War In The Pacific Group Build 2009 - 2010

Thanks for all the encouragement guys.  I really appriciate it. Putty went on last night-I might get a chance to sand it down tonight.

Arki-I believe this is one of the early models-it has ALL the flaws...errr...opportunities to practice my modeling skills pointed out in the ModelingMadness review kit review.  Come to find out it is missing the British exhaust & engine covers.  Another eBay "Buyer beware".  Of course, that's not as bad as the AMT P-40N I picked up on eBay, sealed with retailers sticker and missing the complete fuselage!  Tried working out something, i.e., contacting the seller, but no replys.  Live & learn.  Anyway, I have another AMTech P-40E in the stash....purchased before I did a detailed reading of the Modeling Madness review and it is an early production run.  Oh well.  Problem I'm having now is that I'm fighting the urge to order the Eduard PE kit for this build.  In for a penny....in for a pound...

Cheers

Well said.  They're not flaws, they're opportunities!  Built 3 or 4 AmTech P-40's, so been there, have the t-shirt.  Bummer you don't have the later production runs with the replacement fuselage.

Frankly, I like the AmTech P-40's considering they are fairly inexpensive and look like a P-40 when done.  Certainly putty skills are required however.   

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone who commented on the Pics. I am glad you liked them.

Bob - I looks like to me you will have that P-40 whipped into compliance in No~Time

I have a stack of the AMT P-40 varients myself stashed. One of my most favorite kits, and the Posters that comes with the P-40E is really cool also

Thanks Sean.  This one is turning into a good challenge.  For example, I've salvaged thru the spare parts bin and found the better detailed drop tank from a previous Hasegawa P-40E build that I used the bomb on.  Cha-ching!

Arki-I agree.  Having build the Hasegawa P-40 before (and one in the stash, courtesy of a HobbyLobby markdown), the AMTech kit is a great alternative to the higher priced Hasegawa kit.  I can't believe the retail prices for them.  I can add a lot of extras for what a normally priced Hasegawa P-40 would cost....and still have some change.  Shame that AMTech went by the way side.  I would hope that someone would find the molds and market the E version, like Hobbyboss has done with the F/L version & Italeri with the N/M.

And next time I bid on one on eBay, I will ask if it comes with the 'corrected' fuselage!

Carlos, beautiful job on the Serian!    The dolly really is a nice touch as everyone has mentioned.

Sean, didn't know your father was in the war.  Did some reading on the ship and sounds like he got the tour of both sides of the war.  My thanks to him for serving. 

Bob, knowing you I'm sure you'll have that kit whipped into shape in no time.  Keep the pics coming.

Thanks Dave.

Here are some pics of yesterdays progress.  Started off utilizing Swanny's method of filling seams-tape on the sides, putty & then smoothing out with a cotton swab & nail polish remover.  Also, I 'thinned' the Squadron putty with the polish remover to make it a little easier to work with.

This is what I ended up with:

After some sanding (and I'll probably have to do more after some primer to spot the flaws):

Could be a little better, but the mismatch has been taken care of.  I will need to do a little rescribing, but that's a small thing.  And I'm happy with the results.  First time I've tried anything of this magnitude.

Also added some .011" styrene strip to the engine cover area to improve the fit

I'll be at a standstill for a couple of days...I broke down and ordered the Eduard PE set, resin wheels and vacumformed canopy....as my Dad would have said..."you're putting a two hundred saddle on a twenty-five dollar horse".  He was a wise man....

bobbaily wrote:

I'll be at a standstill for a couple of days...I broke down and ordered the Eduard PE set, resin wheels and vacumformed canopy....as my Dad would have said..."you're putting a two hundred saddle on a twenty-five dollar horse".  He was a wise man....

True , Very True - But just think how dull modeling would be if we were not Guilty of that Saying and Doing the Same ....

Bob -  The Seams look great, after it is primered or painted No One would know the Difference.

Dave - I agree with you 100% BB-56 had an Amazing History !

Bob great job on that seam. You won't even be able to tell

Jason

First - Apologies for disappearing. The night after the build started I got a call from the So Cal office. Seems their server decided to take the week off. After an emergency trip which ran into the following weekend I came home to a sick family, had to get one kid to band camp & back, and had a 20th anniversary. I DID manage to get the parts dunked and cleaning started.

Second - Great work by everyone! I'm still catching up on the posts but the other projects are really getting me motivated.

So this project has started like my friends workout - Start slow and taper off from there.

I finally got some build time the past few days. Lots of dry fitting and most of the scratch work is done. Apologies in advance for the poor pictures. They were taken late afternoon with low light but I think you can make them out OK.

Here's a shot of the stock cockpit. Not bad for a 40+ year old kit. I started with a front and rear bulkhead to close off the cabin better. The big problems here are the IP and seat. These look like E's.

Here's a shot of a B. Umm, those missing cowl guns might be obvious?

The wings don't saddle up to the fuselage real well either. There's a gap about 1/32" either side that opens onto the flaps underneath. Have to plug that somehow.

Most of the scratch work done here. Wing fillets built up with .010. Will finish those off with putty. Added some floor detail in the cockpit.

The seat has a huge slot in the back to mount the pilot. I'm going with an empty seat so I covered it up with some seat cusions made from sheet styrene. I cut down the IP and built up some pedals and the .50's sticking into the cockpit.

I still have to add the seat rails before I start painting. Hopefully I'll get another update in before October!

Gary -  Glad to see you back and posting progress shots.  Did you check the dihedrel of the wings before adding your fillets ? I built the same kit a while back and dont remember much of a gap . Perhaps Bob can give some insight as he was recently building the same kit.

When I look at mine I feel it could of used just a hair more dihedral IMO..

Looking good Bob!  You'll have this one in shape in no time.

Paul- More great P-40 work!  I have not built that kit since I was a kid.  Looking forward to your build!

Sean- P-40 pics, YAY!!!  Excellent work.

Ok..the Elves are officially done...here are some more views the Seiran...enjoy and as always comments are welcomed.

and Mucker...the wood.....no secret....I cheated....its real wood. I used wood coffee stirrers trimmed them a bit to get the right width, sanded them and then stained them with wood deck stain, same stain I used on my backyard deck....and that was a Pete in the background...you know me no willpower...

you might have missed my "Modeling elves" post...

Carlos

Gary-welcome back and it looks like you're doing a great job adding scratch built details.  Can't wait to see more progress pics.  You're going to have a nice P-40 there when you're done.

Per Summit's suggestion, here is a pic of a Hasegawa P-40E built about a year or two ago and the Revell/Monogram P-40B that is a 'work in progress'.

I need to search for some photos that show a frontal view so I can decide on the dihedrel for the AMTech P-40E that I'm working on.

As a side note, it looks like the P-40B that I'm working on is slightly 'askew' anyway .  I might have to work on that or tinker with one of the landing struts to even it out.....

Carlos-again, fantastic job on your build.  Hope you're planning on adding another one...or two...to the GB.

And thanks for the kind words guys.

Looking good, Bob. My only comments are that the Tamiya paint jars really take away from the natural tropical setting

I love the AVG bird, as well...subliminaly I've moving the P-40 higher in the on deck pile.

Bob that is excellent work on that seam!!! You are definately going to have to do the primer thing, cuz I don't see anything!! Great job!!!

Gary, She is looking really good!!! There had better be pics before September mate!!!

Carlos, what a lil treasure you have made!!!! That is stunning!!! I would give those elves some she elves!!! WOW!!!

Carsanab, excellent work!  I must admit, I've never viewed coffee stirrers as modeling accessories....until now.

Update:  Pete is sooooooo close to being done.  In fact I had to peal myself away from the bench last night as I could feel myself closing in on one of those late-night slip ups.  I need to add the rigging to the wings and some weathering but should have Pics of the incredibly well built Hasegawa Pete shortly.  This is a fantastic kit.

Dauntless.....well.......I used the salt again, against my better judgement to add some weathering using thinned mixes of smoke and burnt umber.  Now while the results on the belly look really good.  The upper blues got eaten alive by the salt.  It stayed hidden until I sprayed the dull coat then the whole upper surface frosted over anywhere I had salt.  This resulted in me having to respray the Sea Blue here and there.  I was able to salvage the paint job, and in actuallity the accidental weathering that resulted looks pretty convincing.  I'm also about to try using Fast Frames for the first time to do the canopies.

I also got through the Engine on the big Avenger.  Pretty happy with the results there too.  Pics to follow.

Stu, I am on the edge of my seat waiting for these pics!!!!! We need some relief!!!!

Use the sand man!!!!!! SAND!!!!! FINE SAND!!! SAme effect, reusable, no residue!!!! Was in reader tips months ago!!! Glad that you salvaged the paintjob though!!! and looking forward to the pics!!

Come one, Stu!!!

Pic-Tures! Pic-Tures! Pic-Tures!

simpilot34 wrote:

Stu, I am on the edge of my seat waiting for these pics!!!!! We need some relief!!!! Use the sand man!!!!!! SAND!!!!! FINE SAND!!! SAme effect, reusable, no residue!!!! Was in reader tips months ago!!! Glad that you salvaged the paintjob though!!! and looking forward to the pics!!

I know, I know.  For some reason I thought If I let the clear dry an extra day before adding the salt it would solve the problem.  I was wrong.  I need to use the sand.  And I will next time.  Unfortunately the only sand immediately at hand is from Omaha beach in a little bottle.  Not sure I want to waste that on an experiment.

Carlos - Wow that Seiran Looks Fantastic, If you had that on a base with some sand and backgroung foilage I would swear it was 1/1 scale.  Nice bench the elves constructed also !

Stu - You have all in suspense

Bob - Exellent job on the Revell P-40B

I have finially cleared a path to my modeling bench. Presently I am building a Mustang ( the four tire type) for the September Theme at my local chapter of IPMS..  Soon as that is complete the Myrt is next in the lineup

Summit wrote:

Carlos - Wow that Seiran Looks Fantastic, If you had that on a base with some sand and backgroung foilage I would swear it was 1/1 scale.  Nice bench the elves constructed also !

All:

Thanks for the comments

And Summit...not a bad idea....I might take it outside and get some shots see how it looks

Hey Stu, photos??? Glad to read the paint on the Dauntless was salvaged. I am curious as to the accidental weathering effects?

 Bob, I see sharks teeth on that 2nd P40. Cool. The tropical look is great. All my house plants are lovely shades of brown.

Here are some udates on the OSCAR

I got the Atoke painted.

and here are some others that I've been working on

 And a shot of them all together