well its the little things that make life go round.


for models its the little things that we grind on for hours at a time.

for me it just means i am doing the little things to try to button up the cockpit.

first up is the throttle assembly.

i came in under my estimate for pieces for this. only 12. i was thinking 18 or so.



yes that little thing is on a popsicle stick. and then a close up.



also worked on the seat and the frame. now this is a bugger and a half. took me the better part of four hours to try to fashion it.

the detail on the sides are for the seat belts. the detail on the back is noticed in the pictures but cant tell you what it is. a tether of some kind goes through the loop and is attached to the lower part of the frame.






now with these two things done what do i have left?

large item(s):

-instrument panel
-foot pedals
-attach seat/frame

small item(s):
-rods for throttle controls
-assorted wires and tubes for radio and boxes.
-attach radio


not sure if i have missed anything. need to take some time to study the pictures and decide.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

well it isnt much but it was time consuming.

trying to get the pit done. want to get it finished so i can try something different than anything i have done on the engine. to that extent first up was a small assembly on the starboard side.



with that done and the throttle rods attached all that is needed is the ip work. so i wanted to see what it looked like in place.





now up to this point all of seven kit pieces have been used. with that being said from this point on in the interior will be mainly kit pieces. there will be details thrown in here and there but for the most it will be kit pieces.

now for the ip. there are four kit pieces. they lack somewhat in the detail so i enhanced it a bit.





i got this together and thought wow i can move on......not so fast....... all the wiring for the ip will be seen. ok. next session will be to fashion the back of the panel and add some wiring.


many thanks to all who have followed along to this point. i hope i havent bored you too much.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Joe,
I really like your throttle assembly. Looks better in the 1st picture then the 2nd as the magnification is so much larger then it is in real life, and every little imperfection jumps out at you. Believe me, I know only too well how that works.

Nice job on the seat, as there is no heaviness to the plastic. Again, I would scale back the wear and tear weathering. I like to view aircraft models with a "used but not abused look". At little less would go just that much further.

Your instrument panel is coming along quite nicely. All that's left is to add lenses to the individual instruments.

Looking forward to your next update.

Joel

joel many thanks. been lapsing a bit over the last few days. need to get back to the bunker. started clean up of the engine parts a few days ago.



joe

well folks here i am, the pit is finished as far as i can tell. i have a few things that will need to wait but the pit is complete.







and with that i can begin the engine. forgive the lack of actual construction photos. i am painting as i move through this at the moment.






so there i am. kind of at a problem point though. i dont have decent photos or drawings of the plumbing for the engine. pondering this at the moment.



all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Well Joe..I hate to tell you but your opinion is oh so very wrong! Magnificent work!

Stephen

you are very kind, thank you. i still believe what i am doing anyone can do and almost anyone could do it better.


joe

Joe, for engine & engine compartment wiring, try this site for starters.
Joel

https://www.google.com/search?q=engine+wiring+for+a+P40&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dAUnU_7uLIfF0AH9s4DABQ&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1345&bih=645

Looking good so far






Terri

joel many thanks that will definitely come in handy.

terri many thanks.




joe

In all seriousness Joe you are well up there on the skill ladder. You should repost your progress into the wwii forum and carry on in there. Very few people seem to look in preflight check. The traffic in wwii is much higher and I dare say they'll all very much benefit from and enjoy your build. Plus you'll get much more advice/comments and well-deserved plaudits.

Joe,

Stunning! Extraordinary!

Any chance that if I send you my 1/32 P-40B that it could come back like this?

you are both very kind, thank you.

richard pm inbound.

frederick i just hope to make it all the way through this one first. after that i will consider what is next.



joe

well after two weeks here i am again.

the better part of the time without updates was spent working on engine detailing.

please bear with me. first off was lots of fiddly bits and small tube white stuff. plug wires, tubes, etc were fashioned. then the main sticky point, the induction manifold. this is a pretty complex little part that looks oh so simple. yeah right. took me several tries before i got to this point. this is about the closest i have been to it. working off of a few pictures i cut and trimmed then cut, then trimmed, then cut, then got frustrated, then pulled myself back, then cut, well you get the point. i have tried multiple ways to do this but am really struggling with it.

well pictures tell a better story. this has not been painted yet.







right now this is held together by white glue. i need to clean it up a little. like i said earlier this the the best i have had so far.


so with that said, fire way.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Joe,
Don't sell yourself short. The detailing on the engine looks really good. Manifolds always look simple because they're nothing but bend up tubing. That is until you try to bend it like the real thing.

Looking forward to your next update.
Joel

joel you are very kind thank you.

you are right, i am very tough on myself when it comes to this stuff. i hate it when i cannot get my work to match my visual image of what it should look like. that is why on some builds i end up redoing things so many times. it is rivit counting to the extreme. this part looks so simple. i just could not get the bends to work out right. then last night before i went to sleep i hit on another idea of how to tackle this. not sure i want to try again though. may just to see if it would work but not sure.


joe

Looking great. You are on the right track. IRL I'm working on some parts that also have to be crammed inside an airframe. The amount of crazy bends and shapes to get everything in a limited space is mind bending.

mark it sure is mind bending. i dont care what scale you choose when you start adding detail it becomes a challenge to walk that line of how much to add without losing the effect.

many thanks for the kindness.



joe

well it will be brief this time.

spent some time in the bunker over the last couple of days and have something to show for it.

pardon the pics. white on white plays havoc with my camera.

firewall work has commenced with some success.







and how she looks with the engine mocked up. (repainting the engine as well)






notice i have also added a very rough carb to the engine. and wouldnt you know it i finally stumbled across the picture of the manifold i was looking for. not going to redo this time.



all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

well tis another brief update.

first the big oops that happened. all the way through i had measured, dry fit, measured, dry fit, etc. you get the picture. well when i went to do a final run through with pit and engine together i found to my horror i was about a half inch too long. after much cursing and a strong urge to make the current work a powder with blunt object i made several mistakes. first i cut the motor mounts at the firewall. big mistake and even bigger no no. messed up the firewall and broke off a couple pieces. next big mistake, try to force it. another huge no no. again with the broken pieces. next up was to try to fix my mess up with the cuts. made it worse for the firewall. so after much back tracking and fixing the royal mess i made of what i had done i finally got the broken pieces back in place and tried to mend the firewall a bit. well after all of that i come to tonight. some pictures of the engine in place on the pit and within the fuse. i believe it will fit in the fuse now but still not entirely sure of it.

so here it is.





after taking the pics i decided the best way to tackle this paint job is to paint around the cuts prior to closing the fuse. this way i can not worry about overspray on the interior pieces. using acrylics, life color. had to remix it a couple of times before i got a decent spray through the brush. then found another major issue. seems somewhere along the way i had glued a small piece of sheet styrene to the side of the fuse and completely missed it. going to have to sand the area and respray yet again.

what a messed up week.

all in all it shouldnt be bad but i am disappointed in that i had to do surgery on it and then in doing that i messed up a couple of parts.


lets see what i can mess up next shall we.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Stunning. Really.

Really like the finish on the exhausts. How did you achieve it?

many thanks. the exhausts are just alclad alum with a misting of model master burnt exhaust. nothing special at all to them.



joe

Joe,
Boy do I feel your pain. Been there and done that more times then I care to admit. Test fit after test fit and everything lines up and fits. Then you go to do the install and glue up the fuselage halves, and it doesn't fit snug!! It's like it grew all by itself overnight. Never did figure out how that can constantly happen.

At least you were able to back track, repair, & fix, then move forward. The installed firewall/engine really looks good in the fuselage. Plenty busy if you ask me.

Didn't know that Model Master made a color called Burnt Exhaust. It really looks good. Will have to get some. Is it Acrylic or enamel?
Joel

joel many thanks. it is part of the metallizer line. (my spelling sucks) they have a buffing and non buffing. i believe this is the non buffing although i do have both.



joe

Joe, thanks. Will have to get a bottle as I don't think that the Alcad line has anything quite like it. They have Jet exhaust, but it just looks different to me.
Joel