Classic Monogram warbirds
The Curtis P-40B and the Mitsubishi A6M5 Type 0 in 1/48 scale. Both of these were built at least 20 years ago but I only got them out to the airport last year for a photo session. Both reveal my limitations as a model builder back then, and those probably haven't improved as much as I'd like since then. The A6M5 has my first fully scratch-built cockpit but with the one-piece kit canopy, most of the work is largely unseen. I've been telling myself for 20 years that I'll buy a Squadron vac canopy and open it up to show off the details. I used the book, "Great Book of World War Airplanes" with illustrations by the great Rikyu Watanabe for the detail information. Best as I can recall, it turned out pretty good; maybe someday I'll get to see it again. But for now, here they are. Thanks for letting me share this "blast from the past", in more ways than one!
Gary
Now THAT'S good photography. AND nicely built as well. Good job all around.
Thank you Craig! I always appreciate your comments my friend. I realize that these are rather crude by most member's standards here, but maybe they demonstrate a little progress. Thanks again!
Gary
Great job on both those classics. The Zero has since been kitted by many manufacturers over the years, but that great P-40B kit is still, after 49 years, the most accurate example in that scale. Both Trumpeter and Hobbycraft/Academy failed miserably in their respective attempts. Someday a definitive P-40B kit will be released in 1/48, but until that comes, the old Monogram kit is it. And you sure did it justice; looks great.
Wow Kevin. Man, your comments made me feel good about these old birds! Thank you sir!
Gary
when you can make kits that old look that good, well hey your really doin sumthin. great job on the photos btw. i really like the ramp that they are sittin on. build it yourself, and if so how?
Thanks so much Jeff! The ramp is a piece of 1/4" Masonite. I sprayed it with some car trunk paint(from the local auto parts store) that seemed to look quite a bit like concrete. The "tar strips" are draftsman tape and I masked the yellow lines and sprayed them with my airbrush. I weathered it with various dilutions of enamel, dripped and splattered on and with some fine point pens to replicate small cracks.
I place the "ramp" on a card table and position the model in various distances from a tripod-mounted camera (using a timer for most shots) set to scale "eye level". Sometimes I get lucky and get a few nice pics, a lot are deleted too, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Gary
fabulous p-40 and that zero is not bad for early 60's...fine work on both
Thanks my friend! I sure appreciate your compliments.
Gary
Great models: great work, Gary!
Thanks Jeff! I really appreciate it. Glad you liked them!
Excellent work! I really like those classic kits.
@thevid, Many thanks David! ? I enjoy those old classics too; I guess the F-102 is my most recent Monogram model. ?
The one kit I rarely see is Monogram's 1/48 Spitfire Mk IX. I have that kit in my stash somewhere and also most of Monogram's early 1/48 kits. They made wonderful models back in the late 1950s and early 60's.
I need to finish my Wildcat that has sat on my bench for decades. It's a F4F-3 conversion. I hope to get that one done soon. Now that I'm retired I thought I would have plenty of time, but I was wrong. 🙂
The Monogram 1/48 Do335 was my last Monogram kit I built.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
@thevid, That 335 looks really nice David! ? I'd enjoy seeing your Wildcat too; I know how builds tend to get set aside...I've done the same thing for years! And yes, retirement does offer us lot's of extra time, but it seems there's also a lot of "extra" stuff I need to do. ?
I have built that old Mk IX Spitfire; it was back in the early 1990s I believe. ? Here's an iModeler article featuring it, and another Monogram classic: