Oven-Ready P40 Racer

[andy.m]

A little light amusement for the new year...

I had this lovely little Airfix kit sat in the stash and decided to do it in the style of those lovely P51 racing planes in bare metal. A quick search on the internet and I couldn't find any real examples of the mark being used for racing, so I decided to make it up!

The kit went together very easily and I removed the guns from the wings and the front cowling. I was quickly at a stage where it was time to start applying the finishes. The metal is good old kitchen foil and is fixed using Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. This is brushed onto the foil and left to go tacky. The first problem I had was getting the adhesive to stay on the foil - it was forming little pools rather than staying evenly spread. I solved this by adding a very tiny amount of washing up liquid to break the surface tension. The first piece I applied looked like corrugated iron! Brush marks in the glue showed very clearly. I removed it and washed the glue off the model and tried again. A softer, finer brush and brushing in various directions cured the problem. Once the foil was applied and rubbed in using cotton buds and a cocktail stick I burnished the whole model with very fine wire wool. A few coats of clear sealed the foil.

I've set the plane wheels up and mounted it on a good old Airfix stand. The pilot is not the kit original but a more contemporary one from a jet kit. I thought a dayglo helmet was appropriate!

I hope you like it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2018 by andy.m
Typos...

[Viking]

That's a bit of fun, like it!

 

Cheers

 

John

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great idea 👍 i sometimes build Reno racers for a change of pace. The early P-40’s weren't used for racing to my knowledge. But the XP-40Q was in the ‘46,’47,& i think ‘49 bendix races in cleveland. So you arent far from the mark with your idea.  

Edited January 21, 2018 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Vultures1]

Looks great!  Nice metalwork (if that is the right word)