The great 1/48 work on this forum has inspired me to dig my Italeri P-40M/N out of the back of the cupboard and get back to work on it.

As you can see from the pictures below it's at the filler - lots of filler - stage.

I'm starting this as a build topic to keep my momentum going and get this kit built.

As it's just my second 1/48 kit - if you don't count a brief and disastrous flirtation with an Academy Avia S-199 - I'll be making lots of mistakes as we go along.

If anyone wants to give me a few hints/pointers as we go, please feel free.

The rest of you can just have a laugh at my expense.

OK here's the pics. The first shows the wing root area, prior to filling. The second shows that the wheel hub protectors on the wing leading edges haven't gone on straight. But I decided to get 'em as good as possible, and crack on.

The paint/decals will be as an RAF machine in Italy, Olive drab/neutral grey, and I'll be experimenting with panel lines/fading/weathering as we go.

Thanks for looking

Ben

Been busy at work with filler, cocktail stick and nail polish remover to try and clean up the wing root seams as best I can.

As you can see there's been a bit of progress, but still work to do. Am I missing some hotshot way to make the step disappear? At this stage I'm thinking I may prime it tomorrow to see how bad it looks.

The fit on the nose cone is also a little dodgy and I think I'll have to glue the cone and prop together, filler it, then spray the cone and handpaint the prop blades black.

There's also a little mount thingy that will go between the wing surface and the underwing bombs. (See pic). The kit parts have four tiny locating pins but there weren't any instructions to drill the holes out while assembling the wings. So now it's a toss up between dumping the bombs and filling the larger locating holes that were already there, or guessing the location and sticking it all on after painting.

Pics follow

filler at the wing root



loose fitting nose cone



bomb thingy in situ



When I finish this I'm going to reward myself with a Tamiya Spit.

Ben

OK, made some executive decisions today - decided to scrap the underwing bombs, fill in all the open holes, and preassemble the prop to allow me to fill it before painting.

Whacked the first coat of primer on tonight and it looks OK but I'll sleep on it.

There's plenty of people viewing the thread so that's good ... any hints and tips gratefully received.

Pic is of the underside, with holes filled with sprue and superglue, prior to sanding back.

The real funs starts tomorrow.

Cheers

Ben

Ouch. First try at pre-shading - and I couldn't get the lines tight enough. This was quite thin, Gunze paint, sprayed at about 30psi. At lower pressure I couldn't get a very visible line and the definition was still the same - ie too wide.

Rank beginner status still showing but I decided to press on and now have the kit Futured and at the ready-for-decals stage.

The pre-shading worked OK on the underside - well good enough for me anyway - but didn't end up showing through on the upper surfaces. Too much paint applied.

Still, I'll have a better idea next time and I'll practice painting finer lines with the airbrush.

Once the decals are on I'll try fading the Olive Green back with a light overspray of Tamiya Buff or similar. Unless anyone has any better ideas?

Oh yeah and the yellow looks a tiny bit green after being sprayed over a white coat...



Pics

before paint



and after



Cheers

Ben

Hi Ben.
Just picked up on this thread and it's almost built already
Your making fine progress and its coming together nicely. I can see your learning lots as you go along!
Couple of things youve mentioned........preshading..dont worry about it being straight and thin, mines all over the place, and its an effect rather than a precision technique. Also, I think I've only managed to NOT cover it completely only once
The step at the wing root. If its the wing thats lower than the fusalage part, then wedge a piece of sprue to the wing and it will make that a little wider and you'll get a better fit.
Another way is to glue the top wing section to the fusalage. ( nice tight fit at the wing root) then add the bottom piece seperately. The gap ( if any) will be at the leading edge and a lot easier to deal with.
Tips and pointers?
Keep going!
Keep posting pics and asking questions,
Learn a little more every model you build and above all HAVE FUN!!
Nige

Thanks for the tips Nige. I'll certainly use those wing root techniques in future. My problem with 1/48 is that it magnifies all the little mistakes I make in 1/72. I've attached a pic of my other 1/48 build t o date, a Tamiya Beaufighter. Lovely kit.

The Kittyhawk is coming on with the first decals applied....

Rocket Beau:

Hi Ben
Shes coming along fantastically.
Hope you're not drowning over there what with floods in Queensland and fires in Victoria
take care.

Chris

Update: Thankfully free of natural disasters. But hit possible problem with decals. I think I've put the fuselage roundels a little too far back so I might not have room for the squadron codes on the starboard side. I think they'll either be squashed together or the first letter will be slightly under the tailplane. But I won't know for sure until I sit down with it again on Sunday.

Bit of a tip for young players that one. I think next time I;ll start with the starboard code and position the roundels accordingly.

Pics:

Go!



woah!

Hello.

I don't want to jinx it but I think this bird is nearly ready to fly

The next steps will be: add the undercarriage and other small details: dark wash into the panel lines: mist the upper surfaces with Tamiya Buff to represent fading: pastels on the wheels for mud/dirt: and then the matt varnish to seal it all in.

Hope you like it so far

Very much! Wonderful Kittyhawk. Say what one will about "Home team" P-40s, but US aircraft always look better with the British markings!

Ben,
Sweet,very sweet.
You have certainly done her justice.
Can't wait to see her finished

Chris.

OK, it's finished! The kit wasn't the best when it came to fitting but to my eyes it catches the lines of the P-40 well, better, I think, than the Academy 1/72 version I finished just before it. I learned a fair bit on the paint job and during the construction and hopefully I can carry that over to my next build. Finally the kit would still be in the cupboard if it hadn't have been for the momentum this build log gave me so thanks to Nige, Chris and Fred for their posts and to the rest of you for interest.

Next up will be the carrot at the end of this particular stick, a 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire Vb Trop. I'm also dabbling with a few Sweet 1/144 Zeroes for light relief.

Here's the pics, over and out

Ben
As I said before Sweet.
you sure have done a job and a half.
I just might have to purchase that kit again,there were so many things that I could improve on. (Nige if you are reading this it won't happen until I finish my Thunderbolt)

Looking forward to your next build

Chris

Very nice build Ben. It was interesting to see the comparison between your Italieri P-40 and the Hasegawa one I built. You did a really good job on finishing this kit!

Looking forward to see more of you.

Nice work Ben,

Now onto that Spit!

Mark

Very nice work. I am impressed with how you ran into problems and kept on right through to this successful build. It looks good. Going to be nice to see it all done, landing gear, washes, and all. Good job.

Matt

that's one beauty of a kittyhawk Ben. well done mate. Ant

Nice looking hawk there mate , love the shark mouth

What a stunning bird. Very impressive