Eduard 1-48 P-400 Double Build

[Ran]

When I got back into the hobby I was amazed by a lot of things. Forums and other internet resources for one.

Reading through a lot of forums I was shocked with some of the behaviors demonstrated by avid modelers:

 

1. Endless talks about tens of different shades of gray or green or blue or whatever. Discussions on what fits which scheme and color chip references and paint make and type and exact matches and sophisticated 3-type paint mixes. 
   Me - if it says green then pick a green, if it says gray pick a gray - how complicated can that be?
2. The notorious AMS - people super detailing interiors no one will EVER see.
   Me - what is detailing?
3. People raving about different schemes and how they bought 2,3,4 boxes of the same kit so they can build the different paint schemes.
   Me - If I have one in my stash - no need to buy another one.

 

Well, time have passed and I'm now building kit #40.

So what is the prognosis:

1. I do have 32 different shades of gray in my paint cabinet. I have 13 different blacks. I have almost 24 different greens. I can even tell the difference. You get my drift.
2. I've been infected by AMS - mild so far but limited only by my capabilities. You can check out this or this to see how bad it is.

So far - I did not have any double kits in my (large) stash, except a double Ta-154 I get when I bought one and got shipped two.

 

I like the P-39/P-400 configuration from an engineering perspective. Putting the engine near the center of gravity makes so much more sense. The monogram kit was on my list and when Eduard released their version in became part of the list as well. This P-400 was eventually bought on a sale at 48ers website. I got the box and did not have time yet to put it in the stash so I just hanged loose near the bench. When the A-90 was finished and  I decided to start the Mosquito, I also looked for another kit to build concurrently, as I do for a while now.  My eye fell on the P-400 and the die was cast.

 

Reading through the beautiful instruction booklet I started to review the paint schemes. Eduard adds 4-6 lines of text with some background so its not just the imagery but also some history. This Profipack comes with 5 different schemes. After reading the histories I really dig the 67 FS 13 The Resurrection / Tokyo Bound | Guadalcanal with its paint scheme telling the story of its resurrection. But on the other hand - how can I skip the chance to build a shark-mouthed P-400. Going back and forth I finally decided to ..... lo and behold ..... get another kit. The 48ers site had again the lowest price and after 4-5 days the package arrived.

 

I decided this will be a double build - which is sort of new for me (the closest I came to this was the Spitfires - The Mk. XVI and Mk. V).

 

So - I now boost two kits of the same a/c bought just to build two different paint schemes of the same model as well as a double build.

 

The transition to a lunatic model builder is complete!

 

Here's some photos of the box and frets:

 

 

 

 

Let the build begin

Ran

 

 

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Ran

[Marklo]

Welcome to Britmodeller I think we’re a much more relaxed community;  while I think we all strive for accuracy and there  is some amazing work going on  there are experts but no rivet counters. 
 

There’re are some discussions   on colours, I’m a fan of plausible colour as in my book accurate colour is a moving target and almost impossible.

 

I dislike aftermarket and rarely use it. As I scratch build a lot and I’m on a budget. I’ll sometimes treat myself to an engine or a set of seatbelts.

 

Sometimes multiple builds can be fun. There’s a thread in progress where someone’s building all the major marks of Mustang and it’s amazing. Me I never build the same thing twice. Although that might change as I have a few multiples in my stash atm.
 
But each to their own, so long as your enjoying it.

 

looking forward to seeing the build progress.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Marklo

[Ran]

Thanks @Marklo

When they closed down our local forum site I searched a lot until I decided to continue posting by build posts here. I was mainly due to what you point out - a relaxed atmosphere, amazing builder and friendly advice.

 

Ran

[MarkusOZ]

I've just finished this kit up recently,  just a couple of things to note. 

 

1. I added the top wings after I'd already joined the lower wing to the fuselage,  this got a nice joint at the wing root for me, with no filler.

2. Thin the trailing edge of the wing from the inside on both the top and bottom wing halves before joining them,  just improves the look of trailing edge.  

3. Add a load of nose weight! I didn't put enough in mine initially, then had two add a smidge more in the front wheel well once it was already finished. 

4. If you've got double of the same kit it might be worth doubling up on the decals,  aka having two layers of the same decal as they are very thin.  I can very clearly see the changing camo colours below mine.  A double layer would help that I'm sure

 

Mark

Edited October 30, 2020 by MarkusOZ

[Ran]

Good tips @MarkusOZ - thank you

[corsaircorp]

Welcome to Britmodeller !!

Good job Ran !! I'll follow if you don't mind it.

I've 3 Airacobras on the bench now !!

Sincerely.

CC

[Ran]

Starting !

 

The Mosquito was such a mess I had to clean the bench and instill some order before I go on.

I've finished the cockpit and closed the fuselage and I need some rest from that kit.

 

So I cleaned the bench (that's the clean and order state - believe me )

 

Working on two identical kits simultaneously is new for me.

As I scanned the insturctions for the first time it downed on me that this is the the FIRST Eduard kit I build.

I have ten's of Edualrd kit's in my stash as I came back to the hobby around the time they became popular and started their legendary FW190 / Me-110 and others.

Never thought the P-400 will be the first

I'ts nice to have all the PE and Masks around out of the box.

The plastic is a clear change from the Mosquito - less brittle even soft.

 

Started with the cockpit per the instructions - with some dry fitting.

 

 

Well, a short start but a start!

 

Ran

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Ive built a couple of these like any P-39/400 kit triple check your nose weight. I didn't on my first Eduard P-39N and have a permanent cobra wheelie. 

[Ran]

Thanks @Corsairfoxfouruncle - sounds like a sound advice

How much weight did you end up putting in those that are not wheelie ?

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

12 minutes ago, Ran said:

Thanks @Corsairfoxfouruncle - sounds like a sound advice

How much weight did you end up putting in those that are not wheelie ?

 

Im not sure on the full weight its been quite a long time. But if memory serves me, it was over an Ounce. 3/4 Oz. from a fishing weight and then lead shot to full the gaps around it. It helps that Eduard noses are add on pieces so you have a ready made door that can be blended in when you're done. I added the main weight at the back of the instrument panel, closed the Fuselage. Then when the plane was ready for paint I mocked it up with its landing gear or sticks in place of it. I kept adding shot till it stayed on the nose. All you have to do then is add the nose/gun piece and blend in. I use C/A or tack to hold my weights but caulk and other things similar to fill the voids and prevent spillage will work. 
 

Dennis

[Ran]

Going forward slowly.

The plastic is soft and some of the engineering resembles short-run - with little positive locations.

It also turns our it my first time with a full fledged cockpit PE set.

 

Instrument panel is a real jem. Added some Microscale Kristal Klear. It's very old - not sure if I get the effect.

I also shifted to working one kit at a time.

 

 

Front LG interior:

 

 

That's it for tonigh

Ran

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Ran

[Ran]

There this weird thing with building a double build..... you have to do everything well,,, twice.

It nice in the sense the kit #2 gets built better - after dry and wet fitting is done on #1

But it's double the work

 

I'm also not sure if I like all that PE work vs. scratch. The outcome is more sharp but its also more tidious and less flexible.

 

I'm almost done with that can be done before painting the interior green:

 

 

Using the Kristal Klear as a glue for the PE parts is a new trick I picked.

 

 

That's it

Ran

[Biggles87]

Another welcome to BM from me.

Looks like you’ve made a good start, can I suggest that you put some matt or semi-matt varnish on the IP between the dials, the Eduard panels although very nice are too shiny IMHO.

 

John

[Ran]

Good point @Biggles87
Thanks

Ran

[Ran]

Kit is progressing slowly

I got bogged down with all these fre@@#$ing small PE parts - and doing it twice for every piece just makes it frustrating to the power of 2. This is not for my fat fingers and blind eyes.

I hope to get the cockpits done this week - and will share some pictures.

In the meanwhile - I'm looking into the next stage of the build.

Does anyone know how much weight you need to put up front for this not to be a tail sitter?

 

Ran

[Ran]

Time to pay tribute to being committed to build and write a build log

 

Going forward - all these small PE parts - its a mixed experience to say the least. Not sure all the parts really are worth the hassle, even in a P-400 with its cockpit being so visible. And doing every thing twice means that some times i have a chance to do it better, while other times I don't have the patience anymore.

 

Cockpit work continued:

 

Must say the bunch of boxes on the left hand side of the cockpit required A LOT of dry fitting with the fuselage side and cockpit parts. Not sure the kit is accurate in that respect.

 

I did not take a proper picture but the black box interferes with the left rudder paddle and required some twitching and a lot of dry fitting.

 

Before closing up the fuselage halfs, I had to take care of several things - first nose weight. After some research I installed a roof to the nose gear well and dry fitted the lower part of the wings and experimented. The engineering allows for a lot of room, but the kit also needs a lot of weight. I could not find a number in any of the (many) build reports.

 

 

I ended up with gluing 2X10g lead shot on each side of the upper part of the nose, with some additional space left in front of that. This turned out for the good as I forgot to account for the tail surfaces and after closing the fuselage and attaching the LG legs it still was a tail sitter. This was solved with another 10g (cut into two parts ) that I added to the front part before closing the top most part of the nose.

 

 

 

All in all you need 25-30gr for this to lean properly on its three leg.

 

Another thing I had to solve is the (surprisingly) lack of location pins on one side of the aft part of the fuselage. This was corrected by adding plasticard tabs

 

 

I also added the filters and the landing light (added some silver paint on the center of the lamp and on the upper wing background. The lamp was then masked.

 

 

Fuselage halves were glues and then the lower wing and then the upper wing parts. This helped solve a wing root gap problem.

 

I need to do some sanding (minor) and maybe some filling. Following that I will put this kit aside for a while - I need to decompress and get the Mosquito going again as this double-build sucked most of my time.

 

Thanks it for today, comments are welcomed as always.

 

Ran

 

 

 

 

[Biggles87]

Some good progress there.

I can't cope with small PE bits ( even in 1/32 ) any more, my fingers just aren't supple enough and like you I also don't have the patience. I go for Yahu or LooK instrument panels and decal placards wherever possible. Having said that, the IPs do look splendid.

 

John

 

[Ran]

A short update. The P-400 double build is on a 'getting back my mojo' hold.

I did the exhausts today, together with the Mosquito B Mk. IV build going on concurrently. 

 

These parts were treated with the process outlined in MM Scale Models's great tutorial. 

 

 

 

 

 

The lighting conditions affected the quality of the pictures and it's hard to see the effect.

 

That's it for tonight

 

Ran

[B_Bogus]

Watching with interest - looking good so far 🙂

I built an early boxing which came with a cast nose weight - I wonder why they no longer supply one with the kit?

Quite unlike Eduard!

I found that the wings require a fair amount shaving off the mating surfaces to get things looking right and to achieve a fine trailing edge.

A bit of a pain but worth the effort, as everything lines up so much better afterwards - I joined the upper surfaces to the fuselage before attaching the lower, and if you dry-fit the excess can be seen.

Builds into a great model though, and no filler needed.

Edited January 31, 2021 by B_Bogus

[Ran]

It is just unbelievable how long did these kits sat in their (open) box collecting dust while I was trying to get back my mojo - Last post more the 15 month ago (shameful) and last bench time (judged by the dates on the images) some 12 month ago.

I the meanwhile I did finish up the Trojan, and started the P-51K - so I have some excuses. I also lost my job, and been seeking a new one for a couple of month now, so another excuse. 

 

The Mustang is waiting for it's legs - so it's time to get back to these P-400 and push them to the finish line.

 

A quick list of things done since the last post:

 

- Canopy was detailed with the reinforced glass, masked and glued in place

  

 

- Door parts were detailed with PE, and painted green

   

 

- All that needed covering before priming was covered. Some light sanding / putty was needed here and there. Primer was sprayed.

  

   

 

- Green Egg was sprayed on the bottom side of the wings. Forgot to pre-shade.

  

 

- Kits were pre-shaded (lousy job) and put on hold for months.

 

When getting back to the build, I had to clean a hefty layer of dust. I also had to re-read the post and the instructions to see where I am and what's next. These ProfiPack kits are complicated. 

 

As it turns out, masking is the first order of business. I scanned and scaled the kit's paint schemes - easier said then done. I use InkSpace for that, and it anything but straight and forward. How do you do that?

 

I started by masking the parts bellow the horizontal stubs and shot the base brown/earth layer. Had to fight hard the heavy pre-shading.

  

  

 

Then shot the underside of the left wing of scheme B ("resurrection") - but did not take a picture of this stage. 

Then I continued masking the full Camouflage scheme preparing for the green layer. This was both interesting and annoying. Planing the mask parts was fun (a first time for me doing that) but the cutting and masking is tedious. Made me think I NEED a silhouette III As a double build this was double the trouble. 

 

  

 

  

 

That's it for now. Hope the next update will not take a year.

 

Comments are welcomed as always. 

 

Ran

 

 

[Biggles87]

Good to see you back with these.

Keep up the good work.

 

John

[Ran]

I managed to squeeze in some bench time today. My middle kid, who just moved in back with us, is talking about getting a pressing bench for his training. I will settle for my bench

 

This sitting was dedicated to masking. A lot can be said about the masking technique I selected for this build - but most of that can not be repeated out loud @@#$@#$@#$.

The paint schemes call for sharp demarcation and I opted to mask using Tamiya tape, cut to pieces according the the scheme.

I must admit that planning the masking is an interesting mind puzzle - I had to think and develop a method to follow. It worked fine on flat areas and is a bit more challenging over non-flat ones. 

The down size is that my eyes and fingers are not cut for such work for a long stretches' of time. I ended this bench time cursing. The fact it is a double build makes things much harder as I need to try hard to match the scheme and the other kit as well. 

BUT - only one side left, and then the 2nd batch of masking for the 3rd paint. So a lot of cursing up ahead.

 

Some images as of the end of this day:

 

 

That's it for tonight.

 

Ran

 

 

[Ran]

MASKING IS DONE

 

Spent some more time today. In masking - double build is double the trouble and even triple - when the two schemes are .... different @#@#$@$@

 

But - it's over for now and the kits rest in the booth waiting.

 

  

 

 

 

That's it for tonight

Ran

 

[Ran]

Pushing forward. He who should be obeyed is positive for Covid but feeling well. Some more bench time between running errands to the closed room

 

It's time for dark green:

 

 

Had real fun airbrushing today. 

Next is the Olive darb, for which I only have an enamel. which I did not shoot for a long time now. Will be interesting.

 

Thats it

Ran

[Ran]

All Masks are OFF !

 

All layers were left to dry, including enamel one - left for a day.

Got to this scary moment of pulling all the masks and getting a first glimpse of the paint job.

This was the most complex paint job to date - in terms of mask complexity, different paints and paint types and the order.

I sill have to pull of the canopy masks though. 

 

Here they are:

 

 

The Olive darb on the vertical fin is not so noticeable in the picture. 

 

Here I went a bit overboard with lightning the dark green on the front panel.

 

Here the olive darb panels are mush less distinct compared to the real model. 

 

I do have a couple of touch ups but all in all I'm happy with the results. The Olive darb cold be made a bit greener or darker - maybe next time.

 

That's it for tonight

Ran

Edited March 20, 2022 by Ran