1/32 Trumpeter P-40B in Pappy Boyington AVG Scheme
Model Details:
Cutting Edge Resin Cockpit: This fixes the shallow cockpit which is a defective, design flaw within base kit.
Eduard Resin Wheels and Tires: Kit tires have little to know detail
Brass Gun Tubes
Wire brake lines added
Extra Decals containing Pappy's Markings
This is a very nice, well engineered kit with very good base details. The fit in all areas is good. The Cutting Edge resin cockpit fit perfectly as long as it is aligned properly. Take your time with the internal sub-assemblies and she will snap-together like a dream. Lots of dry-fitting and minor adjustments are the trick, but this would be much easier w/o resin cockpit set. But in my opinion this, or similar correction is needed b/c base cockpit is all wrong and looks wrong w/o a fix. The Allison Engine is a model in itself and a real shinning point with this kit. I did not super detail this area b/c this was a consignment build for customer who did not request it. but the engine is calling out to super-detail her. I weathered her extensively using actual aircraft photo references. I also used Camo mask for camo pattern.
Nice work on this kit. There's certain things on it that just cannot be fixed (the P-36-size horizontal stabs being major offenders), but if one just recognizes the limits of the kit, a nice result can be obtained as you have here.
I never met one of the AVG guys who had a good word to say about Boyington other than "good riddance!" when he left them early. Charles Older was particularly dismissive: "Boyington couldn't navigate his way around the breakfast table, let alone from one airfield to another." None of them believed his claimed AVG score. Which adds to the controversy that will always surround him.
As an aside, he died from lung cancer in 1988 - he was 75.
I met him in the 70s at an airshow. Thought he was a homeless person (might have been).
Fantastic model!
Great build and paint job in general and great weathering on top of that.
I also like the way you've hit the sheen of the aircraft just right. Actually the sheen varies from one surface to another, which i find particularly attractive.
Very nice. I like the way you weathered the wheels.
Beautiful! I really like the early model P-40s. This one is Great!
Bravo!
Excellent Paul! Love the detailed weathering. It just looks like it would fit right in to one of the AVG airfields like a hand in glove!
Thank You all for the positive feedback and comments!
Great job on a difficult kit! I built the same kit some years ago and used the same Cutting Edge set you did to correct the cockpit. I posted it here on this site a couple of years ago.
Looks like a well used machine, and that cockpit looks really good. I'm sure your customer was very pleased.
Excellent work !
I have a set of these markings in 1/48 scale , and had planned on building Pappy's plane and a plane flown by Dick Rossi using the new Airfix 1/48 kit.
I was lucky enough to meet and talk with Dick Rossi for quite a while at a restaurant back in the late 1990's. He was a gentleman...and a former AVG pilot.
I’m viewing this on my phone (I’ll re-view it on a bigger screen tonight) and I dismissed the first photo as I thought it was a picture of a real one! Absolutely brilliant model making. I love it. It’s the standard of weathering that I aspire to but sadly don’t attain.