My next out of the box build will be Academy's P-40C in 48 scale . The decals are done by Academy so I'm hoping that they have improved on this .








Terri

Oh Terri,

AVG!

Early P-40!

You're the best! Can't wait for the pictures.

Cool,

Yes, I will certainly be following this build as well. I have been wondering about the quality of Academy 1/48 aircraft kits recently.

This would definitely be one I am interested in. I am also eye-balling the P-26 "Peashooter" kit as well.

Thanks for sharing this build with us...

Spence

Terri,
Always glad to follow your builds. Nice choice of subject and scale. From what I recall it has a decent enough cockpit. And more importantly, it does look like a P-40C.
Joel

There are people who have criticized this kit as having a very inaccurate depiction of the lower wing and "hump" detail behind the lower cowl flaps. Randy Lutz in reviewing the Hobby Craft P-40B kit on another site said, for example:

"I did not notice any major errors in the kit other than the area behind the cowl flaps. Some publications have suggested that the leading edge of the wing sits too high. That may account for some of the problem, but I am not so sure that is the only issue. In addition, I feel that the central bulge on the underside slopes upwards too much at the front, resulting in an overly large gap between the cowl flaps and bulge."

Maybe so, I'm not usually a rivet counter on such things, and I probably would never have noticed myself. I believe the conventional wisdom is that the Monogram kit, for all its age, is the best dimensionally, and that the Trumpeter kit is good if you use a deeper aftermarket cockpit and sand flush things like the small access door on the after fuselage.

Are you doing an AVG A/C? If so, consider Ultracast's recent offering of the wooden export seat with or without lap belt (No shoulder harnesses). I think it's worth a departure from the OOB convention, especially if the kit seat bears no real resemblance to what AVG A/C had.

As a former Curtiss-Wright employee (but NOT during WWII!) I will follow this one with interest. My employment with the Company was long and ambivalent, as was the case with most C-W employees, but my work and interest in WWII aviation did give me the chance to meet the late Herbert O. Fischer, renowned test pilot at the Curtiss Buffalo facility. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_O._Fisher. Read that article to get in the mood! There's a chance he flew the A/C you're modeling: "He flew 2,498 P-40s in his role as a production test pilot."

That sums up all of my 1/48 P-40 sources. Thanks Redhand.

Thought this would get your motor running Fred


Hey Spence , Academy has pretty nice kits . I have built a few of their P-51B mustangs in 72 scale and found them to be very enjoyable . The decals can be a hit a miss sometimes .


Well Joel , what can say . Have to keep you entertained some how !


Brain , thanks for dropping by and sharing some info .




Terri

Hi Terri,
First off welcome from a born and raised Enmontonian. Second, if you'd like my opinion, I recently completed Academy's 1/48 Tomahawk Mk iib inNo. 112 squadron marking and the CMK resin cockpit. It was a very nice kit to build and has made a nice addition to my collection. So, I think you'll have fun with it and it will turn out very nice for you. Take care and good luck! Jim

Hi Terri,
Following this with great interest.

Chris

Hi Jim , always nice too hear from a Edmontonian I did some test fitting for the fuselage and wings and I'm pretty impressed with the fit , doesn't appear that filler will be needed .

Hey Chris , I should have an up-date on the weekend . I was going to start spraying the interior colours but I'm out of Tamiya flat yellow for mixing up the interior green so I'm off to the hobby shop after work to pick up some paint .





Terri

Didn't quit make it on getting some paint on her , but I did get the very basic cockpit parts . The side walls have better detail .






Can't leave like this so I will add some detail to the floor .

Terri,
Looking forward to some pictures of those side walls, and a little detail added to the floor.
Joel

Hi Terri
i have done this kit for a while ! It is a very nice kit and after all it will look like a early P - 40.
My Copy had bad decals, i used a decal sheet from "Sky Modells "
I do a pic of mine, with all my faults, i hope you like it !

Terri----Looking forward to the -40. With a little TLC, those kits build up nicely.

Regards,

Ian

Hey , thanks guy's

Bernd , thanks for sharing your build . Looks pretty good form my end .


Joel , here is a pic of the side wall detail , far better then the floor and seat assembly . Here is the floor with some detail added . I will be adding seat belts made with Tamiya tape .











Terri

Hi Terri
A very good start, nice details and you can see this after it is finished !
The Hobbycraft/Academy P-40 are more or less troublefree builds
Looking at my bird, the opening of the cockpit is way too thick
and the antennas made from stretched sprues did not last long.
I will follow your build with interest ! What markings will you use ?

terri it looks like it is building up nicely for you.


following along.



joe

Terri,
Nice start to some added extra detail in the "pit".
Joel

Hi Bernd , I will be using the kit decals going with option #2 . Charles Older , 3rd PS " Hell's Angels " , AVG May , 1942 .


Hey Joe , thanks


Joel , I didn't want to get to carried away with the extra detail , this would lead ...well further AMS . Just wanted the right balance for the side wall detail .



I got paint on her ! Last night I did the per-shading and sprayed the interior green including the wheel wells on the lower wing . Instrument panel is also ready to go for weathering .

Hi Terri
i have done this version as well, using the kit-decals.
Good luck with them !
What interior green do you use ?

Bernd

Hi Bernd

For the interior green I used Tamiya paints . Flat Yellow with Flat Blue . Not sure on the ratio , I don't keep track of this .

Hi Terri
This look very good ! I use mixes from Humbrol/MM/Revell but they look sometimes a bit off, compared with photos.

Bernd

Terri,
Just enough detail to make it look interesting.

As a heads up I think you'll find a good mix for USA Interior green is Tamiya XF-71 interior green, with a few drops of black added to the bottle. I've been using 10 parts Tamiya FX-5 flat green to 1 part XF-1 black. Both mixes looks almost identical.

Joel

Finally was able to get some bench time in and get a bit more painting down . Cockpit is finished ready to be button up . Nothing fancy about the seatbelts . Buckles are from wire bent to shape and the belts themselves are Tamiya tape folded over it's self .












Terri

I do it this way often enough myself, Terri. Its a great technique and does the job just fine.