1/48th Eduard P-400 Air-a-Cutie

[ta152da_best]

1/48th Eduard P-400 Air-a-Cutie

 

Hello all,

 

After much procrastinating, I've finally finished my first P-400. It goes without saying that the decals were the reason why I wanted to build this kit. Would've loved to find the original Eduard/Hasegawa kits, but these seem to have vanished off the surface of the earth, so I had to settle with some aftermarket decals for the pin-ups, serial numbers and insignias, at a rather expensive price, but excellent quality nonetheless... The other decals were provided from the original Eduard Kit, which means I'll have lots of other options if I ever get my hands on some other P-400 sprues. Overall, kit assembly, engineering and fit was very good, with some lovely PE parts for extra details in the cockpit. The usual high quality from Eduard. However the masking sheet was unusually inaccurate, with everything 10-20% too big, which made masking the cockpit (inside and out) rather challenging. Painting took some time, and finding the accurate colours mixes took a long time. I ended up with XF-19 on the lower surface (meh?), and a mix of XF-67, 55, 4 in 9:2:2 ratios for the top surface, which should in theory be OD-41. I used the 12-per-side exhaust, because I liked the look of it better than the classic 6-per-side, but I think I could've used any one really, as it looks the internet couldn't settle on which one was the original one.

If anyone wishes to build this kit, be very careful that you have enough weight in the nose (half a gram less and my kit would have been a nose sitter), and beware of the gear assembly: it's very easy to end up with gear struts pointing sideways. I would also recommend some resin exhausts and wheels if you are willing to go the extra mile.

 

Any criticism you have is welcome. I'm still scared of oil paints, so maybe one day I'll have enough courage to take 'em on. Hopefully the pictures are good enough when it comes to the colour balance, as I've don't have the best of track records in that department. The most eagle eyed of you will also notice that patience got the better of me, and I still need to assemble antennas, rigging, a pitot tube, and a part or two on the nose gear. But no one will notice anyways! 😁

 

Enough rambling, have some pictures. You deserve them for reading until the end:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mat B.

 

Wow you still here? Here, have a cookie 🍪

Edited March 21, 2021 by ta152da_best
Punctuation & pictures

[SAT69]

Now that's an eye opener! I like it.

[gazza l]

Beautiful work and that nose art is something else!

 

gazza l