ghodges Posted May 28, 2009 Report Posted May 28, 2009 Started this because the Merlin engined "F" model of the P-40 is my absolute favorite Warhawk, especially in desert camo (as this one will be). This is the HobbyCraft 1/48 P-40F. I eagerly sought out this kit because the fuselage is a long tailed F version, without the need to use a tail plug or nose conversion as in previous kits. That said, my eagerness was misplaced..... The fit is pretty bad.......the plastic is VERY soft overall, which allows for some warpage in the parts in the box; especially the bottom wing. The only good news here is that the plastic is soft enough to bend back into shape by hand!The fit of the wings to the fuselage is horrible at the roots, until you get the cockpit floor installed. That spread the fuselage somewhat to the point that the wingroots are merely terrible.....the leading edges of the wings at the roots will require heavy sanding. I wasn't able to get all of the alignment problems ironed out...just too many of them! Luckily, I'm building this as a break from the T-28 and to try out my new BS airbrush on that desert scheme in American markings (checkertailed!). The interior is mostly a spare True Details set, with the exception of the main panel and the armor plate. For some reason, there was no resin main panel in the TD set, so I drilled and detailed the kit panel. The kit armor plate fit better than the resin one, so I used it. Interestingly, the resin floor is slightly wider then the kit floor, so it probably improved the fit of the wings more than the kit cockpit would have! The seat is from Ultracast and is just sitting in there for the meeting this evening. Overall, I bought this kit trying to get away from the "fit" problems associated with other P-40 kits due to their modular construction. Instead, I traded those fit problems for another set of them, and gained warpage and alignment problems to boot. If Hasagawa ever kits a long tailed "F", even with the plugs, I'll have to recommend it over this one! Still, I expect it'll be a colorful addition to my old vacuform "F" built @20yrs ago! I'll post more when it's done in a week or two! As always, comments, critiques, and questions are welcome! Cheers! GIL
Wulf Posted May 30, 2009 Report Posted May 30, 2009 Nice work on one of my favorites. I understand the issue with the tail plug on other kits....kinda a pain! Andy
ghodges Posted June 6, 2009 Author Report Posted June 6, 2009 Got some painting done.... The white is Tamiya Fine Primer, right out of the rattle can. It goes on a little thick, but for this kit that's a good thing! The Interior Green areas have been painted, as well as the tail checks. The kit comes with with black check decals, but I've used very few of those that fit very well. It took about 3hrs to cut and apply the tape squares. Tedious, but very satisfying in the end. It should look even better after the camo is applied (he said with great hope....) When I got everything assembled I found that the most troubling area, in fit and in terms of accuracy, is the rear bottom of the nose where it meets the wing. There's NO attempt to replicate the cowl flaps! I simply scribed them in the closed position. Also, there's no "relief" or "step" in that area, so there's no attempt to replicate the structure that goes from the forward center wing up under the cowl flap area. If this was anything but a painting exercise, some scratchbuilding would be needed to correct that area. Even the radiator detailing in the nose is bogus, depicting two small circular intakes at the bottom instead of the commonly seen one larger intake. Still, it'll look like an "F" when it's done, at least for the purposes of my shelf! If you're a SERIOUS P-40 buff, you'll either want to wait for a better kit, or make plans to do the needed corrections! Cheers! GIL
ghodges Posted June 9, 2009 Author Report Posted June 9, 2009 Camo is done! Model Master colors throughout...bottom is Azure Blue, cut with a little Intermediate Blue to take out the "purple" tint of fresh paint. The top colors are RAF Midstone/Dark Earth with post-shading, accomplished by lightening each color with a little light gray. The post-shading was directed at the center of most panels. The bottom was not post-shaded due to its not being in direct light. I used my new Pasche Talon double action airbrush (with BS ), shooting the paint at about 25psi. I REALLY like the control this airbrush gives me compared to my old Badger 100. I didn't have to touch up any overspray and did the entire camo job, top and bottom, in a little over an hour. I have found that I do need to thin my paint more than with the old brush; so it will be a "re-learning" experience over the next few months! Hope to have this one done for the meeting this Saturday. Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as usual! Cheers! GIL
Keith Pruitt Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Lookin' gooooooooooooooooooooooood!! Nice work!
GHonanie Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Want more.......drool,slurp,drool......need more.
snelson Posted June 9, 2009 Report Posted June 9, 2009 Looks great..especially those checkers! One minor thing..the areas under the rear windows on P-40s should be the exterior color, rather than interior green. Steve Nelson IPMS#30925
ghodges Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Posted June 10, 2009 Thanks for the info Steve...since this thing's gonna be a shelf sitter, I'll save that tidbit for the next one! Got the gloss coat on this afternoon and I should be decaling (that'd be deckeling to you PB ) tomorrow! Cheers! GIL
Glynyrd Posted June 10, 2009 Report Posted June 10, 2009 Wow! I absolutely love the checkerboards. How about a picture of the ol' vacuformed one? Glenn
ghodges Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Posted June 10, 2009 Will do, when I finish this one I'll post pics of both. By the way, the decals (all 9 of 'em) are on! I used the kit markings and they are the BEST thing in the kit! That means the checks for the tail would probably have been just fine......Oh well, I'll chalk that one up to Murphy's Law! Cheers! GIL
GregWise Posted June 11, 2009 Report Posted June 11, 2009 Gil, Nice work on that oldie moldie -still one of my favorite kits warts and all.
ghodges Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Posted June 13, 2009 Got 'er done about an hour ago.... I tried to weather it to reflect use in the desert environs. Note that most of the paint is "scrubbed" from the rear of the prop blades. Exhaust staining is a combination of airbrush and pastel chalks. All other wearthering was done with the wash and pastels. Couple more pics to post in bit! Cheers! GIL
VonL Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Love this airplane. Am still gathering the courage to attempt a 1/32 conversion (of the Revell kit) to a short-tailed 'F' desert bird.
ghodges Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Posted June 13, 2009 Last of the pics. One of the bottom... The white spot on the wing is the Micro Krystal Clear still drying to form the landing light. And, as promised the O L D vacuform conversion P-40F....Vac fuselage with white metal radiator and exhaust pipes; combined with the Otaki P-40. Completely blew the camo colors! But, that was the "dark brown" I had on hand back in the '80's.... Comments, questions, and critiques are welcome as always! GIL
Keith Pruitt Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 VERY nice work!! Beautiful job on the camo...the checkerboard work is outstanding!!!
GHonanie Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 that is one beautiful bird. looks to be an award winner.
Glynyrd Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Excellent job on the build! Thanks for sharing the one from back in the day. Hard to believe it's 20+ years old. Glenn
ghodges Posted June 13, 2009 Author Report Posted June 13, 2009 Thanks for all of the kind words! I've been keeping a "log" of all my builds since the mid '80s. The old vacuform P-40F was entry #32; completed Oct17, 1988! This HC P-40F just happens to be entry #200 since I started keeping records. Cheers! GIL
TimHortman Posted June 13, 2009 Report Posted June 13, 2009 Nice work Gil! The finish project looks great.
Guest Bun E. Carlos Posted June 14, 2009 Report Posted June 14, 2009 vERY cOOL, gIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
snelson Posted June 17, 2009 Report Posted June 17, 2009 Great work, even on the old conversion. It's amazing just how far both the aftermarket and mainstream kits in the past couple of decades. SN
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