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Need help with AmTech 1/48 P-40F/L


yeehah1

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17 02 2019

Evening all. Been awhile since I last posted here but I have a problem and would like some help please.

I'm currently building AmTech's 1/48 P-40 F/L as 'Stud'. I decided to use the resin nose as supplied in the kit and it fit okay but I do have a gap on the bottom which is entirely my fault.

he problem is I don't know how to blend the resin to the plastic donor kit, if that makes sense. I have the cowl vents ready to attach but cannot for the life of me figure out how to blend hgem together. 

I know this is probably very simple involving some plasticard and putty but could someone please show me how they resolved this? I'm especially concerned about the 'Nun's Habit' on the belly.

 

20190217_151434_zpsha1j1r6j.jpg

 

20190217_151442_zps2qkrj42e.jpg

 

20190217_151531_zpsmm4rijeo.jpg

 

post-901-1253602856_zpsonlazxj8.jpg

 

Thanks in advance

 

Liam

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While I have not done this particular kit, I would recommend a two part epoxy putty such as milliput or aeropoxie. These can easily be shaped with water after applying to the model and final sanding/blending should be a snap. Remember to cover anything you want to save with tape before puttying and sanding and use the tape as a guide to how much you are sanding away, meaning when you see the tape wearing away stop and replace it.

 

Oh, one more thing. After you put the putty where you want it and rough shape it, becareful how much water you use to smooth it. You wouldn't want it to run inside the fuselage and muck up the cockpit and such..

 

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I second the use of Milliput, the 'white super fine' will sand as smooth as glass, and can be rescribed, riveted, or sawed without chipping or flaking if you work slowly.  I'm currently working with a resin conversion on a stretched C-130, and couldn't do it without Milliput!

 

Img_0304

 

Img_0341

 

The resin fuselage sections did not line up as well as I had hoped, and had to be built up with Milliput, and rescribed with a razor saw and a scriber. No other filler that I'm aware of could have handled the job so well.

 

Colin

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I've built several of these kits.  Sometimes I end up with that gap, sometimes I don't, so a lot depends how well I do the surgery.  I'm working on one currently and ended up with a bit of a gap, and in my case used styrene strips/plasticard that I carefully glued with Tamiya extra thin cement to the kit fuselage, trying to work bit by bit so I could bend the strips to the curved shape.  Once down, I layered Tamiya putty over it and sanded it smooth.  One thing I noticed from your side picture is the 'hump' between the nose and fuselage.  I haven't had one quite as pronounced as yours so haven't had to deal with that.  Milliput, which has already been mentioned, might be a better route in your case, although I haven't used it in years and wonder if you should still use the plasticard to at least seal the gap to give some support to the Milliput.  Others here could guide you on that.

 

One other thing.  I noticed you still have the three .50 caliber guns on each wing.  "Stud" had the outboard ones removed on each wing to lighten the plane up a bit, so if you are striving for accuracy then you need to get rid of those.

 

Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on your progress!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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18 02 2019

Hi Guys.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have Milliput and will use it and perhaps use the plastcard strips to support it but what I need to see is what the actual shape is that I'm trying to make. The photos I see of the real aircraft of this area tend to be blocked by the gear doors or some such and the model threads on this seem to skirt over the actual work stages where the modeller built the area up and then blended the resin and the plastic.

 

@Mark Joyce: re the wing guns: Yup, I'll be chopping that gun off as soon as I get the belly sorted :) Thanks!

 

Would anyone care to share please?

 

Liam

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1 hour ago, yeehah1 said:

18 02 2019

Hi Guys.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have Milliput and will use it and perhaps use the plastcard strips to support it but what I need to see is what the actual shape is that I'm trying to make. The photos I see of the real aircraft of this area tend to be blocked by the gear doors or some such and the model threads on this seem to skirt over the actual work stages where the modeller built the area up and then blended the resin and the plastic.

 

Liam

Sorry, Liam, I misunderstood your question, but it appears others have come through with some great reference photographs.  However, for what it's worth I've not been too concerned with the final shape in that area on my builds so can't give any further advice than what I've already mentioned, but hopefully there are better modelers out there that can help!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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20 02 2019

Love you guys. Really.

 

@Tail-Dragon: Fantastic photos there. The section immediately behind F and the cowl flaps in the drawing....is that the black 'taped' area in your second photo?

 

Rhanks again fellas. (say it like Scooby)

 

Liam

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Regarding the center panel that runs from the front of the cowl flaps to what you called the black tape area, it appears that the 'black tape' is actually a flexible seal.  Based on a factory drawing I have found, it appears that that section is the air intake leading to the supercharger. That makes sense of the flexible seal, the intake duct is part of the engine and would shake-rattle-and roll with the engine movements in the mount. In the following photo's you can see the ductwork, and in the drawing it leads up to the engine.

 

F-L_Front_side_top[1]

 

post-901-1253603268

 

post-901-1253603377

 

Edited by Tail-Dragon
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  • 4 months later...
On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 3:56 PM, Mark Joyce said:

One other thing.  I noticed you still have the three .50 caliber guns on each wing.  "Stud" had the outboard ones removed on each wing to lighten the plane up a bit, so if you are striving for accuracy then you need to get rid of those.

 

03 07 2019

@Mark Joyce Mark, is it only one (outboard) machine gun removed from each wing? Some sources suggest that that there was only one gun left on each wing. I can't find anything definitive on it. 

Kit is progressing. Just finished the nose/belly. Moving on to the rest of it.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Liam

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38 minutes ago, yeehah1 said:

03 07 2019

@Mark Joyce Mark, is it only one (outboard) machine gun removed from each wing? Some sources suggest that that there was only one gun left on each wing. I can't find anything definitive on it. 

Kit is progressing. Just finished the nose/belly. Moving on to the rest of it.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Liam

Hi Liam,

 

It still had two inboard guns.  Not the best of photographs to show it, but you can just make out both.

mSIzGQ7.jpg

Cheers,

 

Mark

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