Monogram 1/48th P-40B; Dusting off the cobwebs, and now finished

[Mark Joyce]

I started this kit 20 years ago.  Either there was no aftermarket for it at the time, or more than likely there was but I was unaware of it, because I basically scratch-built the cockpit.  Something went awry when I attached the front of the nose to the fuselage, for in trying to blend the two together I did a horrid job of rescribing.  Sadly my skills in that area have not progressed too much over the years.  So, off to the shelf of doom the kit went until I've had an urge lately to actually complete many of my unfinished models.  So, I pulled it back out, dusted off the cobwebs, and took a closer look at it. I knew I couldn't completely rehabilitate it, but decided that with a little TLC, which included sanding down the massive ridges caused by my over-zealous scribing along with a generous amount of airbrushed primer, I could at least turn it into one of those "looks okay from 3 feet away" shelf models.  Apparently at some point in the distant past I actually started painting this thing, for I found traces of at least the bottom side color on parts.  Anyway, before and after photos:


Now to decide on its markings...

[xray4277]

Looks good to me. All of my models fall into the 'looks OK on the shelf from 3 feet away' category - well, maybe 2 feet - which, let's face it, is not far off the closest you're likely to get to most real aircraft. And when you DO get closer to a real one, you realise that the panels are not completely smooth, the panel joins are not completely regular, etc. etc.

I've got a Revell 1/72 scale Lockheed Hudson on the shelf half built mainly because it needs a lot of filling and filing..I'd like to think it won't be there quite as long as 20 years 'cos I might be dead by then!

[Vince_M]

Looks great and cannot wait to see it finished!
Isn't it amazing how well the old Monogram kit stands the test of time?

[Mark Joyce]

I didn't think that it had been a year since I started this topic, but obviously that's the case.

I finally got the paint on after pre-shading the panel lines.  It's been many a year since I tried to freehand a camo scheme but I decided to give it a go on this model.  I'm fairly happy with the result obtained with my shaky hands and Omni 4000 airbrush.

Colourcoats Azure Bkue went on the bottom, followed by Humbrol Middlestone lightened slightly with a bit Model Master Flat White and, just to use every brand of enamel paint I have on hand, a 15+ year old tin of Xtracolor RAF Dark Earth lightened quite a bit with the white.  The Xtracolor is a gloss paint, and even with the addition of some flat white still has a sheen.  I then went over the topside colors with a thinned mixture of yellow and desert tan to help blend the colors somewhat.

I still need to paint the smaller parts such as the gun barrels and exhausts, the latter of which will require a steady hand.  The exhausts were installed prior to the fuselage going together and if there were any aftermarket when I started this kit that could pop in after assembly, I was unaware of them.  The wheel bays have absolutely no detail and I've played around with making some of the canvas covers that were often present in these planes but haven't decided yet.  For now I just painted everything Azure Blue.

I'll be using the Baracudacal decals for GA-F, flown by leading Mediterranean RAF ace Neville Duke when he was shot down in it on 30 Nov. '41 by a Bf-109 piloted by Otto Schulz (Schulz was later shot down and killed by Canadian ace "Stocky" Edwards, whose Kittyhawk Mk.III I modeled many years ago).

[Vince_M]

Nice paint job.  Best looking Monogram Tomahawk I've ever seen!

[Mark Joyce]

Best looking Monogram Tomahawk I've ever seen!

Thanks Vince.  It must be the only Tomahawk you've ever seen, then!

[P-40 Admin]

That's looking great, especially for an old Monogram! They were great kits in their day, but are a bit long in the tooth now although with some work, can still be really good.

[Mark Joyce]

Just finished with the decals, which worked flawlessly.  I was worried that all the raised lines and rivets would cause some issues, but that wasn't the case.  I did apply a rather thick clear gloss coat and perhaps that helped.  The only issue I had with the decals is that, in trying to position the shark mouth on the other side exactly, I started to tear that decal so decided its position was close enough for government work.  However, the shark mouth fit almost perfectly, probably because the recommended kit for the decals is the Monogram, and I only have a couple teeny areas that I need to touch up with some paint.

The decal guide shows that the roundel, at least the one on the fuselage, was over-painted some when the Middlestone was applied over the original dark green paint.  The guide also shows an area just aft of the letter "F" that had been repaired and repainted a grey color.  After looking at all the photos I could find of this Tomahawk and not seeing definite evidence of either, and consulting with an expert on these P-40s who doubted the existence of them, I decided not to do either. 

However, I almost forgot to paint the area where the serial number is on the fuselage.  This number was masked over then the Middlestone was applied, so the original dark green would still be evident.  In reality, there would have been a hard demarcation between the dark green and dark earth under the serial number but I was just wanted to quickly paint the dark green so there's evidence of over-spray.




 

[P-40 Admin]

Wow, looking good, hard to tell it's one of those old Monogram kits 

[Mark Joyce]

After sealing it with Alclad II Klear Kote Flat, I did a bit of weathering consisting of post-shading the panel lines, dirtying up the undersides some, airbrushing the exhaust stains, applying some pastel streaks for the gunpowder residue, and doing a little fading of the roundels.  Nothing too drastic, and I opted not to add any extras such as the ring and bead gunsite or aerials.  The wheels are a wee bit cockeyed (they are replacements from an AMtech kit) and I didn't do the best of jobs installing those clear parts aft of the cockpit, but besides those and some other little issues I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out.  There's an old saying I always tell myself, whether it's regarding my models or other aspects of life: "It came out better than I expected but not as well as I'd hoped." In this case, it actually came out better than I had even hoped....


The wind roundels appear to be in too far, but I had to place them there so that they didn't overlap onto the ailerons, which wouldn't be correct.

Here's the underside.  In this case, I think the roundels are too far out, but the landing light (which I didn't paint) interfered with placement. I also decided not to do anything about those detail-less wheel wells.

And a couple of shots of the cockpit.  Much of what's in there was scratch-built to make things more detailed and accurate.  I don't recall everything I did since it was at least two decades ago, and before I knew about aftermarket stuff.

[Vince_M]

Mark
Wow!  Great job!
I love that desert paint job

Vince

[Mark Joyce]

Mark
Wow!  Great job!
I love that desert paint job

Vince

Thanks Vince.  I'm glad it's finally finished and in the display case.

Now to the others I'm currently working on.....

[P-40 Admin]

That came out very nice! I have one of these old Monogram kits and they really do take a lot of work, but you've shown how nice they can turn out.

[Mark Joyce]

That came out very nice! I have one of these old Monogram kits and they really do take a lot of work, but you've shown how nice they can turn out.

Thanks.  I have one more in my stash but, yes, because of the work involved, will likely give the Airfix kits a try when I get around to more Tomahawks.