Aaaargh! P-40 build foul-up. Finished!

[KeithR]

After a long absence from the hobby I built an Airfix Spitfire Mk Ia.

 

I enjoyed it so much I decided to build another similar Airfix Kit; The P-40B starter set A55101.

This is a desert camouflage aircraft flown by Neville Duke of 112 Squadron in Libya 1941.

 

It started nicely. A dry fit of the wings to the fuselage showed that everything fitted together really well with almost no fettling required.

I fitted the wings and cockpit. So far, so good…..

 

After I’d painted the cockpit side walls I glued the fuselage halves together with Tamiya Extra Thin adhesive.

Just to be sure, I clamped them with some clothes pegs and let things set overnight.

The next morning, Aaaaargh!!!! The glue had softened the plastic, the pegs had squashed the joint and the fuselage was now about a millimetre too narrow!

 

I taped the top/front fuselage on one side and it massively overlapped with the other side,

 

 

there were huge gaps at the wing roots

 

and because I’d closed a small gap on the pilot’s rear bulkhead

 

 

the canopy was now too wide!

 

What to do?

Do I:-

a) Write it off, bin it and start another of my 292 unbuilt kits? Yes, really, I have a spread sheet you know.

b) Buy another Airfix P-40 and use the fuselage from that?

c) Split the fuselage with a razor saw and try to pack it out to the correct width with plasticard and glue it more gently this time?

d) Give up and go to the pub?    Rats! Can’t do that. Wretched Covid-19!

 

What I have learned:-

Don’t get cocky after a successful build and rush things without thinking.

Tamiya cement is fierce!

Don’t use pegs to grip things when they fit very nicely without persuasion.

 

Aaaaand relax…………..

Edited January 14, 2021 by KeithR
Change topic title.

[invidia]

Buy another  P40, and built it, learning from your mistakes.  Modelling is about learning, every kit you learn something new. At least the P40 is cheap, last year I ruined a £75 resin kit!!!!

[Werdna]

I only use clamps for closing gaps that would rather stay open.  If there is no gap, then a strip of masking tape over the join is usually enough until dry.  I'd agree with the above, just go with another kit...

[KeithR]

1 hour ago, invidia said:

Buy another  P40, and built it, learning from your mistakes. 

 

36 minutes ago, Werdna said:

I'd agree with the above, just go with another kit...

That would seem to be the sensible option. However being a glutton for punishment I think I might have a go at fixing it and if it gets too much I haven't lost anything except time.

I can always buy another one if my butchery doesn't work. At least it won't cost £75 to replace!

Now, where's that razor saw?

 

Cheers,

Keith.

[2996 Victor]

Definitely have another go! I'm embarrassed to say I'm on my third attempt at an Airfix Tomahawk IIb......

 

First one, I thought I'd be clever and reduce the panel line depth with a coat of primer and then sanding. Too much primer = no panel lines 🤣

 

Second one, I thought I'd try the CMK detail set. Didn't thin the fuselage halves enough and nothing fitted 🤣🤣

 

I'm hoping for third time lucky!

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[Jur]

Aww that's a shame! And that with such a nice cockpit you made.

 

Personally I would chalk it up to experience and get a new kit. Keep this one to run ahead with the build and spot any potential issues before they can bite you. Later you can then use it as a mule to try out all sorts of horrible and possibly doomed painting and weathering ideas without ruining a successful model.

[KeithR]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Despite two more votes for getting another kit I’ve bitten the bullet and started a repair. I feel I’ve invested too much in this one to give up now.

2 hours ago, Jur said:

Later you can then use it as a mule to try out all sorts of horrible and possibly doomed painting and weathering ideas without ruining a successful model.

If fate prevents me then the paint mule idea’s still a very good one that I hadn’t thought of. Can’t get too much practice.

 

I used a photo-etched razor saw and was pleasantly surprised how easily and cleanly it split the fuselage halves.

I only split where I needed to, that is in front of the cockpit, underneath in front of the wing and the bottom of the pilot’s rear bulkhead. The canopy now fits. Phew!

I kept the aft fuselage and the region of the spine intact so it’s still holding together. All the parts look as if they will fit if I pack out the gaps with the right thickness of plastic card

 

Here’s the first cut packed with some 12 thou plastic.

 

 

I’ll let that thoroughly dry before I glue the front upper fuselage on and then tackle the underside.

I think I see light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Cheers!

Keith.

[2996 Victor]

Hi @KeithR,

 

I'd say that's a pretty fine bit of rescuing, very good work indeed - watching with great interest.

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[jackroadkill]

Nice one, Keith. Looks like you could be making a good save there. 

[Thom216]

I think you made the right decision! I would have voted for repairing the work. You could always buy another kit if the repair doesn't work out, but at least you tried and exercised those modelling super skills. Once it's all said and done and looking fantastic, you can wow people by telling them how you had to fix such a big problem. Way to go and good luck!

[stevehnz]

+1more for fixing Keith & it looks like you're well on your way in a most competent fashion. Well done.

Steve.

[gingerbob]

Looks promising (again)!  I've gradually developed the approach of building "from the outside in"- in other words, with things like that top cowling, making sure that THAT fits, before doing the conventional "fuselage halves, then the stuff that goes on/around/next to it".  I suppose that's just a fancy [sic] way of saying "test fit!" but it seemed like an insight to me...

 

Edit: Oops, meant to say that while I haven't actually BUILT this kit, a bit of initial test fitting showed that the cowl pieces would require some careful attention.  At that point I went off to dinner or something and forgot all about 1/72 Tomahawks.

Edited June 29, 2020 by gingerbob

[AdrianMF]

Good choice on the repair. You have nothing to lose and if you pull it off it goes in the "anything that does not kill you makes you stronger" pile!

 

(plus it will be good practice for when you run across one of the many kits where the canopy is too wide for the fuselage)

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Spec7]

Glad to see you went ahead and fixed it. You may actually find thats the most rewarding part of the build in which case you will end up like me with an allergy against building out of the box

[Jur]

Well done Keith! Glad you didn't take my advice! Good luck with the next stages of the build.

[Mr T]

How annoying and we have all done similar. If your repair works then you can think to yourself 'well I have learnt something there' and if it doesn't, you gave still learnt something. One lesson  I have learnt is that Tamiya cement is very good stuff, but fierce on the soft plastic that Airfix use and you only need a small amount. Modern kits usually fit better than I lot of stuff I cut my teeth fifty or so years ago and I fo not have toresort to clamping things together as much as I used to, although there are exceptions. 

[KeithR]

Thanks for the encouragement all. It’s keeping me going, albeit slowly!

 

3 hours ago, gingerbob said:

Looks promising (again)!  I've gradually developed the approach of building "from the outside in"- in other words, with things like that top cowling, making sure that THAT fits, before doing the conventional "fuselage halves, then the stuff that goes on/around/next to it".  I suppose that's just a fancy [sic] way of saying "test fit!" but it seemed like an insight to me...

 

Edit: Oops, meant to say that while I haven't actually BUILT this kit, a bit of initial test fitting showed that the cowl pieces would require some careful attention.  At that point I went off to dinner or something and forgot all about 1/72 Tomahawks.

I wholeheartedly agree with you Gingerbob, excellent advice. Despite the fact that I did indeed test fit and everything was perfect I still managed to make a hash of things though. I think I must have some special skill. 🐵

I was very impressed with how accurately these newish Airfix kits fit together.

The problem happened when I glued the fuselage halves together, clamped them too hard and applied too much glue.

Everything squished together and the fuselage ended up about a millimetre narrower than when it was dry. One lives and learns!

 

Since I've split the top and bottom of the fuselage and packed the top I've glued cowling on and it fits quite well. You can see the packing as a white strip just forward of the cockpit.

Despite not clamping, just using a bit of tape, I still used too much glue so there’s a bit of plastic oozing out of the joint.

I agree Mr T, that Tamiya glue sure is aggressive. Nothing that a sanding stick won’t obliterate this time thankfully.

 

The other side looks a bit neater. I might still put a bit of filler in and rescribe.

 

When that’s dried I’ll pack the underfuselage gap near the intake so that it and the wings fit neatly.   I hope.......

 

Happy modelling,

Keith.

 

[72modeler]

23 hours ago, Werdna said:

I only use clamps for closing gaps that would rather stay open.  If there is no gap, then a strip of masking tape over the join is usually enough until dry.  I'd agree with the above, just go with another kit...

Plus, you can being amassing  every serious  modeler's most treasured  resource- the spare parts bin! 

Mike

[Mutley]

What a bugger, all that work. But, nicely recovered. everyday is a school day in building. As others have said, I would have gone for a 2nd kit and restart - take over as much as you can, like the cockpit, and use the first as a mule/test build. Never anything wrong with persevering though, keep at it. 

 

[2996 Victor]

Hi Keith,

 

have to agree with @Jur and say "glad you didn't go with my advice, either!" Excellent work, and looking forward to seeing your next progress instalment.

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark

[Brandy]

Nice save!

Added to that you now have a skill that could be very beneficial for anything that is not a not "mainstream" kit, and you're able to think "outside the box" to come up with a fix instead of just binning it!

End result: lesson learned, new skills acquired, no longer afraid of kits that don't fit properly!

 

The modelling world is opening up....

 

Ian

[KeithR]

Some progress on my P-40 and plenty learned.

 

I’ve found that now the upper cowl is on successfully, it’s spread the fuselage a bit more so I don’t need to pack out the gap on the underfuselage. I’ve glued the intake on which fits quite nicely.

The real thing has a panel line on the centreline under the intake which the kit omits. I’ve scribed one in.

 

 

The packing I put into the upper front fuselage has cured most of the wing root gap, but I had to insert a spreader into the fuselage to close the gap up a bit more.

 

 

 

This pic shows the wings dry fitted. I’ll let things cure overnight before cleaning the joints up and glueing the wings on.

 

 

 

I thought I’d put the pilot in this one. To make it a bit more interesting I’ve removed PO Duke’s head and reattached it at an angle. You looking at me?

 

 

 

There’s a bit of filling to do. It’ll be interesting to see if I can work the filler at that tiny scale. Thank goodness for magnifiers!

 

 

Speaking of pilots, does anyone know what colour clothes he’d be wearing? I haven’t a clue.

I might open a thread in WWII and ask that question.

 

Thanks for watching,

 

Keith.

Edited June 30, 2020 by KeithR

[Quiet Mike]

38 minutes ago, KeithR said:

Speaking of pilots, does anyone know what colour clothes he’d be wearing? I haven’t a clue.

I might open a thread in WWII and ask that question.

 

Thanks for watching,

 

Keith.

 I imagine Desert Air Force chaps being fairly irregular in their dress, but you can't really go wrong with khaki drill. I know rolled up shirt sleeves and baggy shorts isn't what the kit pilot wears, but this would be a good standard.

https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/574631233696209436/?amp_client_id=CLIENT_ID(_)&mweb_unauth_id=&from_amp_pin_page=true

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Well that was a great recovery on your fuselage. 👍🏻

[2996 Victor]

2 hours ago, KeithR said:

Speaking of pilots, does anyone know what colour clothes he’d be wearing? I haven’t a clue.

I might open a thread in WWII and ask that question

Sqdn Ldr Ernest "Imshi" Mason was well known for wearing a white (or once-white!) boiler suit. But Imshi was, shall we say, unconventional!

 

Your cowling repair is brilliant and an excellent recovery. I'm currently doing one of these kits as well, but I'm using the CMK cockpit detail set which even with a huge amount of scraping the kit's sidewalls is tight, so fitting the IP is a nightmare. But your problem led me to check the cowling fit on my kit, and lo! my kit's fuselage needing packing, too. It hasn't solved the fit of the IP entirely, but it's made a massive difference!

 

Kind regards,

 

Mark