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

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.

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

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

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. :/

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.  :)

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. 

All I can say is, you amaze me!

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.

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.

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!  :)

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

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. :)

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!

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

M. Brindos

 

 

Hodakamax

Hey Mike, This is really fun to watch your determination on the very kit that I almost threw away, lol. Good work, you always amaze me with your making of silk purses from sow's ears!  

Max

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Max. Did you finish yours? I don't recall.

It remains to be seen if how much of any "purse" I make this into lol!

 

Yes, it's finished, nothing special, OOB for the Museum. It does look good on the flight line. I did put a moustache on the little guy after your coaching on making him more realistic. He looks dashing, I think is the word. lol!

Max

Dash8

Great work Mike ! Like the drill out trick on the stacks, thanks !

Dash from Canada

 

You're welcome, Dash. May that trick serve you well!  :)

Hodakamax

Hey Mike, This is really fun to watch your determination on the very kit that I almost threw away, lol. Good work, you always amaze me with your making of silk purses from sow's ears!  

Max

 

Thank you, Max. Did you finish yours? I don't recall.

It remains to be seen if how much of any "purse" I make this into lol!

Great work Mike ! Like the drill out trick on the stacks, thanks !

Dash from Canada

Hey Mike, This is really fun to watch your determination on the very kit that I almost threw away, lol. Good work, you always amaze me with your making of silk purses from sow's ears!  

Max

After a quick shot of black primer I realized that some sections of my scribing was not going to be acceptable for this project. I think I need to find some Dymo tape in the near future.

I have to figure out how to make these lines more straight. These were terrible! Masking tape will give you a good guide line, but it doesn't prevent you from veering off course.  

I filled in sections of the skewed panel lines with stretched sprue. That way I can rescribe without worry of deviating from my trajectory again.

Yes Sir! Sheet styrene and stretched sprue. It's what's for dinner. LMAO!!

Well, honestly, not everything, but I'd like to think I could give it a good try, lol!

Certainly plastic is the easiest medium I can bend to my will, but wood and metal aren't foreign to me either. I've even machined my own custom lightsaber hilt. ;)

Thank you, Baron! I think the functional canopy is just slick, myself lol. I haven't seen that done before.

I know about using Mr. Surfacer, but I don't have any. I seem to specialize in using things most young beginner's could find locally. Not that I do it on purpose, but that seems to be how its worked out lol.

If you have a few of these I would truly like to see you finish one and show it off around here. You can never have enough finished Monovell P-40's around lol!

I hope you have a great day, and happy modeling!  :D

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I've made some decent progress today so far. I cut some strips of sheet styrene to fill the wing root gaps, added some of the spar detail inside the gear bay, added some sheet around the gear strut positions, plugged the iron sight holes, finished shaping the ejection port holes, and now I must wait for all of those pieces to cure up so I can sand them down. 

Not a bad days work, all in all. Still much to do, but this takes me farther along in the process.

This is an excellent build, Mike!  Yeah, this kit is one of my favorites, ever since I built one as a kid (around 1974 or so).  I love your detailing, especially making the canopy functional!

Regarding the texturing technique, anyone interested could also use Mr Surfacer, or Squadron putty and a little bit of acetone.  I've learned about the technique, in building Maschinen Krieger subjects.  It's popular with those to give large parts a cast metal texture.

I have a couple of these started, in my stash, and they've been languishing for years.  This makes me think I should move them up in the queue and finish them.

I look forward to your next update!

Best regards,

Brad

Thanks, Bob! Its super fun! :D

ManCityFan

You just can't make it easy on yourself, can ya? 

Appearently not. LOL

Thank you, Chris! I enjoy that part and this kit offers lots of areas to do some scratch building.  :)

Super scratch work Mike.

Chris

It turned out pretty good from a mix of references and imagination, eh? Lol