P-40 Warhawk Forums

For a little change of pace, I've started a 48th scale P-40L using the Eduard P-40M kit with the older Aeromaster P-40 Merlin resin nose.  This nose is quite similar to the resin nose provided in the AMtech P-40F/L kit, although there are enough differences that it appears the two aren't interchangeable.  However, both noses suffer from a couple of inaccuracies to a certain extent.  First, the area in front of the exhausts is "perforated," for lack of a better word, somewhat similar to what is seen on the later P-40M/N.  I've never seen these holes on a real P-40F/L.  Second, the area behind the exhausts is "scalloped," again for lack of a better word.  This is accurate for a short-tailed P-40F which had the round, or tubular, exhausts but wasn't present for the later Merlin versions, which had the flared exhausts.

So, I went about correcting these inaccuracies with a little judicious use of gap-filling super glue and, for the scallops, a bit of sheet styrene as well.  The end result is on the left, after applying some Mr. Surfacer 1000.

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/AeromasterP-40Merlinnose.jpg)

Regards,

Mark

Hey Mark,

Thanks for sharing pics.   I have a P-40F in progress from AmTech.
I'll check into those "scallops" and see if I need to fill them.
I have the Ultracast flared exhausts.  It caused me to have to grind out very carefully the exhaust area.  I used a dremel with a tiny, round detailer so I wouldn't mess up the outer cowling.
Then I plan to use Apoxie to pack down in the holes and attach the stubs.  It has enough working time to let me do this.  That's the plan anyway....

I'll be watching this, I have the AMtech P-40F/L in the stash to do some time.  Just starting some work on a 1/48 B-17G and would like to have one of my P-40's on the diorama.  Looking forward to seeing the modifications you do.

A bit more progress.  Here are the Eduard cockpit sidewalls with a few photoetch details.  Although probably not 100% accurate for a Merlin P-40 they look busy enough.  You can see where I've cut off the front of the fuselage in preparation for the resin nose.

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/Eduardsidewalls.jpg)

Thanks for looking, and a happy Thanksgiving to all!

Mark

The fuselage halves are glued together and the resin nose has been attached.  The fit of the nose is pretty good, although temporary placement of the lower wing shows a gap that will have to be dealt with.

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/resinnoseattached.jpg)

Mark

Hey Mark, nice photos!
Yeah that cowl flap actuator handle on the right cockpit wouldn't be there for an "L" because they had the electrically operated ones.  No big deal.  How many people would even know that?!  :)

That resin nose looks great on the Mauve/Eduard kit.  I used Aves Apoxie to fill the gaps and it sands up really nice and does not shrink.

Vince,

Thanks for the comments.  I hadn't even thought of the electrically operated cowl flaps; I simply added the photoetch detail from the Eduard set for the manual control!  Anyway, as you said few people will notice it so I won't mess with it at this point.

I've not used Aves Apoxie before.  Where's a good place to get or order it from? 

Mark

Hi Mark,

I got mine at the IPMS nationals in 2005 from Aves display table!
Good news is it's readily available from amazon now.
They even have white (mine is natural color).
I'll put a picture in my P-40F thread so you can see how well it sands and files with plastic and resin joints.

http://www.amazon.com/Apoxie-Sculpt-1-Lb-White/dp/B0013UDWXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1259761677&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Apoxie-Sculpt-1-Lb-White/dp/B0013UDWXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1259761677&sr=8-1)

Vince, a belated thanks on where to get Aves Apoxie!

With the holidays upon us, along with a busy couple weeks at work, little progress has been made recently.  However, here's the remainder of the cockpit including the IP.  Sorry for the lack of a clear close-up of the IP:

(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/seatandIP.jpg)

Mark

Really good progress on this so far, can't wait to see how it turns out.

Still plugging away at this slowly but surely.  For anyone who has built the Mauve/Eduard P-40 series and used the resin cockpit included in the Eduard boxing, you'll find out that you can end up with some pretty serious wing root gaps.  One method to alleviate this issue is to use some scrap styrene as spacer bars inside the fuselage to spread it (learned this from Tom Cleaver).  The problem in my case is that you can't really spread the fuselage (at least in front of the cockpit) without affecting the fit of the resin nose.  So, I still ended up with some wing root gaps that needed filling.

Anyway, I've spent the last few weeks filling, sanding, re-filling, re-sanding, re-scribing lost panel lines, etc. in an effort to get this thing ready for painting.  Soon I'll prime the beast and, hopefully, will only have a few minor seams to fix  :P.

Also, I've had to make some cowl flaps out of sheet styrene, since none are included for a Merlin P-40:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/cowlflaps.jpg)
The mauve/Eduard kits lack canopy rails, so I made some out of strip styrene:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/canopyrail.jpg)
You'll notice the plastic is of two colors.  Most of it is from the Mauve kit while the bottom fuselage/wing portion is from the Eduard boxing. The one in the Mauve kit was warped and I was too lazy to fix it  :-[.

Mark

Well, after weeks of seam work the beast is finally primed and ready to go  :).  The end result is far from perfect but good enough for me.  I've rescribed some panel lines around the nose to more accurately those found on a Merlin P-40 and also drilled out the wing guns in preparation for hypodermic needles as gun barrels.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/P-40Lprimed.jpg)
Mark

Excellent!

I have one of those Mauve kits in my stash...I think it's a P-40N.
You are inspiring me to build it!  I have the decals for "Lope's Hope".
I think I have a photoetch canopy rail set for that kit.

Keep photos coming!!!!

This model is really looking good.  Speaking of "Lope's Hope," I'm reading "Into the Teeth of the Tiger" by Donald Lopez now.  It's a great read.

Mark,

How do you apply your Mr. Surfacer 1000?
Airbrush?

I have a spray can of it (the white kind) and it seems to go on heavy out of the can yet dries somewhat translucent.  Yours seems so good and opaque.  Are you putting on lots of coats?

Vince

Hi Vince,

I apply it with an airbrush, thinning it with lacquer thinner.  I also have a bottle of Gunze Mr. Color Thinner, which I believe is the "recommended" thinner; however, I've yet to try it.  At least with lacquer thinner, you need to thin it quite a bit otherwise you will end up with 'spider webs' all over the place.  Ask me how I know!

I don't really keep track of how many coats I apply, although in some areas I apply it more heavily than others to cover more noticeable flaws.

I also have a can of Mr. Surfacer 1000 and like you have found it goes on heavy out of the can.  You could probably decant it, although I've never tried since I use the bottled stuff instead.

HTH,

Mark

Still need to do some touch-ups and detail painting, but here's the result so far:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/P-40Lpainted.jpg)
This is not the specific plane I'm modeling but another from the same fighter group, the 324th.  Many of its P-40s were hand-me-downs from the 325th FG, the famed "Checkertail Clan."  The OD on the tail area is where the yellow and black checkers were painted over, and the OD patch on the fuselage covers the original plane number while assigned to the 325th:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/scan0001.jpg)
Photograph from "P-40 Warhawk in WWII Color," by Jeffrey Ethel.

Thanks for your patience with this build!

Mark

Well, after five months she's all done :) The only thing missing is the reflector gun sight, because the one I have is the incorrect type.  Anyway, this is "Duchess of Durham" while flown by then Captain Bruce Hunt of the 314th FS/324th FG.  "Duchess" was originally flown by ace "Zack" Taylor of the 325th FG.  I've had the privilege of corresponding with Col. Hunt via email and snail mail the past year or so, and this is my small way to honor a truly generous and humble hero.
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/DuchessofDurhamIV.jpg)
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/MyGalSal.jpg)
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/BruceHuntsP-40L-1.jpg)
Here's a 314th FS unit patch, done by Johnny Signor, which I will display with the model:
(http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f53/MarkJoyce/314thFSpatch-1.jpg)
Thanks for looking!

Mark

That looks really nice!  Great job!  Nice paint scheme, one you don't see very often.

Excellent job, Mark!

You know I like it!

Thanks guys!

I appreciate your taking the time to check it out and post the nice comments.

Mark

Really beautifully made model Mark, and very cleanly painted as well :)

I hope to eventually make the same aircraft - in the same scheme - in 1/32 scale one day! ;)

Cheers

Derek

Thanks for the kind comments, Derek.  I eagerly await the P-40F/L resin conversion!

Regards.

Mark

No problem Mark - I hope to resume work on it soon.

Best regards

Derek

Just came onboard, Mark.

Nice job.