AIRCRAFT - On The Warpath: The Curtiss P-40

va that figures. always something.


folks my little bird has recieved paint.





next up...............................the landing gear.


joe

Looking good Joe. Around the turn & into the home stretch.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mark Joyce QUOTE: .....then I read the warning on the box that said the seat frame may cause ... fowl language.... Well Heath, I must say that I've used a lot of four-letter words while modeling, but I've never clucked like a chicken! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) Mark

Damn....I even changed it to that spelling too.....my spelling has been way off lately....perhaps it is laziness. LOL

VA tough break, I hope that she cooperates a bit more with ya on the fix!

Joe you are moving like a damn whirlwind. Looking really good!!

Eagle that plastic bag looks real.....what did you use for material?! LOL

I got my various interior pieces painted zinc chromate and plan on doing some detailing this weekend. The zinc I got seems a lot more lime green. I'm not worried about it too much, as it will be plenty dark after some washes and pastels. I did one of those "paint too thick...add thinner....add thinner....add thinner.....oh $@#^....paint too thin." LOL Of course due to mixing in the cup. The only piece that it really affected was the cockpit floor with the seat.....and once I sprayed I noticed I hadn't washed off any resin dust..... leaving plenty of crap in the paint. I am now stripping it in some Simple green which should clean the dust off also. Luckily it goes in after the fuselage is together, so it isn't going to keep me from starting on the filling, sanding, priming fun of the build! lol

I've got my kit for this build now. It is the new hasegawa P-40N Warhawk. Looks awesome in the box. I'll start it in a few weeks once I get a couple of other builds out of the way.

Can't wait to see some action Pingtang!!

Steve-O I found this cool page on a recovery of a P-40C and E in Russia....has some great photos of the recovery.

http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/p40recovery/

Pingtang, glad to hear you're closer to being in the game!

Wayne, that's a good start. Now to actually cut a piece or two off the sprues...

If you can tear yourself away from all the hectic and time consuming wedding plans, that is...

Joe, you go too fast for me guy. I wish I could build that fast but I can't! Coming along nicely...

VA, tough luck man. That kinda stuff always happens when you least need or want it to and I think we should find that Murphy guy and do rude things to him...

Kik, sounds like you're having fun! Well, you make it sound like fun anyway... oh, and thanks for the link. I've seen it before, it's part of a website which is co-run by a friend of mine and who is in the local club. I thought I had included it on the Hawk's Nest links page, but I guess not.

Uhhhh... that's it... I think... now it's off to clean the airbrush...


Fade to Black...

well i did progress rather quickly but now that i have my builds to about where i want them i am going to take it slower. this is the update tonight. the landing gear are now constructed. the only piece of them that is from the kit is the green.






joe

Looking good Joe.

Regards, Rick

Great progress Joe. All that detailing looks super.

Unfortunately nothing progressing on my group build. Still trying to finish up a P-40 I started in January (but it's almost done!). I've finally realized that I can only build one at a time if I hope to ever finish anything.

Mark

Joe, those gear legs look pretty good, guy!

Justen, I've only come across two photos of 'O'Riley's Daughter' and they both show only the nose art. I can't help thinking that I have more shots but I can't seem to find 'em.

Anyhoo, here's the profile of this ship from the Squadron book on the 49th FG...




Bryan, I've got three photos of Sidney Woods' P-40E, although none which show the whole aircraft. But here's a profile, also from the Squadron book on the 49th FG...




I have to say that I'm not a big fan of color profiles, or any artwork, as reference material. But sometimes it's all one has to go on. These two profiles seem to me to be fairly reasonable, but they're only an artist's interpretation, much like a modeler's interpretation.

The profile of Woods' P-40E has one major mistake; the name 'Arizona' is too large and the letters were definitely not white. According to the caption of one of the photos I have, the name was green with red highlights.

I'll post the photos I have of both these ships on the website in the next day or so...


Fade to Black...

Thanks Steve. That's better than the references that I have (pretty much the decals' instructions, which in black and white and WRONG!) Every little bit helps.

Hey Steve-O !

I just ordered one of the new 1/48 Hasegawa P-40E kits. It will probably get here in a week or so. Even with a late start, I'm sure I could make the deadline.
Did I make it in time to join?

You're good to go Pix!


Fade to Black...

Joe - Your moving along nicely on your build, wish I could be.

Blackwolf - Thanks for the pic. I can't wait to get to the painting portion of the build. Right now I am trying to fix the problem with the wing to fuselage fit right now.

Welcome aboard Pix. You'll love the Hassie P-40E.

Regards, Rick

Okay, I was able to fire up the airbrush and get my girls wet! Here's the first early stages of paint.

looks very good from my desk. great paint work.



joe

Looking good Hannaman. Keep us posted.

Regards, Rick

The preshading came out looking nice, Justen!

Here's a link that might be of interest to someone building a P-40E:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/history/meteor/cresswell.shtml

I know I'll be building it one day!

Mark

Hannaman they are looking great!! I do have a few questions for ya. Does pre-shading eliminate the need for doing a wash in the panel lines? When you pre-shade, do you paint your top coats lighter than you would if you were to wash the panel lines? And what did you use to mask your cockpit, is that a piece of scotch tape? I just like to know different techniques, and have been interested in trying some pre-shading.

Joe those are nicely built landing gear!! Your build is flying.....lol no pun intended!

Welcome to the group Pix!!! Come on in, the compressor is pumpin'!

Here is what I got on the sides so far.....just a couple tiny touch-ups, and then I will do a wash on 'em. I have found that the panel is actually pretty dull.....not much going on color wise on the real plane, so I decided to stick with that as closely as possible. I did paint some hydro lines in the wheel bays, but it really isn't that thrilling to look at...lol I am testing out a new weathering idea on some scratch plastic before I paint the cockpit seat and floor. If it works out, I will let you know what I did, otherwise it might not be worth explaining yet. I like to paint a bunch of things at once when I am spraying a color, so don't mind the steering wheel, she was just along for the ride!!

heath looks very good to me.



joe

Justen and Kik, looking good guys!

QUOTE: Originally posted by falcon039 Blackwolf - Thanks for the pic. I can't wait to get to the painting portion of the build. Right now I am trying to fix the problem with the wing to fuselage fit right now.

What exactly is the problem?

Also, I've just picked up a book with a better profile of your subject and I'll scan it as soon as I can...

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QUOTE: Originally posted by Mark Joyce Here's a link that might be of interest to someone building a P-40E: http://www.cybermodeler.com/history/meteor/cresswell.shtml

Not to steal your thunder but... the same article can be found on Hyperscale...

P-40E-1-CU A29-113

It's the exact same article, but the photos are larger and they are bee-yoots!

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Here's a new walkaround of what is probably the world's only 'stock' P-40. By 'stock' I mean that it is pretty much all original with little to no restoration work at all... it's simply been kept in excellent condition over the years by a dedicated family.

This walkaround is a godsend for me, as I've been looking for good quality photos of this particular Hawk since I first heard about it.

George Maude's P-40E

I've also added a link to the website and am negotiating with the fella to include a few of these photos in the 'Survivors' section of the site...

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Speaking of the site... I've updated the GB gallery...

I've also added to the general model gallery a few old pictures of a P-40 I built back when I was about 13 or 14. I'm going to be posting them over in the aircraft forum but I'll also drop 'em here...

Don't laugh too hard folks!







More later!


Fade to Black...

QUOTE: Originally posted by kik36 Hannaman they are looking great!! I do have a few questions for ya. Does pre-shading eliminate the need for doing a wash in the panel lines? When you pre-shade, do you paint your top coats lighter than you would if you were to wash the panel lines? And what did you use to mask your cockpit, is that a piece of scotch tape? I just like to know different techniques, and have been interested in trying some pre-shading.

Thanks! I still use a panel wash after I decal. It's usually a mild one, however. I usually use three to five progressively lighter shades of the base color on different places on the plane, keeping the lightest shades for the panels that would see the most sun on the real deal. I find that the trick to pre-shading is to use it with other techniques. Get 'em all working together and you can turn plain old OD green into something fairly interesting realistic. Its all about that touch of subtlety.
And, yes that is scotch tape. It does the job. I use that stuff for almost everything. (How embarrassing.)

BTW, that cockpit of yours looks good. Can't wait to see more!

Heath, cockpit is looking good so far. Keep us posted.

Regards, Rick

Steve, Nice update on the GB page. I like the chalk board rosters. I've started on my Amtech P-40E with True Details Cockpit. Pictures soon.

more pics from me. the underside decal has been hit wil decal solvent and is now snugged down. the star that is aligned with the ground has also been fixed.









joe

Looks pretty good Joe. Thanks for the post.

Regards, Rick

Thanks for all of your kind comments guys!!

Joe you are almost done....where the hell do you get all the time?!

Steve-O that is an awesome build for a 13 year old. I built (hahahah "built") a P-38 Monogram (or Revell I get em confused) when I was about that age and I painted it with those little bottle of Testor's paints....with a brush.....Silver Chrome....yeah, if we go dig that one up out of the land fill, I gurantee that paint will still be wet...lol

LOL no worries Hannaman, I was just curious if it was scotch tape, no need to be embarassed!! LOL I have heard of people having problems with scotch tape bleeding, just so you know, but if it works for you.......There it is!!!! LOL I appreciate your explanation of the paints. I always try to learn at least one new technique on every build, so for this one I will try a pre-shade. Do you just paint black for a pre-shade? I can't wait to see everyone's finished products, and wish my future would dry faster!!!

Great looking job so far joe. Steve I will try to get some pics up tonite when I get home to see what everyone thinks.

Kik, I can't wait to see some pics!

Straight black is the way to go. I have even used a railroad color called Steam Power black (Polly S I think) that has almost a patina finish to it. The effect was awesome. It looked just like painted aluminum after I got the greens down. But then I sealed the deal with clear flat and completely lost the effect. Further research is required.

Good luck!