Going for broke... (and it paid off - finished!)

[81-er]

Given both of my original builds are not going to make it, why not have a third crack? Looking through the stash this Airfix P-40B fits the bill nicely, low parts count, simple two-colour scheme, and it even had a set of canopy masks in the box to boot!

 

 

Kicking off at 14:30, giving me 9.5 hours to pull it off:

 

 

I’ll not be stopping the clock for this one, but elapsed time so far:

 

 

One big pile of parts with primer on. Next step will be getting some colour on

 

 

The only musical interlude for this one, as it seems appropriate!

 

 

 

James

[AdrianMF]

Or "They're coming to take me away" might be more appropriate?

 

Adrian

[81-er]

Let's hold off until midnight before we call the men in white coats, but it might be worth asking Matron to warm up the padded room 🤣

 

Quick update while I wait for the canopy glue to dry. Elapsed time:

 

 

Save time on adding a wash by simply painting badly over a black base:

 

 

Oops:

 

 

IP retrieved from the neck of the paint, IP decal applied (before I dropped it into the paint), and horrendous painting on the lower half. Sod it, no one will ever see it again:

 

 

The cockpit in all it’s “glory”

 

 

Upper and lower nose cowling fit was awful, with big gaps and steps. The lower intake wasn’t smoothly curved either, it was covered in lumps & bumps:

 

 

 

Nothing some 180 grit sandpaper and quick-drying Tippex as filler couldn’t sort though.

 

Current state of play:

 

 

Once the canopy glue is dry, I’ll hit the frame with some interior green and then it’ll be on to priming and top coats.

 

James

[Hockeyboy76]

Love it, good luck dude 

[81-er]

Cheers H

 

 

Elapsed time:

 

 

The primer coat went on and didn’t actually look that bad:

 

 

Dinner was grabbed while that was drying (leftover turkey curry I defrosted last night), and the neutral grey undersides were painted. I left it a bit for that to dry (quickly, I’m using Tamiya acrylics for the colours) and I masked and sprayed the OD:

 

 

As much as I was knocking the fit of the cowlings earlier, sanded back it doesn’t look too bad. I could probably make quite a nice model out of this kit if I wasn’t in an insane rush.

 

Give it a while for the OD to dry off, and I’ll get some decals on it. Sod the stencil data, I’ll just go with the stars, US Army on the underside, and the aircraft codes.

 

James

[Mig Eater]

Wow you're making quick progress but you've only got 3 hours left tho! Are we going to see a photo finish across the line 😋

[81-er]

Right, final update before (hopefully) the completion update before midnight!

 

Elapsed time:

 

 

The masking came off, and I’m rather pleased with how it came out, far exceeding my expectations as it was a 5 minute rush job!

 

 

What decals it’s going to get are on:

 

 

You’ll get to see the rest later. I’m going to give it some time for those to dry out, then it’ll be final assembly, maybe a matt coat, and some photos for the gallery.

 

James

[JOCKNEY]

Blimey James, that's very impressive 

Cheers Pat 

[81-er]

Cheers Pat

 

 

Cue the music:

 

 

 

Yes, I only went and did it 

 

Elapsed time:

 

 

And that’s not posed, that’s genuinely the time from opening the box to getting the masks off. One thing I didn’t do was turn off my ceiling fan before spraying the matt coat, so there’s little white flecks of god-knows what stuck to it, but I’m happy with how it’s turned out. I might manage to get the flecks off later, but I’ll call completion now. A bit basic, but not a bad kit that could be made a lot better with some minor tweaks. And it’s under a tenner.

 

Photos. I’ll stick the same ones here and in the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m already eyeing up the stash for contenders for the Blitzenbuild… 

 

James

[AdrianMF]

I was just coming here to change my music suggestion, but you have already chosen the track I was going to suggest! Excellent work.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[81-er]

Thanks Adrian

 

James