1:48 Mauve P-40N "Lope's Hope"

[Vince_M]

It's hard to find time to work but I'm getting close!
This is photo of the little rudder hinge piece.  It's still unpainted in this shot.
The kit part was poor and the photoetch I have for the project for some reason did not have one.
So I made it out of styrene.  First try broke in my clumsy hands.  My eyesight is becoming a real difficulty and I can see why a lot of guys head towards larger scales as time passes.



Here is a shot of some weathering with oil paints.  The acrylic clear coat I'm using on top of this really does not like the oil but a second light coat gets it done.  Perhaps an oil based top coat would have worked better like Testor's Dull Cote.  That is one reason this has taken time is I have been experimenting with different paints.  Someone recently stated on FaceBook that model building and painting is like a bit chemistry experiment!

[Mark Joyce]

Nice job on the hinge!  I too have scratch-built a couple in my time, but mine don't come out nearly as nice as yours.  I'm happy just to get some resemblance of a loop. The wash looks great as well.  What do you use for your oils?

[Vince_M]

Mark,  I use tubes of oil paint I get at the art supply store.
You place it on cardboard for a while to get excess oil to wick out.
Then dab it on the model and use a "mop" brush to blend.
Oil paint can be infinitely blended so you just stop when you are happy.
It is fragile and takes days to dry though.  So there is that...

[Vince_M]

I'm running out of things to do!

I used the Scale Aircraft Conversions aftermarket metal landing gear instead of the poor kit legs.
The SAC parts are intended for the Hasegawa kit so I had to make it fit.  Here it is in the alignment jig from CB Model Productions.
30-minute epoxy is key to allow time for this

[Mark Joyce]

Almost done and looking great, Vince!  Now when was that model contest you were aiming for😁? Just kidding. That's one reason I don't build for contests; I never finish anything when planned.

Just curious: any reason you use 30 minute epoxy instead of one with a quicker hardening time?  5 minute epoxy is about all I have the patience for and seems to give me more than enough time to play with the parts.

[Vince_M]

Mark,
Thanks.

Well, I like having ample time to position stuff.  In this case the gear legs were very fiddly and loose so I needed more than 5 minutes to get it in the position.
I can see that 5 minute epoxy would be better in a lot of cases!

[P-40 Admin]

Coming along nicely! I'll have to remember the 30 minute epoxy, sometimes I wonder if even that will be long enough for me? 

[Vince_M]

OK, you never thought you'd see it done...but it's done!
I finally ran out of things to do!
The Mauve kit was nice but I may only do Hasegawa in this scale from now on.  I really had to work this kit over.
I replaced landing gear and guns.  I put in resin cockpit and wheels.  Scratchbuilt belly tank braces and landing gear doors as well as the DF loop.
It was a lot of work as you all know. 
Enjoy the photos:

[Mark Joyce]

That has to be one of the nicest looking, if not the very nicest, P-40s I've ever seen built, Vince, and I've seen a lot!  It puts all of mine to shame.  You nailed it with the weathering.  All that a result of the oil paints?

It was definitely worth the wait, and hopefully you'll have a chance to enter that winner in an upcoming contest. 

Oh, but you know there are never things that you can run out of doing...

[Vince_M]

Wow thanks, Mark!  That's quite a nice compliment!

I did use pastel chalk for the dirt on the wing root, back of prop, and wheels.
It was that red/brown dirt I saw in a color photo of a P-40N in that area of the war.
Also, a little black pastel for the exhaust streak but the light gray exhaust behind that was done with oils.

Oil was used to make the paint look faded and tone down contrast.  It is good stuff but fragile.  You have to get a clear coat over it so you can handle the model at all.

I do have plans to bring it to the Nationals IPMS in Chattanooga this summer.  Wish me luck!

[P-40 Admin]

Like Mark said, that is an excellent looking P-40, one of the best ones I've seen, very realistic. The weathering and panel lines was nice and subtle making it look more realistic where some modelers like to way overdo it.

I have this kit and a couple Amtech kits waiting to finish up, the Amtech have the fuselage and wings together, hopefully I'll get to them this summer.

[Mark Joyce]

I did use pastel chalk for the dirt on the wing root, back of prop, and wheels.
It was that red/brown dirt I saw in a color photo of a P-40N in that area of the war.
Also, a little black pastel for the exhaust streak but the light gray exhaust behind that was done with oils.

Oil was used to make the paint look faded and tone down contrast.  It is good stuff but fragile.  You have to get a clear coat over it so you can handle the model at all.

Thanks for the tips, Vince. I have a slew of pastel chalks but pretty much only use black. The few other colors I've tried seem to disappear under my clear coat. Perhaps I need to try again with some other colors.

I've almost always done my fading by adding white or another light color to whatever paint colors I use for my paint scheme, and oils pretty much for panel line washes or to dirty up certain parts.  Again, I guess I need to experiment and expand my limited skills. 

I'm sure you'll do great at the Nats!  Keep us posted.

[Mark Joyce]

I have this kit and a couple Amtech kits waiting to finish up, the Amtech have the fuselage and wings together, hopefully I'll get to them this summer.

Looking forward to seeing photos of these.  I have a soft spot for the AMtech kits and have built many of them. AMtech's president, Alan Griffith, is a great guy and took time to answer my P-40 questions when the company was still around.

Any idea as to what markings you have planned?

[P-40 Admin]

They really are nice kits and seemed to be somewhat forgotten. Here's a picture where I'm at with them, fuselages are just sitting on the wings. Have to paint the cockpit's yet, the parts have been stuck on a Tamiya turntable for a while now. No definite markings for either of them, both the kit & aftermarket decals I have are tempting, keep going back and forth.

Does the floor of the True Details cockpit fit these kits or does it need to be modified some?

[Mark Joyce]

Does the floor of the True Details cockpit fit these kits or does it need to be modified some?

I've not tried the True Details cockpit in the AMtech kit myself, but Tom Cleaver has.  Apparently the floor needs a bit of trimming.  Here's a link to his article about the build over on Modeling Madness:

http://www.modelingmadness.com/review/allies/us/cleaverp40e.htm