Gamera

Hey, what are we doing back on the third page here??? I figured everyone would be up and running! I

Hello, well folks, I'm up and running on my 1/48 Hasegawa P-40 N.  I'm gonna do a 80th FG bird on top.  I've always thought the skulls were bad a looking and something different than a shark mouth.  I just finished the cockpit which is fantastic out of the box and no need for resin.  I only used Eduard seatbelts.  I used the kit decal for the instrument panel and cut a few extras out from the sheet to simulate the dials on floor (I think these are gas guages but not sure).  I then used 5 minute epoxy to simulate the glass on the dials. I'm pleased with the results.  Heres what I have so far... 

Joe

Joe,

My kit is the same as yours, hope she turns out half as well, great work so far

And yeah skulls are totally bad

Great cockpit Lawdog!
How did you highlight the cockpit inside? I mean, what technique do you use?

Frightful6_7
about your academy paint list, I just went for paint at my LHS for my Academy P-40, appearantly, the colors they put on their instructions are the color codes, so what you actually have to do is...
Look in paint raks and take the colors you think come the closest do the colors of your aircraft... 

With regards, Ninetalis. 

Roster updated*.

Looks great lawdog. What technique do you use?

Good to see things getting moving. I realized I never committed to one of the Airfix kits, so I will be doing the RAF one from starter set (sort of). I am going to try out the Kits-World decals to get an alternative 112 Squadron machine. No offense to Mr. Neville Duke, but I think his aircraft are starting to fall into the 'over modeled' category...

Also presented for your  interest is this link to a page on 112 Squadron - 

http://raf-112-squadron.org/index3.html

While it does not seem to be updated much these days and there are some broken links, there is lots of info there on pilots/planes/serial #s/personal stories/etc. 

Frightful6_7

I started my P-40 June second here the first in the states and when reading the instructions i noticed that there are no paints listed it is an academy P-40C 1/72 scale.

Well the cockpit should be painted as Lawdog did his, mostly USAAF interior green/green zinc chromate. And I think the well wheels should be painted the same. Most of the exterior paint I believe was taken from RAF stocks so it should match those more or less.

I'm sure some of the websites the RRB listed go into more about what colour everything should be painted.

I figured most of the colors based on the previous planes i have done from this era but if anyone knows what the green color on this plane's camo would be please tell. that is the one color i was wondering about.

Frightful6_7

I figured most of the colors based on the previous planes i have done from this era but if anyone knows what the green color on this plane's camo would be please tell. that is the one color i was wondering about.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here guys? But I believe it should be painted RAF topside green since these were painted with stocks of paint that were supposed to match the British shades. They may not have been exact matches though.

Cliff

Thanks i found a close color Tamiya (my main supplier) RLM Grey it seems to match from the pic here is a pic of an example.

 this one is slightly darker then my pics.

I might go a little lighter than the RLM gray. The underside gray on the AVG P-40s was based on Dupont 'equivalents' to RAF colors. There was no match for the usual 'Sky' underside in the Dupont lineup, though, so a light gray was substituted. For the topside I might try Tamiya XF13 IJA Green and XF52 Earth. XF19 Sky Grey maybe? 

Gamera

 

Well the cockpit should be painted as Lawdog did his, mostly USAAF interior green/green zinc chromate. And I think the well wheels should be painted the same. Most of the exterior paint I believe was taken from RAF stocks so it should match those more or less.

I'm sure some of the websites the RRB listed go into more about what colour everything should be painted.

Hello, thanks for all the positive feedback.  To answer Red Baron and Ninetails questions, I will walk you through "MY" process which I have pretty much standardized and hopefully you can adapt some of the techniques that work for you:

First I prime the cockpit pieces in flat black (I use Tamiya Acrylics which I seem to have good control with). Then spray the base color at low pressure and sort of fill it in slowly to create shadows in the crevices (there is no rush here).  I then tape off the boxes and such then spray them NATO black or something similar.  This can be tedious but I like the results.  I then use a metallic silver Sharpie and hit the little knobs and dials.  I find this easier than using a brush and it works on seat belt buckles too.  Some of these knobs are then picked out with Tamiya Flat Red and Yellow with a toothpick to add interest.  This is followed by a drybrush of "Enamel" Dark Grey on the boxes (any Model Master dark grey will work).  Once done, I shoot it with a coat of Testors Gloss Coat to cure overnight.  (NOTE:  I used to use Future for this, but for some reason their "new" formula sucks and won't cure for me.)  Its then washed with "The Detailer" which is a pre-made water soluable wash that I recently discovered.  I love it.  After a few hours, you can remove the excess with a damp paint brush.  Once I have the wash were I want it, its sealed with a dull coat (I use Testors Dull for this).  I then go back over the raised details, such as the seat corners, floor and rudder pedals, with a silver drybrush to simulate wear (I use Model Masters Chrome Silver or Floquil Old Silver).  Once done with all of this, use a very thin mix of Tamiya Red Brown and Nato Black and hit all the raised areas and crevices to add that extra dimension.  These are some other examples:

Reference the interior color on the P-40.  I was actually going for "Bronze green" in lieu of US interior green.  I read somewhere that Curtiss built P-40 birds had their cockpits painted in this color...of course I could be wrong.  Anyways, I used Tamiya Olive Green almost straight up with a wee bit Yellow green mixed in.  I will probably paint the ducting and wheel wells Tamiya Yellow Green or some variation of it. 

I hope some of this helps,

 Joe

lawdog114,

Nice.  I'm putting that metallic silver Sharpie thing in the repertoire immediately ... (and probably the rest of it, eventually ).

Joe - that cockpit looks fantastic! I've been doing some similar stuff with exterior painting of late...but need to turn it back to the cockpit work as well.

Bit behind on my P-40F...now that the B-25 is officially swarming all of both of my benches!

Little update: Those who are building the 1/48 Hasegawa P-40N please heed my warnings...the notorious "Hasegawa Plugs" are a really pain in the a on this kit.  It wouldn't be so bad if they actually fell on panel lines or even somewhat fit.  I had steps on pretty much all of them and the panel lines on the tail section don't meet very well .  I had to match up these panel lines and then use a strip of styrene to fill the resulting gap on the bottom of the fuselage.  Furthermore, no matter how much sanding I did around the machine guns (it appears those panel lines are not supposed to be there), I could not get the "shadow" of the line to disappear.  I'm hoping it goes away after its primed and painted.  Oh well, I suppose we need a challenging kit everyone in a while to keep us honest.  There were times I was having Monogram P-61 flashbacks during all the sanding.  On a positive note, the detail on this kit is fantastic as was the the fit of the wing to fuselage.  Here's where I'm at now. 

Joe

Joe, thanks for the warning! Just airbrushed the cockpit parts last night so haven't gotten to putting together the fusilage and wings yet but thanks for the heads up on what to look out for.

Cliff

The plugs are a real pain on the E too.  I took advice from a couple reviews and attached them to the fuselage before gluing the halves together.  This got rid of the steps but the panel lines still didn't match up quite right and there's gaps on the top and bottom of the fuselage.  Furthermore, where the little vents are in fron of the exhausts on the N, this is yet another place to fill and sand and re-scribe on the E .

I'm putting the finishing touches on the cockpit right now, so I'll get some pics up later.  Wheel wells are installed and wings glued together, so this is a quick little build aside from the dang fuselage.

redraider56

The plugs are a real pain on the E too.  I took advice from a couple reviews and attached them to the fuselage before gluing the halves together.  This got rid of the steps but the panel lines still didn't match up quite right and there's gaps on the top and bottom of the fuselage.  Furthermore, where the little vents are in fron of the exhausts on the N, this is yet another place to fill and sand and re-scribe on the E .

I know bro....its the same exact kit as the N...just different plugs.  Its Hasegawa's way of trying to stretch mileage out of one mold for different variants.  I didn't realize P-40 E, N, M or any other appropriate model (sans the F/L) had different tails making this plug necessary.  In my opinion, the designers of this kit dropped the ball because "nothing" fits right.  The plugs seem to be a tad shy of fitting flush....just enough to aggravate us .  That said, its still a nicely detailed kit.   

Anyways, I did get her primed today and it seemed to have turned out halfway decent.  I do have to go back and rescribe some panel lines on the fuselage that were obliterated in all the sanding.  My trusty Alclad II micro filler primer does wonders for hiding stuff..heres some pics.. 

Joe

Joe, looking good!!!

Matt: looking forward to your photos.

Applied the wash to the cockpit of my N last night and am going to wait a few days for it to dry. Hopefully I'll be able to get some other stuff knocked off and get more time with the P-40 soonish.

This is what I got so far.  I added Eduard's instrument panel, placards, belts and then added 'glass' to the gunsight with clear film.  I tried a wash for the first time and I liked the results I got.  The fuel gauges on the floor got Eduard instrument faces and a drop of Testors clear parts cement.

Matt: That looks great!

I've picked the Eduard ZOOM set for the cockpit and will be using it though honestly I don't think the Hasegawa kit really needs it.

Gamera

I've picked the Eduard ZOOM set for the cockpit and will be using it though honestly I don't think the Hasegawa kit really needs it.

Belts and placards are really all it needs.  I'm not sure if the N had the ring and bead sight like the E did, but that is better done in P.E. too.

Question for anyone.....what is the correct dihedral for the wings?  I've read some other forums and keep hearing 6 degrees.  Is that right?

Anyone got a spare left-side exhaust stack for a 1/24 scale P-40? *Grumble"...

FIRST assembly, page one, second step (after assembling 11 of the 12 individual stacks, and I lose one stack's bottom -half..  This doesn't bode well for the way this bird will go together, if I get stopped by the carpet-monster,  right outta the chute...

I may change to a 1/32 Revell P-40E, Red...

Hey Hans, good luck with finding it, been there done that, got the T-shirt.

Got started with a parts wash and some interior painting prep. Was not too happy with Humbrol 226 US Interior Green. It was not covering well. Took 3-4 coats to get decent coverage.

I then started some basic assembly. Here we have the wings with the cockpit floor and some details attached to it. Fit of the wing pieces to each other was pretty good.

I also assembled the fuselage halves. Their fit, and the separate upper cowling & lower intake was pretty good, but not perfect. I removed the radio mast to reinstall later. Got to watch out for those delicate wing guns too!

Now it is time for some detail painting and touch up. Not planning on doing a lot, as I will be using the pilot and closed canopy. So there won't be too much to see. I did test fit the wings to the fuselage, but forgot to take a picture - the fit there was pretty poor, worse than any of the other major components. The sprue attachment points were pretty heavy, and even being careful there was some damage that will need at least a bit of filler to recontour things. Now it's time for bed and the weekend is over....back to work :(

Looks great everyone, keep up the great work.

I hope you work things out with that exhaust Hans, let me know if there's a definite change.

Looks good MJames, I built that same kit a while ago. I positioned the sir brakes open, which was more work than I bargained for.

James: Nice work there! And thanks for the review of the new Airfix kit, I'm not much of a 1/72nd person but it looks like a sharp kit there.

hmmm - interested enough to keep track of what's going on, but I can't sign on until I have other GBs cleaned up & kit in-hand. Just lurking for now! 

Hello, I thought I would post an update.  I must say it was challenging getting the inserts previously described to look right, but by priming and re-sanding several times, I think I finally did it.  I've pre-shaded the lines and then sprayed the underside Tamiya Neutral Grey.  The upper OD will soon follow. 

Joe

That looks brilliant, looks like a perfect balance underneath to me.

Joe - LOVING your work on that P-40!

Finally made some progress on my -F conversion last night - I soaked the parts...

Need something to break up the B-25...especially since I'm trying to slow that one down to wait for some Eduard aftermarket that's coming out in August. P-40 seems like just the right speed.