Airfix 1/48 scale Tomahawk

[xray4277]

Here's my Airfix 1/48 scale Tomahawk II (equivalent to P-40B/C).

First, let me say that I'm very much an 'average modeller' - I build kits pretty much 'out of the box', I don't do weathering (I'm no good at it) and I don't like all those shaded, highlighted or accented panel lines (I think they look a bit artificial and over-exaggerated to be honest - sorry guys!)

The kit is really good, it's well designed and goes together really nicely, hardly any filler needed anywhere. I particularly like the way the nose section is done, and the wing roots which are separate from the rest of the wing. The cockpit interior is very nice too.

I used Tamiya acrylic paints, brushed on, I've always liked their paint and if you water it down slightly and do 2 or 3 thin coats with a decent brush it gives a good finish. I don't obsesss over colour matches, for example for the cockpit interior I mixed XF4 with a bit of black until it looked about right! I don't apply any gloss finish before decalling either, the Tamiya paint takes decals well and then I finish the whole thing with a coat of Army Painter matt varnish from a rattle can.

I guess you'd say that my techniques are not for the purist, but I think the finished article looks OK and really captures the characteristic look of the early model P-40s. Next up for me will be a Hobby Boss P-40M (although I think it's really a later 'K' model because it doesn't have the little vents in front of the exhaust stacks). It's not as detailed a kit as the Airfix, but I think it will look OK, I'll be doing it in Brazilian Air Force bare metal finish.

Now if only Airfix would bring out a later-model P-40 in 1/48 scale...

[Vince_M]

Great job on that Tomahawk!!!

I am really enthusiastic about this Airfix kit and your example makes me more so.

[Mark Joyce]

Like Vince said, great job on the Tomahawk, and I've heard nothing but good things about that kit!

[Jim]

A very nice job, I too keep looking at the Airfix kit, one day I hope to get around to building it.

[xray4277]

Vince, Mark, Jim - I'm assuming you guy are all Stateside, I don't know what the availability of Airfix is like over there or what the £ to $ rate is, but this kit is, IMO, very good value for money, so if you can get your hands on one I don't think you will be disappointed! The current Airfix online catalogue shows the Tomahawk version available but the P-40B/C variant (essentially the same kit with a few detail differences and different decals) is not available - but I dare say they will do a re-issue at some point. Prior to building this P-40 I had done an Airfix Mk. 1 Spitfire in the same scale, another excellent kit but not quite as good as the P-40, again IMO.

[Jim]

Hi there,I am a darn Limey so I have good access to Airfix kits, way back in the day I could claim that if it had a prop I built it!

That adds up to over 200 models in total, I was banished from the house so I moved into a caravan out back.
Good move because it meant I could keep my brothers sticky fingers off them.

However that said and I have no idea why but the good old P40 was and is my all time favourite aircraft.

[Mark Joyce]

I actually have two of the Airfix Tomahawks kits, just haven't gotten around to building them yet.  Like most recent Airfix kits, one gets a lot of 'bang for the buck' with them...or is that 'bang for the pound sterling?'