied ample amounts of liquid green Squadron putty to make it conform similar to the canvas cover. We shall see if that worked the way I wanted it to after it gets some primer on it.

Still lots of putty to sand down. Unfortunately that means I'm going to lose a lot of rivet details, but its one or the other; Intact rivet details, or smooth joins. That's just the facts about this kit. You can't have both.

All I can say is, you amaze me!

That's definitely one way to do it! Very nice looking fairings. =] I fiddled with these for about an hour with the milliput. I love watching how everybody tackles this kit. 

iampiper13

All I can say is, you amaze me!

 

believe it or not, when I see this kind of work from other members, even though I can do it too, I am also amazed by it.

I  am sometimes proud of my work, but it never amazes me.

I have to wait months after it's even finished before I even like my work lol.

That seems to be something we all share in common.

I guess it takes time to see things from a fresh point of view lol.

Thank you, Piper! I really appreciate your opinion.  :)

bvallot

That's definitely one way to do it! Very nice looking fairings. =] I fiddled with these for about an hour with the milliput. I love watching how everybody tackles this kit. 

 

thank you!

I agree. It's really fascinating to see how many ways people come up with to correct the details on this kit. 

I, for one, am super impressed with the level of detail BK has put into his.

There are a lot of amazing examples, including yours, that  make me hope I can do just as well.

This self doubt thing is troublesome lol. Not that I want to be an egotist about it, but more self confidence couldn't hurt. :/

This is a kit that I almost threw away. I finally just rushed through it not knowing it was a classic. Actually it doesn't look too bad finished except the glaring flaws in the kit and my attitude building it. Even the little guy driving looked crude and goofy. Mike B. did get me on the right path and I'm even considering building another one. Not that I would change too much but the first round I had no respect for the kit. Chinese crude was the word. Some of the fuselage was so thin you could see through it. I started and then put it in the trash. The trash man only comes once a week and one day to go I recovered it. I didn't put much effort into it but it did come out looking fair in spite of my standard silvery decals. Ah, but I finally figured out decals on the latest A-37 project, thanks to the Gang. The old P-40 doesn't even look too bad despite its and my flaws. Maybe a rebuild on the one I have or a new one and me with a better attitude. we'll see. 

Thanks Mike!

Max

Chinese crude, LOL! That made me laugh. :)

I suggest that if you'd like to build the kit again, that you do it for fun this time, Max.

Now that you've already built it once, you know what you're getting into. Dig into the archives for a ton of helpful fixes and make something you're going to be proud of.  :)

i still recommend the new Airfix kit over this one however. It makes a much better model and has accurate markings options.

I'm also really honored that you have become so inspired by my efforts. Thank you for the best compliment I believe I could receive! :D

Nice work, Mike, your efforts are paying off.

Max, the Monogram P-40B was always worth the work until just lately when Airfix did such an nice one.  If you put in a resin cockpit and a little PE it's a gem.  Kinda one of those rite of passage kits!

Here's one I did a few years ago.

Darn right, Jeaton, it's almost like a right of passage lol.

Nice Tigershark you built there.  ;). That's a sweet #7!

You'll get nothing but full support from the community if you take another stab at it, Max.

M. Brindos

 

i still recommend the new Airfix kit over this one however. It makes a much better model and has accurate markings options.

 

Mike, I believe that your Airfix P-40 recommendation is a good one; especially if you build out of the box. The Revell office is totally wrong! But if you are going to detail to no end; then the Revell offering might top it. I say that because, all else equal, the Airfix kit has recessed panel lines and the Revell kit has raised panel lines. The real P-40 has overlapping panel lines. Neither recessed or raised panel lines are correct; but, I believe that the raised lines are a better representation of what a real p-40 looks like than the recessed ones (gaps)!

I think your reasoning is absolutely sound. The Monovell kit makes for a good upgrade platform, but OOB the Airfix is superior in every way, but that one.

It all depends on the time one wishes to commit to the project.  :)

It does sound like the Airfix is the way to go. The Museum really needs a good example of the classic P-40, one of my favorite aircraft. I still have the original decades old Guillows stick model I've been dragging around most of my adult life. You've probably seen it.  It's survived a divorce and two moves and has had its battle damaged repaired many times. I see some fabric disentegrating as we speak. It hangs in our home entranceway and as you enter the house it is always flying over head sometimes dusty and battle worn. Fun huh!

Max

Man, that thing is really hard to dust, ladders and such, an annual thing frought with danger! You can reach it with a dusting tool from my wife's upstairs office but it's so fragile I usually do ladders on stairs from below.

The Saturn V stack is re-posted under Space for those asking about it.

I would love to have an entrance decorated in such way. A P-40 and a motorbike hanging over the entry. Awesome.  :)

For your museum, you will like the Airfix more. It suits your style.  :)

Remember the saying that if it looks good, it should fly good. The P-40 is a great example. I remember the day I bought the stick P-40 about 50 years ago. No other kit on the shelf had "The Look". The airplane seemed to be designed around the shark mouth. What a classic icon aircraft. It was all business. I've come to bite and kill you. Ok, a little carried away but I think we all get the point. War machines should intimidate and the P-40 is a great example of threatning adversaries. Definitely the classic war machine, one of the best, at least in the top ten. Did I leave anything out?

Max

I find myself in agreement, Max. Lol

The P-40B is my absolute favorite.  :D

Agreed Mike. As far as the confidence thing goes...I say just work the problem. Don't let your troubles get in the way. Whatever you don't like can usually be fixed provided you don't move faster than you're ready. You're putting together a great looking Hawk. 

Max, the guys here couldn't be more right about the Revell/Monogram kit. It's got great bones. A little love here and there goes a long way to improve your build. 

Its been too long since I last had an update on this build. I was busy working on a tug boat for the last two and a half weeks solid. Good money in that, but very hard work.

Anyways, on to the progress, which honestly hasn't been much.

I sprayed the nose yellow and masked the tail for the Red, White, and Blue, but the red bled over the white and I'll have to do some touch ups by hand. It's a bit of a mess as you'll see in the pictures. The blue is off in tone to match the blue around the stars, but I'll fix that as well.

I blended the landing gear knuckles into the wings. These things are a terrible fit, as most of us know, and this was a little labor intensive. There is still a little work to sort out with these, but they're mostly complete.

Now that I'm off the boat I'll have a little more time to play with this build.

The scheme I'm working on is consistent with the 33rd Sqdrn. 8th PG in 1940. The yellow goes further up onto the nose than just the spinner and the tail should have the R,W,B of pre-war American aircraft of the time. Sadly these details are not included in the instructions, so I am fixing it lol.

With all this talk about airfix, I think once things calm down some here I''ll get me one :)

There really is no comparison between these two kits. The Revell can still be a solid winner with a lot, and I mean A LOT, of work, but right out of the box the new Airfix is far superior in every category.

You've seen how much work goes into these Revell kits. It's all a matter of commitment I suppose. Lol

You just won't regret the Airfix kit. Its solid right out of the box! :)

M. Brindos

I mean A LOT, of work

You just ain't kidding there. I've been filling and sanding for what seems like forever now. I just keep telling myself, "you're getting closer to paint". Yet I keep finding things that need addressed. Patience is a must with the Revell kit.

BK

M. Brindos

There really is no comparison between these two kits. The Revell can still be a solid winner with a lot, and I mean A LOT, of work, but right out of the box the new Airfix is far superior in every category.

You've seen how much work goes into these Revell kits. It's all a matter of commitment I suppose. Lol

You just won't regret the Airfix kit. Its solid right out of the box! :)

 

And..... I bought one this morning, glad I'm not married anymore lol

Nice!! I'm going to pick up the Airfix Me-109E next.  :)

Yeah I used Tamiya tape. That's why the blue and the white went down so well. The red just got under it. It's fixable, but what a bummer pulling that tape off lol.

BK- Sanding, sanding.... [sigh] sanding. There just always seems to be something that just needs a little more sanding lol. I've had to reshape the front wing roots three times so far. I think I've got it shaped correctly by now.

Joe, I'm going to go check out your Airfix P-40 thread now.  :)