Old Man Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 (edited) Not a P-40, but a close ancestor, one of the evolutionary links between the P-40 and the P-36, and a quite strange looking machine to boot.... (New subject, on edit) The kit is an old resin offering by LF Models wife sniped for me off E-bay not too long ago.... The kit is...interesting.... It is a sort of combination copy of and conversion set for the AML Hawk 75/P-36 kit. It has that kit's resin and photo-etch (as well as its instructions), and a resin copy of its assembled wing. Along with this comes a fuselage and associated bits, various scoops and fairings, and tail surfaces, with an instruction sheet for their use. There is a real hand-made, kitchen-table air about the whole thing. I have only done one resin kit before, and suspect this is not the best choice for a sophomore effort in the medium.... Once I had the pour blocks trimmed off the fuselage pieces I did some basic interior work. The AML interior elements are very nice, but since the cockpit of the YP-37 is not directly over the center-section of the wing assembly, and its interior contours are very different, they are not appropriate. I expect I will use them on a future Hawk 75/P-36 project. I dummied up some basic stuff, and set about putting the fuselage halves together.... Which is where the real fun begins.... Both pieces warp outwards from the center-line, the port worse than the starboard, and there is also a bit of a twist towards the nose. I decided it was best to line up the tail elements first, their fillets being critical, and so began gluing from the rear. The nose took a couple of tries, as lining up certain 'landmarks' there put a hint of banana into the thing. Once gluing was complete, some work had to be done on the section contours and taper of the area behind the cockpit; the port side piece curved a bit in plan, which looked wrong and caught the eye, and was too wide towards the bottom. Some work had to be done on upper-decking section contours in the nose as well. Here it is now.... Instrument panel is a decal from a Monogram P-36 sheet,and some crude representations of pedals were added underneath. Seat and stick will be added from the top later. I still have some concerns about the nose, but will try finesse before plunging into heroic measures. Much will depend on how the fit of the wing to fuselage turns out. I prefer to think of the initial fit as offering me many opportunities.... Note that the starboard root fillet rides up on the wing when the port mating surface rests against that of the wing on that side. There are fillet pieces in the kit to address the apparent leading edge root disjunction. Underneath, though, is something else.... At any rate, next order of business is to get the wing to fit, and then determine where matters stand with the nose. Should it prove necessary, I reserve the possibility of swapping in the wing assembly from a half-built Monogram P-36. I am not sure I should not have stuck with my original instinct to do this by blending an Academy Tomahawk I will never build with that unfinished P-36, which I threw over when I learned of this kit. But we will see. If I ever run into the fellow who did not quite match our bid in that auction, I would tell him he is a lucky man, and dodged a bullet.... Edited April 2, 2015 by Old Man 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo11 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 For whatever reason it reminds me of the D.520, certainly an interestingly looking plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Wow, what a kit, and what a build. Hat's off to you for getting the curvy fuselage together. It certainly seems that you're the man for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungo1974 Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Been waiting for this one to start.....Frankenhawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Hmmmm interesting prospect Good luck!!!! Hmmmm interesting prospect Good luck!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Old Man, Heck ,,,this is gonna be one interesting build indeed.. You have started well...neat and GOOD work...... Looks like this will be a unique ,quirky build in a lovely way. HOUSTON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Wow thats looking really good It does looks very odd but kinda neat too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 This is going to be very interesting and I have to confess I,ve never seen this aircraft before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Like the look of this any one do it in 1/48th Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamo11 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Like the look of this any one do it in 1/48th Les Apparently so: https://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=177050 Good luck finding it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 It has that Soviet 'cockpit just in front if the tail' look. And thoughtfully moulded in dark resin for photographic clarity. So they did think of some things, if not the need to fit the parts together. I'm sure that your methodical approach will pay off, and good to see some oddball Hawks here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Been waiting for this one to start.....Frankenhawk Thanks for letting it in, Sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Wow, what a kit, and what a build. Hat's off to you for getting the curvy fuselage together. It certainly seems that you're the man for the job. Hmmmm interesting prospect Good luck!!!! Hmmmm interesting prospect Good luck!!!! Old Man, Heck ,,,this is gonna be one interesting build indeed.. You have started well...neat and GOOD work...... Looks like this will be a unique ,quirky build in a lovely way. HOUSTON Wow thats looking really good It does looks very odd but kinda neat too Thanks, guys! The kit is certainly a handful I am trying not to think of what might happen when I come to attaching thew tail surfaces.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 For whatever reason it reminds me of the D.520, certainly an interestingly looking plane. It has that Soviet 'cockpit just in front if the tail' look. And thoughtfully moulded in dark resin for photographic clarity. So they did think of some things, if not the need to fit the parts together. I'm sure that your methodical approach will pay off, and good to see some oddball Hawks here. This is going to be very interesting and I have to confess I,ve never seen this aircraft before. I do not know anything about the interior lay-out of the Dewoitine 520, or for that matter of the early MiG fighters (which certainly have a similar outline), but it would be interesting to learn if they placed a super-charger in a similar position, behind the motor, with the cockpit pushed back accordingly. That was the reason for the odd profile and fuselage proportion of this design. It was not so much a genuine attempt at designing a service fighter, as it was a device for getting an Allison and a turbo-charger together as quickly as possible for trials of the combination. There is not a lot of information out there on the type, and much of what is there is confusing (and sometimes mis-captioned). There were three different engine installations, for instance, on the YP-37, and they did not share common patterns of scoops and such, so a number of photographs available are not of the 'standard' installation (and this without people just mistaking, as I have done at a glance myself, the XP for the YP, or vice versa). I am still finding things out about the type, this late intop the project, and in fact quite recently came upon some pictures which have moved me to consider a new subject for the finished piece, rather than the Chanute Field example I originally intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Have gotten a good deal more done on this, Gentlemen. First, the wings are on: Dihedral set was oriented with the sternpost, not the nose (and this makes a difference with these pieces, the join-line on the front plate is not vertical, but edges more towards 'twelve-thirty'). At the port wing-root joint, the wing rode a hair high when the CA was set with accelerator. Next was finishing the wing/fuselage attachment, putting in the leading edge fairings, filling gaps, tending to seam work.... The leading edge fairing pieces needed serious craftsmanship to make. They are hollow, like a 'U' on its side, and a good portion of them slip over the wing itself. They do not quite fit, and if left as they come and had fit, they would have stood proud from the wing surface the equivalent of several scale inches, which photographs do not indicate, but still, very tricky little things to have made. If I were doing it (and during the extended period one spent in the belly of the carpet monster I had to give making my own way to the fairing serious thought), I would have cut the leading edge of the wing flat, put in solid blocks of plastic, and whittled and sanded it down to shape. Once I had the kit fairings on, I flooded under them with CA gel, and sanded as needed; there is very little actually left of them now, at least where they lap over the wings. The gap at the front underside was plugged with a scrap of thick sheet, the gap at the rear with CA gel. And of course the usual trimming and sanding at the root joints. Then a heavy coat of automotive primer.... I must say the result was better than I had expected: I would not say Basket Cat is pleased, but would own he is at least grimly satisfied. The port wing-root needs some sanding still, and there are some smaller trouble spots, but nothing too daunting. Next (after dealing with flaws revealed) will be re-scribing in spots, giving the whole thing a good sanding with 600 grit, and then dealing with the various lumps and bumps on and about the nose. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Looking nice looks like a lot of work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Phew, looks like a labor intensive effort. It certainly looks well worth the effort though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atvd1020 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Looking good! However, it also convinces me to leave the only LF kit in my stash on the shelf instead for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Looking nice looks like a lot of work Phew, looks like a labor intensive effort. It certainly looks well worth the effort though. Thanks, guys. It certainly does smack of effort, and I am glad you like the result so far. Looking good! However, it also convinces me to leave the only LF kit in my stash on the shelf instead for the time being. Yeah, I don't suppose I am doing the maker any favors here, and it will get worse as the thing progresses.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Once more into the breach, Gentlemen.... I tried to refrain from redoing the protrubances on the nose, but when push came to shove I just could not do it. If you look close at the pictures above I expect you you will see why. The gun blisters are not aligned with one another; wosrse, the portside one is set higher than the other, owing to asymmetric section contours of the two fuselage halves. Easier to make two new than make one match, and once that is resolved on, the exhaust shrouds are pretty rough, and not well aligned either, and so.... Here is a picture, albeit a bit fuzzy, of the nose sanded smooth, and with its section symmetry but to rights. Here are the new gun-blisters on. I took the dimensions off an Airfix P-40B; they are lengths of 1.5mm sheet, given rough shape, including a bit of thinning, before attachment, and then trimmed down on the model. Here are two pictures with the new exhaust shrouds on. These are lengths if 1.5mm round rod, sanded to half-round section. After this, the three air-scoops were added. These were kit pieces, and while they needed a little trimming and shaping, were usuable. The nose got a solid coat of primer after they were on. Next step will be dealing with cockpit and clear pieces.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwaterous Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 It's looking positively soviet in that white primer. Also looking very good! K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Hard work is paying off. Nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 One of the weirder ones from my Macdonalds Fighter vol 4 ( & oh boy, the US did do some weird stuff ) so its a real treat seeing this take shape. Looking on with interest. Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Some kits are more an aid to scratchbuilding than models in themselves. Your attention to detail shows well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I rather like it. It would make a great Reno Racer! just think of all those colour schemes that could be invented to suit the long nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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