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Tom Bebout
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AMT 1/48 P-40F [long tail]

August 21, 2021 · in Aviation · 21 · 2.4K

This is my commission build for a friend of Lt. Richard W. Lander's family who flew this aircraft while assigned to the 315th FS, 324th FG, in North Africa, 1943. As most P-40 builders know this kit needs a few modifications to represent a true P-40F. The most obvious is the air/carburetor intake which AMT got totally wrong but with a little sanding, some aluminum tubing, and wire a correct intake came be reproduced. The other mistake is he flew a long tail P-40F and not the short tail version. So you cut off the tail then add your spare AMT P-40K tail and presto chango you have the additional 13 inches needed for the long tail version. Based on photo's provided the decal placement is also incorrect, the 4's were placed together and not separated as shown on the instructions.

I added an Ultracast seat,wheels and exhause stacks,as well as some spare IP decals. The gun sight was from the spares box and I added some break lines using jewelry wire. Paints were a combination of Modeal Master and Tamiya, and a PittPen was used to highlight the panel lines. I also used the kit decals which were fine, nylon thread for the antenna wire. All in all a fun build.

Reader reactions:
21  Awesome

13 additional images. Click to enlarge.


21 responses

  1. Awesome project, Tom! Excellent job on the research regarding long tail vs P-40F-1, and the 44 Y number scheme. The instrument panel is 'aces'.

    The recipient of your commission build should be very pleased with the extra care you afforded.

  2. You've turned a not-so-wonderful kit into a wonderful model, Tom.

  3. Beautiful work, Tom, I'm sure your customer will be pleased with the result!

  4. Nice work, Tom. I never tire of P-40s.

  5. Another beautiful Bebout P-40 build, and base, great job!

  6. Excellent P-40, Tom!
    Copied all your corrective actions, so I will implemented them at the same kit I have.

  7. Beautiful P40, Tom @tom-bebout
    This build will definitely appreciated a lot by Lander's family.

  8. Beautiful work on your build, looks great.

  9. Nice job, Tom. Your friend will enjoy it for years to come.

  10. To make a 'long story short' (or should a say a short story long?) - Love the build and the base, Tom! Great looks on this build every way you look at it.

  11. Very nice. Love the work you did on this one Tom.
    Im adding a photo of one seen at Sonoma airport a few weeks ago. Not sure which version this is but I thought you would enjoy it.

  12. Great work on my favorite version of the P-40. I keep hoping someone does an accurate kit in 1/48.

  13. Tom, @tom-bebout
    As usual you have built an excellent P-40. It looks at right home there on your scratch built desert base. I'll bet your client was very pleased... I would be if it were mine. The IP is nicely done, and the aftermarket seat also looks very nice, an obvious improvement over the kit part.

    I have built several of these AMT P-40's, and I liked building each one of them. They are often overlooked, which is sad because it can be a nice model if properly treated as you have demonstrated for us.
    I definitely pressed the "liked" button.

    Stay safe buddy.

  14. 🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
    Fascinating overall work on this model Tom.

  15. Another stunning P-40, Tom. The desert camo scheme looks brilliant! The seat and belts are very well done and the 'tail extension' sets the whole build off perfectly! Congratulations.

  16. Great build, Tom. Very satisfying for you too as a commission build with such historical significance. I had a chance to see this in our one-on-one correspondence, but it is a pleasure to see more details of the build. I really like what you did with the IP from spares and the cockpit in general is superb. I hope this inspires more P-40s in the DAW GB. Thanks for posting.

  17. Looks fantastic Tom! Love the TLC to make it what you wanted out of it.

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