Hi all

As you know I have some projects going on ... besides others

Eduard's I-16 type 10 waiting for WEM colours to arrive ...



On Hasegawa's N1K2-J Shiden Kai I'm letting glue dry after I had to replace the window in the fuselage after it dropped in and never came back ... maybe I'll replace it again, as I do not like the "foggy" outcome



Hasegawa's P-40E is another old project I can do some more steps on. Now I am about to close the pit but I want to install seat belts. This model will be "white 70" of HSU Georgii V. Gromov of 20.GIAP Northern Front.





Now here comes the problem: I have American(49 001) and British(49 006) seat belts from eduard. Which one should I use? British or American and what version from the frets? (I only have the old squadron in action, which is no help)

Many thanks in advance

cheers

Steffen

Some nice work there, Steffen !

Here's a pic of a P-40N seat from the Detail & Scale vol. 2 on the P-40.



Hope this helps !

Many thanks Bill!

Unfortunately I found an evaluation of the decal sheet I have over at VVS Modelling. The author stated that the P-40 E were most probably of British origin. So I lean towards British seat belts, but which ?

I have no knowledge about seat belts, but I want to do it as accurate as possible .... bad luck I guess ... each and every of my project has its pitfalls and I miss non of them....

best wishes

Steffen

Here is what Dana Bell posted today on Hyperscale ... just in case more people are interested in such things:

Revisiting P-40E-1 seat belts...
June 21 2006 at 7:12 PM Dana Bell
HyperScale Forums

There’s been a good bit of discussion over the years on what seat belts were fitted to US aircraft built for Britain. Working on a similar topic yesterday (my first “research” day since retiring), I found a few notes that may change the conventional wisdom, while at the same time opening the need for even more research.

Working on flight and maintenance manuals for the P-40D, P-40E, and P-40E-1 (export version originally intended for the RAF as the Kittyhawk IA), I found the following notes:

The 10 September 1944 revision to the RP-40D, P-40E, P-40E-1, and Kittyhawk I/IA pilot’s flight operating instructions differentiates between the seat belts to be found, explaining that the release and locking lever for the Sutton Harness (British) of the P-40E-1 Airplane is on the left side of the pilot’s seat (with the US-designed belts having a release on the right). Tech Order photos, taken in the US, show the Sutton harness installed in the cockpit of a P-40E-1, but not on the D or E.

Next, British Air Publication 2014A on the Kittyhawk I and IA describes the safety belt type as the “S.I.S.445 (English furnished)” which is then referred to as the “Sutton harness.” The language describing the equipment as “furnished” seems important, as discussion of some of the oxygen equipment talks of British “installation.” So it appears that the Sutton harness was supplied to Curtiss for installation on P-40E-1s (and perhaps P-40D/Kittyhawk Is, too!)

That said, NASM’s P-40E-1 has a standard American harness, not the British Sutton harness - though this may have been switched over the thirty years before the aircraft came to the Smithsonian.

So, the question becomes more complicated - at least SOME Sutton Harnesses seem to have been installed at the factory in American production of the P-40D and E-1. Were they in all aircraft intended for the UK? Were they in earlier variants? Later variants? If anyone has other pieces to add to this puzzle, I’d love to know more!

Cheers,

Dana

cheers

Steffen

Hi Steffen!

And if the Soviet P-40s were fitted with soviet seat belts?

Anyway, I have a solution for you! You take a die and throw it. If the number is 1 or 2, put an U.S. seat belt in. If the number is 3 or 4, a British one. And if the number is 5 or 6, the soviet design!
That's good no? And if it's wrong, blame the die! :-)

Jean-Luc

Bad solution ... I better go with an educated guess based on Danas comment. Curtiss installed at least some Sutton harnesses ... so mine will get it too and the scale police can prove me wrong by showing me a picture of my particular machine :-) :-)

cheers

Steffen

Hi Steffen

I found this interesting link with some info on the use of Sutton harnesses on Australian P-40Es:

http://www.adf-serials.com/research/Part2-P40.pdf

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan

Many thanks for the link .. just saved it and will read it tomorrow ... go to bed now

Sadly no picture ...

best wishes

Steffen

Hi all

finally my cursed P-40 project has come to an end. I just painted some of the clear parts blue and some red and now I call it finished.

The Decals are from Tally Ho! (CZ) and I chose the markings for Georgi V. Gromov, HSU(1946) with 13 victories.

BTW I do not like the Hasegawa P-40E ... a good example of an overengineered kit

Here is the fun:












critics welcome

best wishes

Steffen

Hi Steffen!

Sorry, I wanted to reply but was too busy and then I forgot

I like the overall look of your P-40 but especially the dirt on the bottom. How did you achieve that effect? With your Aztek airbrush?

With "overengineered" you mean the various inserts of the kit?

Jean-Luc

Hi Jean-Luc

overengineered: 4 parts for each fuselage side? Yes I think that is over-engineered...

The dirt is pigments applied with a tooth brush ... you know, put some of the pigment/thinner mix on the old tooth brush and then use your thumb (I use Mig pigments with Humbrol thinner)

cheers

Steffen