November 02, 2024, 04:15:27 PM
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61
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: 85th FS/79th FG P-40L started
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on: May 15, 2020, 05:01:06 AM
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Primer's on, although there are a couple of little areas I might still work on before moving to the paint shop. I can't say I enjoy doing conversions. This is at least the second one of these I've done, and I don't think it turned out as good as the other(s). Note the noticeable hump on top, between the kit plastic and the resin nose. I tried to level it the best I could between lots of sanding and putty, but this is probably the best I can do. There are other issues with my rescribing and such, but hopefully once the paint and decals are on those won't stand out as much. Hopefully... I had to fill in the 'scallop' behind the exhausts and scratch-build the canopy rails, but decided to cut and trim the kit cowl flaps to fit the resin nose. I also used Master barrels, as Vince did on his recent build of "Lope's Hope," but had already glued the wings together so couldn't utilize his good idea of gluing blocks inside to prevent them from accidentally being pushed inside the wings. Hopefully I used enough superglue so that won't happen.
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62
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: Another 85th FS/79th FG P-40F started, 1/72 Special Hobby
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on: May 12, 2020, 12:13:30 PM
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Primer coat is finally on after the initial try showed some flaws that needed to be dealt with. The fit of the fuselage halves was very good; the upper and lower wings not so much and took a bit of work to get something decent enough for me to live with, partly due to those large attachment points for the sprue that I previously mentioned. I also had to fill the 'scallop' behind the exhaust openings for my build, drill the holes for the air vents on each wing root, and add some scratch-built canopy rails. The photo-etch fret contains parts for the main build, such as the braces for the landing gear and for the external gas tank or bomb. Fortunately I'm not going to attempt to add the tank itself on those flimsy supports since the photos I have of the plane don't have it on. Interestingly, although the fret has hinges for the elevators (surprising in 72nd scale), the kit has neither an antenna mast or pitot tube. I'm using the mast that I didn't use from my Special Hobby P-40E build and the pitot tube that's included with the aftermarket Master barrel set. I had originally only planned to use aftermarket wheels and exhausts, but once I noticed the wing guns were just nubs decided I needed to replace those as well. They can't be seen in the photos, but I've added my scratch-built reflector gun site and the cover over the IP. Although the cover is a little offset, I noticed that once I installed the windscreen I managed to get it offset as well while trying to get it snugly on, so I guess the two cancel each other out. Now off to the paint shop.
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63
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40’s Today / Re: New P 40 in scale from Italy
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on: May 06, 2020, 10:41:37 PM
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Ciao, and welcome to the forum! Kittyhawk and Warhawk are simply different names for Curtiss P-40. The British and many of its dominions used the name "Kittyhawk" to refer to the P-40D through P-40N variants (the name "Tomahawk" was used for the earlier variants) whereas the United States used the name "Warhawk."
As I mention, the P-40 went through a number of different variants, each differing from the others in minor and/or major ways. This website has a breakdown of each under the section "WW II Variants."
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65
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: Paint for RAAF P-40E (Kittyhawk 1a)
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on: April 30, 2020, 09:18:26 AM
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I can't seem to get any photos to upload - getting a message telling me the upload folder is full. Any ideas anyone?
Have you tried a photo-hosting site, like Imgur (which I use for these forums)? I've tried but never had any success in trying to load images directly here.
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67
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40’s in WWII / Re: Major William David Gatling sinks Destroyer U.S.A.A.C. 1943 (MTO)
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on: April 30, 2020, 09:14:30 AM
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Thanks for the link. I'll have to watch it, if I can get over those speeded-up, quick snap from one scene to another, video effects that seem so popular nowadays. They hurt my eyes and give me a headache, and why anyone decided they were a good idea is beyond me.
Anyway, I corresponded with Mr. Gatling probably 10 or so years ago and obtained a copy of his book, "Critical Points," which talks about sinking the destroyer and many other events. A good read.
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69
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Another 85th FS/79th FG P-40F started, 1/72 Special Hobby
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on: April 27, 2020, 10:35:39 PM
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I've waited for many years to build an 85th FS P-40F/L with some accurate markings and, since recently I was fortunate enough to not only locate some excellent photographs of some planes but someone willing to make the decals for me, have decided to tackle several builds at the same time. This build is using the Special Hobby 1/72nd scale P-40F/L 'two in one' boxing, which provides both a short-tail 'F' and a long-tail 'F or L' kit. My markings are for a long-tail P-40F-10CU. Scalemates indicates that these molds were first released in 2008, so this kit would be considered an "earlier generation" of its recent P-40 kit releases, and as such not quite as refined. There are no locating pins on the fuselage or wings, the cockpit is somewhat basic, and some attachment points for the parts to the sprues, especially the wings, are rather large. Still, the surface detail is nicely done and a photo-etch fret is included that will add detail, especially an instrument panel and seat belts. Here's the cockpit. As mentioned, the plastic parts are rather basic. There are some boxes and such on the sidewalls, including the throttle quadrant and at least one trim tab control, but no detail for the floor. At least the seat is the correct shape, and the PE seat belts went on nicely. The photo-etch IP is nice, but I always worry about trying to install something so flimsy, so I decided to sand down what detail there was on the plastic IP and glue the photo-etch one to it. That way, I'll have something with more contact area for installation in the fuselage. The detail on the lower half of the IP is a bit lacking and the rudder pedals are rather bulky and ungainly, but I'll live with that. The directions are a little confusing on how to install the cockpit, at one point indicating that the separate sidewalls should be glued first to the fuselage, but at another that they should be attached to the floor first then the whole assembly installed. After some test fitting, I decided to attach the back rest first to one fuselage side, then both sidewalls, and lastly the front fire wall partition. It appears, and I'm hopeful, that this will work. Now I'll glue the seat to the back rest and the IP to the one fuselage side. The fit of the IP was a bit larger than I had determined, so I had to remove some more detail from the sidewalls to ensure it would go it, but the scraped away portion seen in the photos shouldn't be noticeably once it's in. After those parts are in, I'll install the Merlin-style intake/radiator and glue the fuselage halves together, which seem to have a very nice fit, and finally attach the floor. The kit gun site is rather sad, and I might try to scratch build something a bit more accurate, and there is no cover on top of the IP, which should be present, so I might deal with that as well. We'll see...
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: 85th FS/79th FG P-40L started
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on: April 23, 2020, 08:17:38 AM
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Here are photos of the cockpit. The Eduard boxing has quite a bit of photo-etch and I used most of it. The cockpit was finished a couple of months ago, and the front of the fuselage was removed for the replacement resin nose at that time, but I didn't think of taking photos until now. As can be seen, I'm trying to deal with the seams that occur when that rear canopy part is attached to the fuselage, and quite a bit of dust is accumulating in the cockpit from all the sanding, which I'll worry about later. Now that I've caught up with the photos, don't expect more anytime soon as the build is going "real time" (i.e. slowly).
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: 85th FS/79th FG P-40L started
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on: April 23, 2020, 08:06:35 AM
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Thanks. I have those Eagle Strike decals too, and Kitsworld did it as well. I've looked high and low but have never seen a photo of X44 with that rudder art, so I have no idea where Eagle Strike came up with it (I'm guessing that Kitsworld simply copied what Eagle Strike did). Off the top of my head, this is the only photo I have of X44, taken from that same You Tube video; unfortunately, it's of the opposite side of the aircraft. Not that it matters because the video and photos I've posted here show pretty conclusively that 'Butterfly Girl" was on X15 at this time: There were likely previous P-40F/Ls coded X44 prior to this one, and I haven't gone through my 86th FS photos as thoroughly as my 85th FS ones to see what's there. And here's a blurry enlargement of a photograph I have, which I believe shows X31 with what appears to have the outline of "Butterfly Girl" on the rudder. Joe Connelly regularly flew X31 when this photo was taken, and I have another of him standing next to the rudder art. He wasn't the only pilot who posed next to the artwork that adorned his plane!
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72
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / 85th FS/79th FG P-40L started
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on: April 22, 2020, 10:49:09 AM
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I actually started this build some time ago, using the 48th scale Eduard P-40M with the Aeromaster resin nose conversion for a P-40F/L, but put it on hold while deciding how to go about the markings. I knew what I wanted, but didn't have the decals for it. I had taken some still shots from a video on You Tube, which was originally filmed in late Jan. '44 while the 79th FG was stationed at Capodichino Airdrome in Italy, supporting the Anzio invasion. This is what I was eying, an 85th FS coded X15, seen behind X14. Note what's possibly a white star on the hubcap and the individual standing on the wing by the cockpit: Here's a close-up of the same side with likely that individual (crew chief?): And its pilot, who looks from other photos I have to be Carl Stewart: And the opposite side of this aircraft, in which you can just make out part of the name under the exhausts. It appears to be the end of "Virginia," and by chance Carl Stewart, later as a captain, flew a P-47 named "West By Gawd Virginia" (Stewart was from West Virginia, by the way): Here's a still from the video, which I believe is of this P-40L, "West Try God Virginia" Last but not least, the rudder art on this airplane. "Butterfly Girl" appeared previously on an 85th FS P-40F, which was likely Joe Connelly's X31. I believe Connelly had rotated back to the USA by this time, but obviously his rudder art was deemed too important for the military effort so had to stay overseas! So I was in a dilemma, until I got into contact with Dave Kopielski at davidsscalemodels.com, who not only tackled the name of "West Try God Virginia" in decal form, but several other 85th FS P-40s that I was interested in. Dave did an outstanding job on them, so I'm eager to get some builds going to put them to good use!
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P-40 Warhawk Forums / P-40 Models / Re: Paint for RAAF P-40E (Kittyhawk 1a)
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on: April 21, 2020, 10:49:24 PM
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I sure will. I'm putting the decals on just now but the ones that come with the kit are a bit rubbish! Fortunately I have a few Xtradecals spare which I can use to replace most of the Academy ones.
Academy decals are notoriously horrible. I don't understand why it can't produce decent ones.
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