Mick Drover Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) G'day all. We had our annual show last weekend and as it happens every year, the motivation and enthusiasm was renewed after catching up with mates and seeing some fantastic models on the competition table and club displays. So of course I went home and started a model. I built the Airfix Defiant two years ago and had a great time building it so opted for the new(ish) 1/48 Airfix P-40B Tomahawak. I've picked up some extras over the last month so started on it last week. Yesterday was Father's Day here in Oz so I managed a few hours to myself amongst all of the carry on with my own kids, catch up with my dad and my wife's dad. Considering it's the kit cockpit, I'm happy with how it turned out. The only thing I'm not sure on is the amount of time spent on the HGW seatbelts, I don't think I'll bother with them again. Everything else is just detail painting, washes and some pigments. The instrument dials are kit decals with heaps of Microsol applied to get them to suck down onto the embossed dials. Followed by Tamiya X-22 for the instrument glass. The only thing missing are the gun breeches for the two nose mounted 50 cal guns. The fuselage goes together tonight. Cheers, Mick Edited September 2, 2019 by Mick Drover 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 That's a lot of choc wedges you've eaten to get those sticks ! Looking forward o seeing this progress. HGW belts are fiddle enough in 32 scale let alone 48. Well done Mick Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, pacificmustang said: That's a lot of choc wedges you've eaten to get those sticks ! Looking forward o seeing this progress. HGW belts are fiddle enough in 32 scale let alone 48. Well done Mick Bruce Thanks Bruce. Not quite a heap of choc wedges, just a visit to the art store! I was working on the belts late on Saturday. I put everything down and went and had a good nights sleep before returning to them yesterday afternoon. Mick Edited September 2, 2019 by Mick Drover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Looking very very good so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 9 hours ago, Adam Poultney said: Looking very very good so far Thanks Adam. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Which paint was used for the Zinc Chromate (?) colour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 Disclaimer... TL;DR moment....It was assembly only on the P-40 tonight. The cockpit, wing roots and fuselage have all been joined. Test fitting of the wing while the fuselage glue dried revealed some fit issues. Either the distance between the wing root on the fuselage is too small or the corresponding distance on the wing is too short. Opting for the lesser of two evils I cut the spar that makes the wing rigid rather than chop material off the wing panels. It allows some flex for the wing to fit in the gap. The other work was on the prop and spinner. The kit would have you capture the prop and it's hub between the front and rear of the spinner. I hacked off the blades which I'll later pin back on. This allows me to install just the hub and the fore and aft spinner parts, in turn allowing me to clean up the fit and the paint it before reattaching the props. That's it for now. Mick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Adam Poultney said: Which paint was used for the Zinc Chromate (?) colour Gunze H54? Interior green. I'll double check when I get hone Edited September 2, 2019 by Mick Drover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Just a quick update. and a few quick pics this morning after I took all the clamps and tape off and before heading off to work. Spent an hour or two last night getting the airframe and flying surfaces on. The gun fairing panels are only tacked on at the nose the moment; hence why they sit a bit proud of the surface. Mick 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 All refreshed after a great holiday, so paint has started to go onto the P-40. Mr Color middle stone, dark earth and azure blue. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 Back to the P-40 now that the F-16 is done. Beginning with the panel lines, Gunze 336 Hemp on the middle stone and 50:50 of Gunze 310 and 72 (brown/dark earth) over the dark earth. The underside is 70:30 of Gunze 67 and 56 (RLM65 and int blue) followed by a distemper using ArtFX masks with 30:40:30 of Gunze 56/45/322 (light blue, int blue and pthalocyanine blue). This was then followed up with a light freehand coat of the base colour, Mr Color Azure blue. All mixes were thinned with Mr Color levelling thinner. Lots to go yet! Cheers, Mick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 Time to start the grime. A few hours last night with a thinned mix of Gunze Gloss Black/Tyre Black/Red Brown. I'm having a lot of fun weathering this thing and there's plenty to go. Layer upon layer, upon layer, upon layer.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Hello Mick - looking really good so far. Just a quick question - are you using the kit decals? If not - beware Xtradecal sheet 48163 - AK578 was not a Tomahawk but a Kittyhawk! Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Baldy said: Hello Mick - looking really good so far. Just a quick question - are you using the kit decals? If not - beware Xtradecal sheet 48163 - AK578 was not a Tomahawk but a Kittyhawk! Cheers Malcolm Hi Malcolm. I'll be using the kit decals for this build so there's no confusion regarding the Xtradecal sheet. I did find the post that Floyd Werner authored regarding the conflicting information on the Xtradecal sheet regarding AK578 and whether or not it was a Tomahawk or a Kittyhawk. I'm not au fait with the nomenclature of P-40 names etc. but are the different anmes because of Mks or versions? From my readings I though the names were based on the usage of the aircraft by either Commonwealth or Allied aircraft? Thanks for the heads up though. Cheers, Mick Edited November 7, 2019 by Mick Drover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted November 7, 2019 Share Posted November 7, 2019 Hello Mick If you are using the kit decals then there is no problem. Mentioned it because I fell foul of the Xtradecal sheet - I thought I would like to make a different model. Unfortunately, when I took a closer look I discovered that all was not well. Interestingly, the decal sheet instructions give an immediate clue when they mention that this particular "Tomahawk" had different exhausts and no arial mast. In the end I used the kit decals which were excellent. For the record, the Tomahawk IIA was the name given to the P-40B which used the Allison V-1710-33 engine and was referred to my the manufacturer as the Model 81. The Kittyhawk was the model 87 and the earlier ones, such as AK578 were the P-40D. This type had a quite different and much larger engine, the V-1710-39 which required a larger radiator and was in fact almost an entirely new aircraft - and looked entirely different! Cheers and happy modelling Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 7, 2019 Author Share Posted November 7, 2019 17 hours ago, Baldy said: Hello Mick If you are using the kit decals then there is no problem. Mentioned it because I fell foul of the Xtradecal sheet - I thought I would like to make a different model. Unfortunately, when I took a closer look I discovered that all was not well. Interestingly, the decal sheet instructions give an immediate clue when they mention that this particular "Tomahawk" had different exhausts and no arial mast. In the end I used the kit decals which were excellent. For the record, the Tomahawk IIA was the name given to the P-40B which used the Allison V-1710-33 engine and was referred to my the manufacturer as the Model 81. The Kittyhawk was the model 87 and the earlier ones, such as AK578 were the P-40D. This type had a quite different and much larger engine, the V-1710-39 which required a larger radiator and was in fact almost an entirely new aircraft - and looked entirely different! Cheers and happy modelling Malcolm Thanks for the schooling Malcolm! That's great information that I'll use it at the next trivia night! Doing it in 48th scale certainly gives me some motivation to try it in 32nd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 11, 2019 Author Share Posted November 11, 2019 It's all decaled and and on it's feet. I had a moment on Sunday arvo when trying to thread the aerial wire, got up and walked away to try again last night (Monday). This time with success, thanks for the chat BA. Also tried a different lighting set-up in the photo booth with much better results. Another hour or two and it should be finished. Cheers, Mick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squibby Posted November 12, 2019 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Looking great, love all the fine airbrush work to weather it. Initially the light shading along the panel lines looked a bit harsh to my eyes but the final result really nails it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 Thanks Squibby. Glad you like it. I'm not a fan of pre or post shading panel lines and then leaving it that. I see weathering as a layered approach as that's how it would accumulate on the real subject. It's just a technique that adds to the whole picture I'm trying to create. Cheers and thanks for stopping by. Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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