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Curtiss P-40 55 Pursuit Squadron is now first production P-40 39-156


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Okay. It seems I am a sucker for punishment.

The Bomber Defence Training Unit schemed P-40 that is near completion, has been a little more difficult than I anticipated.

The Airfix kit presented a few fit issues that I have not encountered in the other "new" mould aircraft from them.

The Xtradecal set also caused some "moments" due to occasionally sticking on the model before I had them in situ.

So I am starting another Airfix 81-A-2 Hawk and using the Xtradecal X72-139 decal set.

I intend on trying to replicate this.

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So off I go, making the most of a rainy day.

First thing I tried was fitting the decal to the rudder, given the dramas of the last efforts.

It fits poorly, so I will paint it instead (gulp!!)

Cockpit was started by painting some parts with Mr Hobby H58 Interior Green and glueing the steer stick in place (and together, as it broke while being removed from sprue).

I tried to whittle the undercarriage lever (?) down so it had a knob on the top. I was reasonably successful, then broke it in half while trying to pick up the cockpit floor for painting. Dooohhh!!!

I made a new one out of RF lead copper wire and used canopy glue for the knob.

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Made belts out of Tamiya tape and crappy buckles using the fine wire from the outer part of same RF lead.

They should be okay when viewed through a (yet to be fogged) canopy.

All painted, dry brushed a little with aluminium, and decal IP added, then attached to lower wing.

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Fuselage glued together.

Top wing halves glued to lower wing and then fuselage put in place.

Much to my delight, I managed to have a much better join at the wing roots.

This may be because I didn't press the wing root area down as hard, and also went for a slightly worse fit at the leading edge wing root area. This shall be much easier to tidy up.

Or maybe the kit is a better batch ?????????

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All going well, then.........

I realised after doing a little research that the P-40 I wish to do is not a "B" model. It is just called P-40

No armoured screen, external gun sight, not 4 wing guns and not a pic of it that I can find on the net.

Similar 55 squadron planes have had a different demarcation line forward of the tail.

Then I started wondering if I could do the first production P-40 (SN 39-156)

Curtiss_P-40_%28SN_39-156%2C_first_produ

Am I being too ambitious with this finish ?

Can I polish the armoured frame off the windshield ?

Why have I started this ?

Lifes burning questions.

Edited by wayne 0
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For a man of your talent, patience, and cunning, I say 'No', 'Yes!', and 'because you needed a break from 109s', respectively. Seat belts look utterly spiffing. And am I right in thinking that of all the Airfix -B builds here, in only ONE case was the joystick not broken?

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No harm being too ambitious (or feeling you are). From time to time, being out of one's comfort zone is a good thing.

Have fun

JR

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Thanks for the encouragement Pete and JR.

I don't mind having ago at an advanced (for me) technique, I just don't want to have to by a bigger shelf "OF DOOM"

A bit worried about how the (hopefully) polished alum would look given the trenches.

Which reminds me.

I think there is a long panel line absent from the port side of the fuselage. At the canopy rail height.

Does anyone else see this, or have I been drinking too much rubbing alcohol ?

Edited by wayne 0
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There was definietly a panel line on the Xtradecal drawings that wasn't on the model.

Yep, just grabbed Osprey 'P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI" and the -B drawing shows a panel line extending from the canopy slide rail, just above the radio hatch. Of course, this does not necessarily mean your rubbing alcohol intake is low.

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So the first production model (in the highly polished finish) may be what I do.

I will add it to the thread name when there is no turning back to a Olive Drab option.

I will however test a few methods first, because this is all a bit new to me.

I will test different base coats and things like mixing ever increasing amounts of clear with each metallic paint coat.

Also will try polishing the paint.

I have a sheet of Bright Chrome Bare Metal Foil, and if I think it is within my grasp have a go at covering the P-40 (non metal surfaces excepted of coarse).

With the finish in mind, I have taken extra care with the surfaces and joins.

I am aware that putty can show up with metallics and especially foil, so I tried something different to fill the small gaps at the wing roots.

Glue is recommended but I may have found a use for my old Humbrol Acrylic 117 paint.

It is thick straight out of the pot, so I brushed some on the gaps and left it for a couple of days drying time.

I then sanded it back gently using 600 grit, then finished with some slightly worn 1200 grit, for a very smooth finish.

Going okay so far.

Sanding the paint "putty"

16543000836_1dac05dd1b_b.jpg

The finished result

15945716134_77bc3690bd_b.jpg

Knocked one ( not required) gun off already.

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I like the enamel paint putty technique Wayne, I've never tried it on such a large seam. Looks like it works great. I've used it too for those very thin shallow seam lines that putty just won't seem stick to. I like enamel paint better than Mr Surfacer for this application. Folks in the Lightning STGB suggested super glue too, and it really can make a seam disappear with diligent and careful sanding. It's my new go to for easily reached fuselage seams, but is too much of a pain to me for wing roots.

Peter, thanks for that metal finish link. I became a bit of a metal finish technique hoarder during the aforementioned Lightning STGB (and have even tried a couple so far). That's now another technique to add to the list.

Speaking of that list Wayne, here a few links that I came across while researching the topic, and may be helpful regarding NMF:

Brushing metalizer - I tried this, and am not skilled enough to make it my top coat, but it's a great way to both prime and create a metal layer for chipping.

Mr Color Super Metallics - Duncan's Lightning build caused me to order some.

Foiled Spitfire - Lunarhighway covered an entire Spitfire in BMF, just to make the paint chips more realisitic.

Foil and paint - Hockeyboy used a 'mixed medium' approach that I really liked.

There's also Alclad, which I fear, but is very popular and seems to be what the pros use.

Sorry if this is a thread jack, feel free to ignore any/all of this.

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Just lost 30 mins worth of post....sigh ! (now a short version)

Cookenbacher, feel free to jack my threads with great links, suggestions or whatever.

I am learner and all advice or criticism welcomed.

The Humbrol I used to fill the gaps is acrylic.

It was purchased to paint my first model built in twenty years (about 2 years ago, a 109E-4 Airfix), which was brush painted.

I found the paint very thick, and soon (due to my keenness ) purchased an airbrush and Tamiya paints for it.

The old paint may just have found a new use.

I have used medium and thick Zap a Gap CA glue for gap filling before (with good results) but thought paint may require less effort to sand back.

I wish to preserve as much original glossy plastic and detail as possible.

I have seen the link Peter posted about metal finishes, and tried it on a few panels on an Airfix P-51D I did a while back.

It works, but my execution could have been a bit better.

I purchased a jar of Mr Metal Color ....

218-Aluminium-500x500.jpg

.......like this, a couple of months ago from a not so local hobby shop.

Today I started some testing to figure out how I would execute the polished finish of the first production P-40.

Testing involved my old 109E-4 (yes the one I did 2 years back) wing, with some old paint testing rubbed off with methylated spirit, back to original plastic.

Upper inboard half was given a thick wet spraying of Tamiya X1 black, while outbord half left as smooth plastic.

Lower inboard was given a thin coat of same black, and lower outboard left as smoothish plastic.

Mr Metal Color Aluminium was mixed about 50:50 with isopropyl, then sprayed at about 12-15psi on the wing. (I usually spray most of my models at 8-10psi with a very thin mix).

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Gently polished by hand with a small piece of flannel sheet.

This is the shine I hope to achieve for reflections in finished pics.

Other ways to polish will be tried including a dremel.

15958403643_3cf5663296_b.jpg

You can see the thick black undercoat is not conducive to a smooth finish, unlike the raw plastic.

It could be smoothed before metal coat added, but I would just go without the undercoat (unless it suffers adhesion problems)

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Thin black undercoat leaves a smooth finish.

I may do a few panels in black and some in grey and maybe leave the bulk raw.

More testing to be done, but I think this paint will be the way I go. (maybe a few Bare Metal Foil parts).

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Yes, the outboard part of the wing looks very nice. I have tried sanding with a Dremel and felt wheel, used with the flat touching the model (not the edge) and turnign at lowish speed. I got some good bits (plain flat areas) but couldn't manage a whole model, nooks and crannies and raised details such as vents and fairings were rubbed through. A soft piece of cotton cloth (flannel or T-shirt or, best of all, well-worn postman's underpants) seemed to be best. I also used Mother's Plastic Polish to get a little more 'action' to the polishing. This was learnt during a recent frenzy of four NMF aircraft done one after the other, using Humbrol Metalcote. This paint is okay but others are better and I don't think I'll use it again... pigments are just not fine enough.

It will be great to (hopefully) see this P-40 in 'Aluminume'.

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That's a great experiment Wayne, thanks for sharing the results. I'm really looking forward to following along with this one.

Sorry for the enamel/acrylic confusion (not the first time for me) regarding using paint as a filler. Glad to know that old acrylic paint can serve that purpose as well.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Got to spend some time in the "factory" working on 39-156.

First up I put the upper cowl in place.

Only a little sanding required.

The lower cowl was also placed and required a little more sanding after using the Humbrol paint as a gap filler/smooth finish indicator.

I am trying to avoid using any putty or even glue to fill gaps, as I don't want it to show through the metallic paint coat.

I could use a surfacer to help hide blemishes, but am going to try to paint straight onto the plastic to get the smoothest finish I can

Will it stick?

Am I delusional?

We shall see.

Remaining 3 gun barrels removed and I then contemplated how to fill ejection chutes and gun related panel lines.

I hope I have done this right.

Stretched sprue to suitable thickness, with a slight taper, then jammed the thin end into the holes (with a smear of glue) and cut flush with the wing.

Painted over filled holes and gun panels with thick paint, then rubbed back with fine paper.

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Added missing panel line that runs from the canopy rail to the tail, on the port side of fuselage.

Used dymo tape as guide, and grooved with the tip of a sharp blade, followed by the back of the same blade.

Have an engraving tool on order.

16129578504_45992d138e_b.jpg

The pics I have seen of the first production P-40 (sn 39-156), show that the port rear window doesn't have the two holes that are seen on the "B" model.

Pondering how I could fill the holes in the kit windows, resulted in some wasted thinking.

I then plucked a box off the shelf that housed the unused Academy P-40M canopy and side windows.

I grabbed the port side window and started cutting, filing and sanding it to fit the Airfix 81-A kit.

After getting the shape required, I proceeded to cut, sand and then (with a Dremel) polish the two frame lines off.

I will paint one on later (maybe even raise it with a tiny strip of styrene).

Yet to remove the two circle bits from the scalloped fuselage area that the window covers. What are these ?

16750715571_b067f93beb_b.jpg

Top window is Academy P-40M starboard window, full size.

Middle is my cut down Academy M port window, with frames partly removed, and yet to be polished.

Bottom is original port window.

Dipped in floor polish, after final rotary tool attack.

Windscreen (armour ?) frames were sanded off as best I could, and then windscreen polished with rotary tool, then painted with floor polish.

16750819952_d30156454d_b.jpg

Frame lines still show a little, but should be less obvious when fitted to fuselage.

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Yes, very good work. All of this prep will pay definitely pay off with the metal finish.

I painted metalizer directly on the Airfix plastic for a Lightning build, and would recommend sanding the model lightly overall - especially if the P-40 Airfix plastic is anywhere near as pebbly as their Lightnings. I sanded mine with 800 then 1000, but I don't have your meticulousness, so you may have the patience to go finer.

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Okay.

Canopy and side glass fitted and masked.

Got to painting the airframe and rudder today.

Hmmmmmm.......... I am not totally satisfied with the results, but at least if I choose to fix a couple of issues, I have a better idea of what is required.

The Mr METAL COLOR alminume was applied without undercoat, as I was under the illusion that the finish on the plastic would be smooth enough.

Not quite.

The finish was okay, however the gun panels are still showing through, and some of the areas that were sanded back showed up.

The paint is excellent. I mixed it approximately 1:1 with meth spirits.

After the first airbrush cupful (Iwata HP-C) I lightly rubbed the surfaces with a soft rag (old t-shirt) to remove a little dust, (it dries quickly due to the white spirit).

The finish looked good, however I was concerned that it marks easily, and wasn't sure what would happen when the time come for decals.

So I gave it a couple more coats, only this time I added Tamiya clear to the Meth spirit and Alminue at a ratio of approx 2:2:1 respectively

The finish lost a little of its aluminium look, but is durable and the clear added a small amount gloss depth.

I may yet try some floor polish over the top (after decals)

The rudder has decals from the Xtradecal set, however they didn't fit very well so I decided I would have to try painting it.

It has yet to have a glossy clear coat (the red and white are flat Tamiya paints), though I am not completely happy with the lack of even line thickness, and may repaint using Tamiya gloss colours.

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Will a good clear coat or two provide depth?

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If I were that close to completion at this moment, I wouldn't fiddle with it much. In 1/72, there is a scale colour issue with metallics, and you don't want bare aluminium to be very glossy. It's not a mirror or chrome plating. If you really feel that you must do something else to it, I suggest maybe making a few panels ever so slightly more or less lustrous by mixing clear in various ratios of gloss and matt. You could also change the colour of selected panels a touch by adding a trace of a lighter gray (to lighten) or medium gray (to darken) to your semi-gloss/eggshell/matt lustre variations to change the appearance of selected panels just a tiny bit. This is easily overdone, and there is also the issue of what will happen if you remove masking tape from the existing finish, which has nothing shabby about it.

Mr. Metal Color is GSI Creos Division of Gunze, isn't it? The Tamiya you used here is their gloss, their matt, or a mixture of the two?

Edited by Tom Hall
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Thanks Dazdot.

More clear to come.

What form it will be I don't know yet.

Thanks for the advice Tom.

As i mentioned in my previous post, the initial coats of (yes GSI Gunze) Mr Color looked pretty good, but failed the Tamiya tape test.

So a couple of coats mixed with Tamiya clear (not called gloss, but it is the most "gloss" one) were laid with the aim of having a durable surface. It is now.

Decals have been laid, and I will put some more clear on, with a very slight tint on selected panels.

The photo of 39-156 that I posted on page 1 shows a fair polish on some cowling panels, but a distinct darker tone around the radiator.

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