1/48 Airfix P-40B (WiP)

Well inspiration has struck (thank you, Piper) and I attached the cowl flaps, armored glass, and the windscreen. I finished up a few panel line scribings and prepped for primer. This is where I'm at now;

My masking of the cockpit wasn't as secure as I wanted it to be so I'll need to make a better one before I spray any colors.

Hunter, Piper, thank you both.  :)

M. Brindos

Thank you, Hunter! It's an excellent kit.  :)

And thank you again.  :)

My skill level is all due to practice. Practice, practice, practice! Painting 1/48 figures has gotten easier and easier because of it. Figures usually take me quite a bit of time to complete, but these last two (P-40 and Ki-61) have not taken me more than about an hour and a half average to complete, instead of two days a piece.

I usually work on 1/35 figures. Those can take hours, if not days, to complete satisfactorily.

Its just practicing. A LOT of it lol.

 

Great start!  You've peaked my interest...

I put about an hour into it tonight and then sprayed a little Tamiya primer onit to check for more flaws. Looks like I've gotten somewhat lucky this time though.  :)

I've managed to fill and clean up around the gear knuckles and MG blisters and I think it looks ready to go. I did deepen the panel lines around the nose though. I like the way it looks when these panels look like they can actually be removed. :)

Thank you, Hunter! It's an excellent kit.  :)

And thank you again.  :)

My skill level is all due to practice. Practice, practice, practice! Painting 1/48 figures has gotten easier and easier because of it. Figures usually take me quite a bit of time to complete, but these last two (P-40 and Ki-61) have not taken me more than about an hour and a half average to complete, instead of two days a piece.

I usually work on 1/35 figures. Those can take hours, if not days, to complete satisfactorily.

Its just practicing. A LOT of it lol.

M. Brindos

I've been slowly working on this one quietly in the background for some time now. I've been finding it very enlightening to see the differences between the old Monogram/Revell (Monovell) P-40B and this new one.

Its like night and day to compare these two kits! The new Airfix offering is stunning in the detail it offers right out of the box in comparison. The Cartograph decals are phenomenal, as usual. The snug down perfectly over the raised detail with a couple applications of Set and Sol. This is only the second model I've built that included them and they've lined up perfectly in both cases.

All I have done thus far is work on the cockpit and pilot. I had to raise the pilot as he sat too low in the pit and I've had to move his limbs to get him re-positioned because of it. His feet still don't touch the rudder pedals, but they are close. The included figure is well detailed and easy to paint and I modified his "Mae West" so that it is now a fur trimmed collar on his black leather jacket, which was popular with AVG pilots of the time.

This is truly a wonderful kit to work with. It goes together easy and the only complaint I can offer is that there is a bit of flash around a lot of the parts. For a brand new mold you would think this wouldn't be an issue, but there parts are in perfect register, so just be advised that there is some minor parts cleanup. For further information please watch Bobby Waldron's video review. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udF1MQfmEAw&t=1s

He covers all of the major points to watch for.  :)

 

 

 

Bossman

Really nice work Mike,

The interior detail on that kit is pretty impressive.  I gotta admit though - I kinda liked seeing you build the Monovell interior from scratch !    

Chris

 

The stock detail level is very acceptable. I agree!

You know I lovey scratch building, but this kit is fun because it just goes together so well.

I have taken note that it is starting to get rather weighty however. It's got a very solid feel to it at this point.

Again, I'll post some progress pictures later.

1943Mike

I always enjoy following your WIP threads. Often I learn something from them and delight in watching your progress.

 

this kit is designed really well. There isn't much one really has to do to make it any better.

My progress was fairly rapid with this one.  :)

bvallot

 

 

lawdog114

Looks great Mike. I have 4 of them and i hope to dive in soon.

 

 

 

 

4?!?! Good Lord! =D If only... lol

Very nice so far Mike.

 

The kit goes together quite easily, so that it's enjoyable!

Bish

Nice start. And its really good to see Airfix getting praise.

 

Thank you. Airfix has certainly earned the praise. :)

lawdog114

Looks great Mike. I have 4 of them and i hope to dive in soon.

 

4? One more and you've got a full patrol lol!

The only tricky parts I've come accros with this kit so far has been the nose in front of the carb intake and the forward wing root where the gear knuckles attach to the wings. Some minor putty was used in those areas. 

I'll get some pictures posted later.

I'll also mention the gaps in the prop hub that need a little shimming to bring the tolerances more to scale. The gaps are pretty big. So watch out for that too.

everything else has fit like a glove!

Really nice work Mike,

The interior detail on that kit is pretty impressive.  I gotta admit though - I kinda liked seeing you build the Monovell interior from scratch !    

Chris

I always enjoy following your WIP threads. Often I learn something from them and delight in watching your progress.

lawdog114

Looks great Mike. I have 4 of them and i hope to dive in soon.

 

4?!?! Good Lord! =D If only... lol

Very nice so far Mike.

Nice start. And its really good to see Airfix getting praise.

wolfhammer1

Nice work on the pilot and the cockpit.  Are there guns to put in the upper fuselage and breeches for the cockpit?  They are such a noticeable feature in many WWII fighters and sometimes the detail is lacking.

John

 

Yeah. You can see them in the first picture. They are attached to the sides of the fuselage. The instructions would have you build the entire cockpit as an insert to the fuselage, but someone else did it by attaching the side walls to the fuselage first and I think I like the way it assembles in this way. It makes things a little trickier to line up later, but I guess I'm just used to things being on the fuse walls before I paint lol.

BrandonD

 

I'm sure it's a future release. I just bought the tropical Hurricane in 1/48, and I'm pretty sure it's the same kit as the standard Mk.I (I just can't remember seeing the filter in it, but it's been two years).

Also, the Hurricane has the arrester hook parts for a Sea Hurricane.

Regarding the P-40B, I like that they included multiple canopy types, seat types, recce parts (is that a camera on the clear sprue?) and both long and short cowl guns. I've built one, have a FLying Tiger in the stash and still find myself wanting a Desert Air Force version. And I never even knew I liked the P-40 that much!

-BD-

 

Yep. That's a camera included on the clear parts sprue! It is a nice grouping of extra bits they've included in these kits lol. I really like the fact that you can build more out of the box if you really felt the need to.

Nice work on the pilot and the cockpit.  Are there guns to put in the upper fuselage and breeches for the cockpit?  They are such a noticeable feature in many WWII fighters and sometimes the detail is lacking.

John

M. Brindos

Thanks Brandon, that's something I've been waiting to tackle  since you mentioned in your build. I'll be dry fitting it several times because of your warning, so thank you for the head's up again.  :)

I think it's really cool that the kit comes with all of the parts for a recce version. Wish they had included some directions about that and maybe one more set of markings to go along with them.

 

I'm sure it's a future release. I just bought the tropical Hurricane in 1/48, and I'm pretty sure it's the same kit as the standard Mk.I (I just can't remember seeing the filter in it, but it's been two years).

Also, the Hurricane has the arrester hook parts for a Sea Hurricane.

Regarding the P-40B, I like that they included multiple canopy types, seat types, recce parts (is that a camera on the clear sprue?) and both long and short cowl guns. I've built one, have a FLying Tiger in the stash and still find myself wanting a Desert Air Force version. And I never even knew I liked the P-40 that much!

-BD-

Thanks Brandon, that's something I've been waiting to tackle  since you mentioned in your build. I'll be dry fitting it several times because of your warning, so thank you for the head's up again.  :)

I think it's really cool that the kit comes with all of the parts for a recce version. Wish they had included some directions about that and maybe one more set of markings to go along with them.

Nice! Can't wait to see more.

Careful with orientation of the door on the left side of the fuselage. If you are careless, it looks like it goes in 180 degrees out. But the instructions show it correctly. (I put mine in backwards but it worked out with a little sculpting).

-BD-

the Baron

It's fun to watch your parallel builds of the old Monogram kit and this one, Mike!  I've got one, and the Bronco kit, and I want to compare both of them to the old one, too.

 

That would be a thrill to follow! You have my vote.  :D

Thanks, fellas!  :) 

Um, yeah. I modified the pilot and scratch built a couple of things lol. I rebuilt the window crank and the throttle, but that was about it. The pilot took most of my efforts this time. 

AVG pilots didn't wear "Mae West" vests so I had to modify it to look like it is part of the leather flying jacket. Since he sat so low in the pit (no parachute under him) I had to boost him up with card stock. That led to problems with him not lining up with the controls anymore. I had to make a new control stick to reach his hand, which I had to move also. His legs are stretched out to meet the rudder pedals, but they still don't quite reach lol.

There's a bit of sprue, card, and Bondo in his joints to make him look like that. My favorite part is turning the vest into a fur collar lol. Oh, and I replaced the molded-on Oxy hose with a pair of twisted wires to repicate the hose better. All of the other detail was included on the figure already. I just did the standard relief cutting to separate the collar from his head and make the chute straps look separate from his jacket.

Choosing the colors for an AVG pilot was pretty simple. They didn't have a standard uniform, but Khaki and Tan pants were common. The boots and gloves are borrowed from the RAF, and the Black leather flying jackets were popular around the same time the AVG started painting the Tiger on the sides of the planes as evidenced by most of the movie footage taken then. 

I wanted the pilot to look as authentic as the rest of the plane.  :)

Did I get it right so far?  :)

It's fun to watch your parallel builds of the old Monogram kit and this one, Mike!  I've got one, and the Bronco kit, and I want to compare both of them to the old one, too.