well another update with a few extra pictures.


work focused on the brownings for the starboard wing. i also repopped the ammo box. all in all the brownings are over 30 pieces each. they both have the cables for the remote triggers.

the brownings painted and installed.





the ammo box




this more closely resembles the pictues i have found.

now the overall. mind you the wing is taped for effect.




with that i may try to piece together a small resemblance of the rounds. will have to see about that.

overall i am pretty happy with this. the gun body is glued in. the barrel is removable so i can fit the wing and do any filling and sanding without causing issues.


now please, comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.





joe

Joe,
Your certainly made the right decision. Those .303 Brownings are sensational. I really like your idea of the removable barrels so you can deal with the leading edge issues during final assembly. The Ammo box really looks quite good. Those handles are amazing.

We're viewing these details in greater then 1:1 scale. I can just imagine how near perfect they look at their intended 1:1 scale, and in relation to the whole build.

Ammon belts can be real tricky. It's not so much the feed belt, but the duplication of each shell. Will be interested in how you deal with this issue.
Joel

joel many thanks. up close and personal they definitely look rough but when i step back and most importantly when i have them in the wing with the top part in they look very good.


now just to get the time to go and work on the project more. three areas are what is left for detailing. cowl flap, wing flaps, and wheel wells.



joe

Joe,
I've once just scratched the surface of the detail that's contained on the inner side of the cowl flaps, I really think that it's the toughest of the three areas to fully detail, at least for a early WW11 bird. Just what are you planning to accomplish with the cowl flaps?

Joel

i am looking at the bracing and the rods. to be honest it will be interesting to see if i can pull it off.



joe

Joe,
I've just picked up your build, and you are doing excellent work. Can't wait to see the finished product. Just a comment about the Trumpeter kit-- it has a lot of inaccuracies, and if you are building a "Flying Tiger" P-81 (the export version of the P40B), the access for the guns was on the underside of the wings for loading and servicing. The panels on the Trumpeter kit are exactly the opposite. I think the later types (P40 C, E & K) accessed from the top of the wing.
Very Respectfully, Russ

russ many thanks. for this build the panels opened are not an indication of the access panel for the wing. it is more of a this is where the guns are and this is what i did with it. i dont want to add the stringer across the top as it would detract from the work on the guns. to be honest though i havent looked at markings at all. this build is all about the challenge. because of that i may just paint it in the general scheme for the time and some general markings.



joe

ok folks i am here again. more boredom.

spent quite a bit of time playing with the landing gear and the flaps. alot of trimming, sanding, trimming, scrapping, starting over...........in other words the same as all my work sessions.

first up are the flaps. these turned out ok for me. when painted they actually should look very good. i hope.




and then fit into the slot.



and now i need help. been playing with the landing gear. this is another "the kit part looks ok but can i do it better". i still have a few bits to add, mostly bolt heads and such. but overall they are done. mind you they are multiple pieces. the long leg is all glued and mostly ready. the lower "wheel" attachment is loose with the inner tube loose yet. i want your blunt opinion on them.

first up is both together. the kit part on the right. please remember when glued they will be much straighter.



now my versions and then fit into the wing.




like i said i want blunt opinions on this. nothing is set in stone and i could go either way.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.




joe

Joe,
Talk about kicking it up a few notches!! Well done. Absolutely love your detailing of the flaps. And scratch built landing gear. Can't recall seeing that done too often, if at all.

The level of your detailing compared to what I've been able to do in 1/48 scale, has me rethinking a move to 1/32 WW props.

Joel

joel many thanks. dont rethink 1/32 just do it. after all it is just a hobby and supposed to be fun. gotta enjoy it while you can.



joe

....... simply W.O.W !Great built !

Bernd

you are very kind. thank you.



joe

ok all today was a big day for me and this project. it is the turning point.

before that though some different little stuff needed some work.

the landing gear. those blasted scissors.



those look better. not 100% but much better.

paint on the flap interiors.



then i needed to add some detail to the cowl flaps.





now for the milestone. the wings are glued on. this is a major step for me and this project. once the filling and sanding are done it will be just little bits and pieces left other than the .5 cal guns in the nose.

but for now, the milestone.



now this was not without a minor inconvenience.



pretty large gap right there. in part because of all the sanding and stuff i did in the starboard wing, but fear not, i have already applied a homemade liquid styrene goop into this to try to get it to go away.


i have also made a list of the items left to do and to install. only about a dozen things and some need to be after paint. the biggest thing will be the .5 cal guns and the blast tubes.


all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

well my friends we have an update.


we have paint. the od is lifecolor od 41 and the neutral grey is vallejo neutral grey. they are both sprayed and this time they actually look decent to me. i love the od. it may lose the effect but there is kind of a dusty faded look to it.

pictures.








so there we are. gonna be a split strategy at this point. i need to get clear on for decalling and a bit of subtle weathering and washes. i also need to play a bit with the small details. started on the gear doors and finishing up the flaps. i plan to hand paint the flaps to give them a different texture.

onward and upward.




comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Joe , this is really starting to shape up nicely . Well done so far !






Terri

You do absolutely lovely work, Joe.

I really do like the looks and effect of your faded drab top color. Just got to ask though, did you follow the slipstream when you were airbrushing?

All around, its a wonderful build so far, and the open concept seems to be your forte. Well done!!

you are both very kind. thank you.


and no i didnt follow the slip stream. had enough difficulty just getting the pattern i did.



joe

Joe,
Simply outstanding progress. The flaps once painted look just about perfect. Same goes for your detailing of the inside of the cowl flaps.

Nice going with the paint fading on the OD. Certainly not overly done. Should really pop once you do a little weathering.

Not sure if I agree with your decision to hand paint the flaps for a different texture. Seems to me that you'll have to deal with brush strokes, and a thick painted surface. Why not shoot the paint "Neat" and increase the air pressure. That should give you a textured rough surface, but still have the paint thin enough not to hide any of the flap details.

Joel

joel thank you for the very kind comments.


i did hand paint the flaps last night. i took great care to minimize the brush stroke look. it actually achieved the results i was looking for. a much different tone and texture. this morning i clear coated the hawk and ended up with a much darker od than i expected but it still should be ok. once flat it should lighten up yet again.



joe

Joe,
Glad it came out with the texture you're looking for. Looking forward to some pictures.
Joel

well folks the end is drawing near for this build.

for the last couple of days i have been working with clear coats, decals, subtle weathering,.......then back to the landing gear, tail wheel, landing gear doors, and other fiddly bits.

there was more but that is not for this update.

so let me show you a bit of what i have.

first up let me show you the decals and the weathering. as this is not the focus of the build i went with the kit decals. wouldnt you know it, they shattered. horrible decals. took me three boxes to find kits that would work.

after the decalling i went with just a subtle wash. this is an adapted sludge wash applied with a brush. then i actually sprayed it, highly thinned, through the ab.


after that i went with a flat, the testors spray decanted and sprayed through the ab.

so pics................







while that occured i went with working more on the landing gear. i attached the brake line after attaching the gear and wheel to the fuse. not a good idea. i should have attached it before that.






like i said moving towards the end with this. not much left. not many updates are left.


comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Your details showing through the cutaways are even more impressive painted. You have no need of aftermarket resin sir. Stunning. Brilliant technique. I really hope you make a habit of these build logs! I suspect jess will be after you about making this a feature article.

you are very kind. thank you.



joe

in every build there is a point where i really mess up. it is when i am pushing for the end and without intending to do so, i will skip small details or rush them and cause myself issues. last night i decided that i wasnt going to do that with this build. i was going to sit down and focus on what needed to be finished prior to the final push that goes with the build.

with that in mind i went back over the last couple of days and found a couple of really good build ups for both this kit and for the 1/24 vintage series of p-40b's. they got me thinking of what i needed to do yet and to be honest there were some things that caused me a great urge to tear this thing apart and redo some of the sections to make them look better. that urge is still there but i havent acted upon it..................yet.

so back to last night. first thing i did was to make myself a list based upon the other builds and what i had with this one. once the list was created i started to work my way through it.

first up was the ammo box and the nose guns area. this area was much too barren for me. one of the builds had a wonderful series of pictures of how one builder took care of this area. i couldnt do all he did just because he worked on his while the parts were separate, but i could add just a few things. so ..............


nose guns and ammo box.



next up was to finish off the landing gear........some small details were added. they are now done.



next were the antenna mounts for the wings.



next up, the access door hinge work so i could show it open.



i couldnt forget the clear parts. these needed some things done to them and in the process i found that some of the attaching holes were needing some modification. but after some careful work with a drill and files.




and i didnt forget that i had goofed, the tail feathers were positioned wrong. so i fixed that.....



then came the nose piece and the prop.




thus ended the session last night. now mind you, i am still looking at the small stuff and a few things revealed themselves to me durring the process.


so close yet so far away from the finish line.



please, all comments, critiques, and criticism are encouraged.



joe

Joe,
I've been here since day one, and it's been a most enjoyable build to follow. Our give and take on issues has been both productive and rewarding not only for you, but for me as well, as I've learned a few things along the way.

Your decaling and weathering came out nearly perfect. One would never realize that you have issues with the decals.

One minor point that I saw was that the flaps in one picture looked uneven.

Joel