Thanks, Mark.
The OD has some white added to fade or "scale effect" the look of it.
Also there is a pre-shade coat of Vallejo "field drab" underneath.  I mottled this on over the white primer along with some straight OD.
The top coat of faded OD has about 50% Future mixed with it to make the pre-shade show through more.  Also, the Future makes it very durable for handling and masking.
I was surprised to lose my rivet detail because Future and acrylics usually dry so tight that even some scratches show through.  Perhaps I'm just putting all my coats on just a bit too heavy.
Airbrushing is really something that just takes tons of experience, doesn't it?
Oh well, it's not the end of the world that the rivet detail was lost.

Boy do I get tired of masking...



I had a 35 year old bottle of Model Master Medium Green but did not trust it.
I used Vallejo US Dark Green instead thus staying acrylic.
The strange thing is it seems to match my old medium green so I wonder...

Check it out:

Mark, I had the neutral gray masked off and managed to save it.
However, I rubbed the OD off with windex and a little bit seeped under the tape.  Not too much so I will have to carefully touch up.
So, you win some you lose some, I guess.
I think the paint is looking ok...  I'd give myself a "B" right now.
Sadly the rivet detail I added looks like it is almost completely obscured by the paint layers...at least on the top side.
It was not deep enough.  However, if this was a natural metal project I think those rivets would look super.

Had a rough night last night.
I have an old jar of AeroMaster OD that I have never used.
It seemed fine in my experimental tests mixed with Future.
So I intended to strain it but was in a hurry and did not do that....
The coat was really a poor and impatient coat.  When spraying anything with Future in it you have to be patient and put it on carefully.
I put on too much in spots due to clogs...caused by lumps in the old paint.
ANyway I stayed up late and stripped it off with Windex.
So lucky that the Tamiya primer is not affected by Windex so it was not too difficult just a lot of swearing.
I did another coat this time straining the paint.
The coat came out about how I wanted with a few imperfections here and there due to the first coat.
I won't win any award because if they see any paint flaw it's out.
Will I finish?  Don't know.  I have to take my daughter to a play Thursday night and my wife's cousin is staying with us Saturday night.
That's basically two nights I may not be able to work....

Looks fantastic!
I love those desert colors on the Warhawk.
Also great job with the color modulation, looks realistic.

I got those air inlets added to each side.  Yes, most photos of "N" showed both sides had it.
Looks good.

I also sprayed the neutral gray on the undersides.  I used Testors Model Master Acryl which a lot of folks really don't like.
It mixed with Future beautifully and makes a smooth, hard coat.  So, for me, I like it and will buy more.

As for airbrushing the Tamiya fine surface primer, I don't know.  It is actually smoother out of the spray can.
So I need to experiment with thinning ratios and air pressure to be able to airbrush better.
The coat was alright but a little rough in places.  I used 0000 steel wool and got it back to nice and smooth.

Good catch, Mark.
I need to very carefully drill the cockpit air inlets!

Another reason why this thing drags on...
Mauve had inadequate cooling gills.  So I used theirs to make a perch for some new ones I made myself.
They are not too hard...just need a razor blade and a ruler.  The harder part was to curl them just a little.
Also, note the Master brass machine guns are now permanent.  They too were fiddly here at the end.
One thing is that using them allowed me to sand the leading edge of the wing to my satisfaction of smoothness.



Here is the sliding hood I made with scrap plastic and a candle.  Actually I made a spare one too.
It's called the crash method and I didn't need to use any vacform machine.
The Eduard masks are in place and are a time saver but take several tries to fit right...



Here is my spare sliding canopy!  I'm sacrificing it to mask the cockpit.  It actually fits like the real thing against the Griffon metal canopy rails!  It's a bit satisfying as I nearly went blind and crazy installing them.



PRIMER!!!
You can see my messy workbench.  LOL
I told myself that if I didn't get the primer on this weekend that there is no way it will be done on time.
There is still a lot of painting and such to go...
This is Tamiya Fine Surface Primer White sprayed with my airbrush.
It is really stinky as it's lacquer based; but is such a nice product.  It should "snuggle" down and reveal my rivets I spent so much time doing (I hope)...

Looking good, Mark!   

The cockpit is looking great...love that instrument panel.

I also agree about the intake on most kits being an PitA.   

Mark,

You mentioned a new formula for Squadron putty.
I threw my squadron green and white tubes in the trash years ago.
They would sand up nice but over time would continue to shrink.
So even if I had sanded thoroughly, I'd get a sink mark months later.
Tamiya putty does not do that and is about the same hardness of the surrounding plastic so, for now, I plan to stick with them.
Does the new Squadron putty do a good job?

Vince

Mark, the True Details cockpit fits like a glove!
Well worth the money.
Actually, it fits like a glove into the fuselage.
I had some minor issues because of the way I did the boxing of the wheel wells.  I chose to box all four sides but I think the cockpit floor part is supposed to be one of the four sides.  Refer to my photo.  So I would watch out for that because I had to grind down some styrene at the end.
The wheel well detail on the Mauve is poorly made.


The forward canopy fits well enough but I like the way Hasegawa tackles this issue by moving the glue joint (thus avoiding what I did)...

Mark, I took your idea about using a Sharpie to cover the edges of the canopy.
Here is a photo while the epoxy sets up.  I had to clamp in the sides of the fuselage.
The canopy was about 0.5mm too narrow.  It ended up creeping back the next day but it is really not too bad.
The sharpie looks good but it is pretty black so it looks almost like eyeliner here!  It should suffice tho.


Here's one way to avoid gaps at the wing root.  Glue the wing top halves first!
I purposely left a small area of the fuselage towards the tail unglued...for potential spreading.
You can see a toothpick holding it open now.



GAME ON!!!

First glue trailing edge then leading edge.
As of tonight I'm sanding.  Body work is priority.
The contest is March 09 and It is really going to be a struggle.  I wanted to painting by now...

As for the Tamiya white fine surface primer...
I find that stuff will eventually "snuggle" down so tight that even some scratches will show!
It might take several days for that to happen.

Mark,

Nice job!
I also really like the Hasegawa 1/72 kit and have built three of them when I was younger and could see better!  LOL
The wheels that come in the kit are also too narrow.  I used to cut them in half and add styrene.
Nowadays we can get some really nice resin wheels that are exact.

I have recently purchased the newest version of the Special Hobby P-40N in 1/72.
These kits now "take the cake" for an accurate shape Warhawk in that scale.
I have a few old Hasegawa kits in my stash but they may become paint horses...

Vince

Mark,
Those rails were specific to the Mauve but might be adaptable.

The show is March 9.
It's still doable but I won't compromise quality after all this time spent on it.