yeehah1 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 01.01.2018 Hi all Looking for some advice about this. I am going to make Col. R.L. Baseler's P-40F 'Stud' using the AmTech 1/48 P-40 F/L. I love the scheme. I acknowledge that maybe this kit is not the best when compared to modern kits but it's not exactly a dog either and it does come with the necessary decals and a resin nose for the Merlin engine. I found a profile of this machine on page 40 of Histoire & Collections Curtiss P-40 from 1939 to 1945 book. The red tone of the nose seems darker than the decal provided by the kit though. Can anyone advise if there is anything I need to do to improve the finished model please ( other than shipping it into the bin...not going to happen ). Thinking for the usual things like the cockpit etc.... Thanks in advance Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Hugo Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 (edited) You are not exactly spoilt for choice as this kit is the only 1/48th scale P40F/L (other than reboxed versions by other manufactures.) Fortunately the AMT/AMtech kits were not bad. Some dressing up of the cockpit is required, modelling skills to fit the new nose )IIRC there were issues with one of the early releases with regards to the accuracy being the reason why AMTech included the resin replacement) The alignment of drop-in plug to proved the different length tails could require some attention to get rid of the step. Edited January 1, 2018 by Charlie Hugo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 1 hour ago, yeehah1 said: 01.01.2018 Hi all Looking for some advice about this. I am going to make Col. R.L. Baseler's P-40F 'Stud' using the AmTech 1/48 P-40 F/L. I love the scheme. I acknowledge that maybe this kit is not the best when compared to modern kits but it's not exactly a dog either and it does come with the necessary decals and a resin nose for the Merlin engine. I found a profile of this machine on page 40 of Histoire & Collections Curtiss P-40 from 1939 to 1945 book. The red tone of the nose seems darker than the decal provided by the kit though. Can anyone advise if there is anything I need to do to improve the finished model please ( other than shipping it into the bin...not going to happen ). Thinking for the usual things like the cockpit etc.... Thanks in advance Liam IMHO you'll do better to build it without the resin nose replacement, which is a PITA to install. The kit's is more accurately shaped anyway and just needs a little detail added to the interior of the lower area, mainly the cylindrical carburetor intake. This can be easily fashioned with a small length of styrene or brass tubing and a small, circular piece of sheet for the choke plate. I also added some strips along the bottom of the radiator intakes to bring them out a bit. The other mod I made in the nose area was to cut out the rather crude kit cooling gills and replace them with pieces of sheet styrene. In case you're interested in seeing photos of my model, you can find it at my SmugMug page here: https://seawinder.smugmug.com/2014-Models/Curtiss-P40F-Warhawk/ I've just added a close-up of the intake area so you can see what I'm talking about. There are a bunch of other detail mods that IMHO enhance the kit. I'm happy to share them either here or via email: pnmoss [at] comcast [dot] net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 12 minutes ago, Seawinder said: IMHO you'll do better to build it without the resin nose replacement, which is a PITA to install. The kit's is more accurately shaped anyway and just needs a little detail added to the interior of the lower area, mainly the cylindrical carburetor intake. This can be easily fashioned with a small length of styrene or brass tubing and a small, circular piece of sheet for the choke plate. I also added some strips along the bottom of the radiator intakes to bring them out a bit. The other mod I made in the nose area was to cut out the rather crude kit cooling gills and replace them with pieces of sheet styrene. In case you're interested in seeing photos of my model, you can find it at my SmugMug page here: https://seawinder.smugmug.com/2014-Models/Curtiss-P40F-Warhawk/ I've just added a close-up of the intake area so you can see what I'm talking about. There are a bunch of other detail mods that IMHO enhance the kit. I'm happy to share them either here or via email: pnmoss [at] comcast [dot] net Hi Seawinder, Don't you need to use the resin nose to make the Merlin engine machines? I would be interested to see what you did yes please. And thank you. I have one or two other AMtECH p-40's in the stash so any help would be brilliant. Best wishes Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 9 minutes ago, yeehah1 said: Hi Seawinder, Don't you need to use the resin nose to make the Merlin engine machines? I would be interested to see what you did yes please. And thank you. I have one or two other AMtECH p-40's in the stash so any help would be brilliant. Best wishes Liam Hi Liam. The AMTech fuselage parts are correct for the Merlin engine: no dorsal intake, and deeper chin intake area. IIRC, the added resin nose insert was originally created by somebody else (maybe Aeromaster?) and is included in the AMTech kit as a bonus. IMHO the resin piece is too deep and doesn't capture the lower contour as well as the kit parts. When I built my -F a few years ago, I discovered a Cutting Edge resin cockpit set in the box that I had purchased and forgotten about. It obviated several issues with what is otherwise an adequate kit cockpit if you're not too fussy: the seat, the gun sight and the (lack of) sliding canopy rails. I'm currently working on an AMT Kittyhawk Mk. 1a, which is basically the same plastic as the AMTech kit for everything except the Merlin-specific fuselage details. I've used an Ultracast seat (available with American or British harness) -- big improvement. The kit gun sight is worthless -- it's done in opaque styrene with the "glass" slanting the wrong way. I scratchbuilt a sight from styrene strip and tubing and a piece of clear thermoform. I scratchbuilt the canopy rails from pieces of strip styrene glued together for an L-shaped cross section. Other worthwhile mods: The small attachment bracket for the radio antenna wire can be cut from sheet styrene, a small hole drilled, and glued to the fin front. The main gear struts are lacking the transverse arms that go from the main strut (same point where the rear facing arms attach) down to the center of the area covered by the inner gear doors. Easy to make from strip styrene. The inner gear doors can have the short sides thinned and actuator rods (stretched sprue) added between them and the added transverse strut arms. The kit exhausts are fairly crude. I replace them with Ultracast items. They come with attachment plates that get CA-ed inside the cowl pieces so you can attach the exhausts after painting. The kit sliding canopy is thick and, on at least a couple of my copies of the kit, unequally molded so one side is thicker. Not an issue if you plan to build it closed. I do mine open, so I invest in a Squadron vacuform canopy and just use the sliding portion. Hope any of this is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Hey Seawinder, I can't seem to find a suitable resin cockpit for the F. Any suggestions? Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 3 hours ago, yeehah1 said: Hey Seawinder, I can't seem to find a suitable resin cockpit for the F. Any suggestions? Liam AFAIK there isn't one. The Cutting Edge set has been unavailable for years. As I said above, the kit cockpit isn't terrible if you dress it up a bit. Replace the seat. I really like the Ultracast seats, and they come with the mounting frame attached and can be simply glued to the rear bulkhead. The pilot's head rest is poorly shaped. I chopped it off and fashioned a replacement from some layered styrene sheet cut to shape and rounded over. The gun sight needs to be replaced. As I said above, I scratchbuilt one, but I believe the F used a later version which one could probably pirate from some other kit. I also mentioned scratchbuilding the canopy rails -- not terribly difficult. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 A resin cockpit for an E would be near enough that nobody's going to know the difference. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 8 hours ago, gingerbob said: A resin cockpit for an E would be near enough that nobody's going to know the difference. Agreed, but I don't know of any offhand. The Aires set is designed for the Hasegawa kit; given their reputation for excellence of fit (not), I shouldn't care to speculate on how it would mate with the AMTech fuselage. The True Details cockpit was designed for the Mauve -N and has the later rear buikhead and seat, plus (according to Brett Green in his HyperScale article), it's too wide for the AMTech plastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Goodness, I didn't think it would be this complicated! I'm not particularly a resin cockpit collector, but I just kinda assumed that a basic P-40 cockpit would be readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 34 minutes ago, gingerbob said: Goodness, I didn't think it would be this complicated! I'm not particularly a resin cockpit collector, but I just kinda assumed that a basic P-40 cockpit would be readily available. Well, the Aires set may work just fine, but I've never had my hands on one. As I stated above, I think the AMT/AMTech kit cockpit can be made presentable with some dressing up -- seat, sight, etc. -- and you probably end up doing as much or less work than it would take to adapt one of the existing cockpit sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 (edited) Hallo, everyone, Allow me to disagree in regard to the nose in the AmTech model. The original plastic nose is not good in contour. The bottom intake contour goes up to steeply. The resin nose is correctly square shaped. Just see the picture. The resin nose is not difficult to install, I have made it; some small wedges in strategic places will help. Seawinder correctly recalls it was originally made by another manufacturer (Hi-tech, the type and colour of the resin is a tell-tale -it came together to a rear fuselage plug, i don't recall if to lenghten or shorten the rear fuselage!; it was reissued by Aeromaster as a stand alone) to convert another kit (Mauve's) though the rear part (the equivalent to the infamous "nun's hat" area!) needs to be almost rebuilt and there are very few specific images. I am almost sure that the instrument panel had some detail differences in almost every P-40E/F/M/N variant; no wonder some old Eduard PE sets brought three of them. But I concur in that no one will tell the tale. See this review: http://www.kitreview.com/kitreviews/p40flreviewbg_1.htm And this construction feature (if you allow me): http://hsfeatures.com/features04/p40ffr_1.htm Fernando Edited January 2, 2018 by Fernando 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I have built a couple of the AMTech kits and they’re quite good if there not the garbage plastic from Mexico(too soft). I have an “N” about to start in the next few weeks i think. I still have the Resin Merlin nose from one i built as an “E”. I always used etch for my cockpits, i never tried a resin pit so can’t comment. But i agree you can add a little bit of scratch detail or scrounged bits. It will help the detail in the pit quite a bit. At the very least i’d add a set of belts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seawinder Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Fernando said: Allow me to disagree in regard to the nose in the AmTech model. The original plastic nose is not good in contour. The bottom intake contour goes up to steeply. The resin nose is correctly square shaped. Just see the picture. The resin nose is not difficult to install, I have made it; some small wedges in strategic places will help. Seawinder correctly recalls it was originally made by another manufacturer (Hi-tech, the type and colour of the resin is a tell-tale -it came together to a rear fuselage plug, i don't recall if to lenghten or shorten the rear fuselage!; it was reissued by Aeromaster as a stand alone) to convert another kit (Mauve's) though the rear part (the equivalent to the infamous "nun's hat" area!) needs to be almost rebuilt and there are very few specific images. Hi Fernando. I guess we agree to differ. I remember looking at photos of -Fs when I was building mine (and I've just taken a look at a couple just now) and deciding that the resin nose looked more "off". I also came to the conclusion that scratchbuilding the carb intake in the kit nose gave a more appropriate 3-dimensional look. Cheers, Pip 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted January 2, 2018 Author Share Posted January 2, 2018 Thanks everyone. A lot of food for thought in this. Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 If you can find one Eduard did an old set for the AMT P-40K https://www.eduard.com/store/Eduard/P-40K-Warhawk-1-48.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=p-40 which would probably be 'close enough' for a P-40F Note, the AMT Kits are now boxed by Italeri, so if you cn use sets made for them instead, Eduard do some, but unlike the old set above, comprehensive sets are split up A zoomset might add enough pizazz without the bother of fitting a resin pit https://www.eduard.com/store/Eduard/P-40K-Warhawk-1-48.html?cur=1&listtype=search&searchparam=p-40 Always worth browing the instructions. Lion Roar did photo etch seats, and Soveriegn Hobbies stock Ultracast here's are the P-40 seats https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/collections/1-48/products/ultracast-1-48-curtiss-p-40-seats-with-standard-american-harnesses-48036?variant=28284613265 As other posters have said, the basic cockpit is OK, and zoom set and a resin seat would be easier than fitting a resin cockpit I should think. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Is the Hobbycraft P40F the same kit then AMT...???? I've got one of these, but can't say nothing about its roots... And talking about the reboxed AMT kits, all I can say is they're an absolute ****, at least the ones in my stash.....warped fuselages, inconsistent panel lines, lots of flash, etc....just worth for the decals.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Hi, Artie, Yes. See this review. http://www.hyperscale.com/2009/reviews/kits/hc1418reviewbg_1.htm FErnando Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 Believe it or not, Fernando, I bought the kit at my LHS so long ago, put it in my stash, and never opened the box to check the contents.....just a first overall glance at the hobby shop, and that's all......decals for two north american and one french machines....north african front. Cheers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 This may help regarding the Amtech resin nose, I was sent the link by Steven as he can no longer post. http://hyperscale.com/features/2002/p40lse_1.htm HTH T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Thanks Troy! Liam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeehah1 Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share Posted September 11, 2018 11.09.2018 Morning all, okay, so after a bit of a delay while I completed a different model I can now turn my attention fully to this P-40 again. Just finished riveting the plastic and am ready to start assembly. So, I guess the question I now have is: what colour is the seat! I know the later models had an unpainted/ aluminium seat. Would that apply to the seat in 'Stud'. I can't find anything definitve to confirm or deny this. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS_w Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 There was two material for the seat. made in aluminium the seat was painted, or in stainless steel and it was bare metal. One of both seat could be fitted on F model depending their availability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Archer Posted September 12, 2018 Share Posted September 12, 2018 (edited) Hi All! It is time for me to wade in to this thread. First of all the resin nose has a couple of errors which are almost impossible to fix. The first it does not include the dual oil coolers below the radiator, and the radiator is not deep enough in the nose. Having been around an actual P-40F, these errors are very obvious. The AMT/AmTech nose does have the radiator deep enough and the oil coolers, but not the carb intake, easily constructed from tubing. People bash the AMT derived P-40s but when released they were remarkable. Not for detailing ( those with AMS can go crazy!), but because with just three released kits, the P-40F (short tail), P-40K and P-40N, by mixing and matching parts you can build all of the H87 series of P-40s. Using the AMT derived P-40s ( which includes AMT, AmTech, Hobby Craft, Italeri and others) I have built the P-40D, P-40E (both short tail and "round" tail), P-40F (both short tail and long Tail), P-40K ( both "round tail" and long tail), P-40L, P-40M , P-40N and P-40R. I find the AMT derived P-40s to be easier to build, easier to find and less expensive than either the Mauve or Hasegawa ( I have built both). There are some items which need to be replaced, the seat, the prop on P-40L/M/N and the landing gear needs detailing. And the cockpit could use some additional details, but then again we are all modellers are we not? At the risk of being called a heretic I actually prefer the AMT derived P-40s to the others on the market. My rant is now officially over. Bruce Edited September 12, 2018 by Bruce Archer Spelling and grammer 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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