1/48 P-40N ”Rosie the Riviter”

Started by Tom Bebout · 20 · 5 years ago
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    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Little late to the party but I need to do something that's quick to get my Mojo back.


    Should finish this one pretty quickly as I've done several of the AMT P-40 kits. Will add some aftermarket details to spruce her up a bit.

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Excellent choice Tom ! Sign me up for the ride. I'll be watching and cheering you on from the sidelines.

    I enjoyed building up a few of these AMT kits for our Kasserine Pass GB last year. They are good little kits.

    Looking forward to watching you create another P-40 masterpiece. Sometimes the simplest things are best for the mojo.

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    John Healy said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Good choice Tom. I like those kits.

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    Erik Gjørup said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    I'm in for this ride too!

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    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Got a day off so it's time to play with some plastic. Shot the interior with an airbrush then hand painted the boxes, knobs and switches. Hand painted the seat and hardness, and used a decal for the IP instruments from the spares box.

    Placed drops of Micro Kristal Klear over the dials to give an appearance of glass. Dry fitted the cockpit to check the fit and we'll seal the fuselage together later tonight. Lots more to do, such as landing gear, wheels, drop tank, and of course my favorite task, masking canopies.

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Moving right along... What a remarkable improvement by adding the resin seat. Looks great !
    Think on the bright side... You're not masking a He-111.

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    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Louis I have the old Monogram HE-III and when I saw all that glass I promptly bought a mask for it. Finally got the fuselage together and as in all the other AMT P-40's that I've built the nose has a step in it. Promptly fixed with some plastic card and then sanded flush.

    I purchased an exhause stack set from my Canadian buddies Ultracast, and painted them with Testor's Rubber enamel. I'll dry brush them later with chrome paint. And now the heartbreak. I apparently knocked the sliding portion of the canopy off my work table and promptly stepped on it. Total disaster. I'll try to obtain another one, and if that doesn't work I do have a P-40E canopy as a replacement. I'll try sanding the frames out of it then buffing it up as a replacement. No one will notice, Right? Oh well stuff happens so lets get some paint on this bird.

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    Stephen W Towle said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Squadron (Falcon) sells a Vacuform canopy for a 1/48 P-40 N ...SQ9619.

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    What a great subject choice Tom! Your progress looks fast but terrific. I don’t recall seeing this plane in model form before. There is plenty of time in this GB for you to build this beauty and others to join in with new builds since its targeted to end in November.

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    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Finally got some paint on Rosie and then a coat of Future for the decals.

    I'll be using the kit decals along with some from the spare files, as the kit sheet lacks some critical stencils. I'm using Tamiya Neutral Grey and OD from rattle cans so as to shorten the build time. I'm trying a new airbrush paint for the white tail. It's lacquer based so it dries fast is very hard to get it to run. Draw backs are: it needs an undercoat because it's lacquer, and you better have a paint booth because it lacquer. They're an Ohio company and started with model car finishes and have branched out to military paints. You can check out their video on YouTube. I found it covered the OD color very well.

    Also tried sanding off the frames of an extra P-40E canopy, and yes it can be done!

    The bad news is it's not exactly the correct size for a P-40N. The good news is I have been contacted by another modeler who has build lots of P-40's and has an extra. So not all is lost.

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    Robert Royes said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Looking good, Tom!

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    Pedro L. Rocha said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Indeed so! And that’s the first time I see that color brand, guess it’s not even available outside US

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    David Mills said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Nice work Tom!

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    Louis Gardner said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    I stop by to look at this build a few days later... Presto ! You have an almost fully completed P-40.

    You are undoubtedly the AMT P-40 master... Warp speed Sulu.

    Good tip on this new line of paint. I like my old school enamels. Unfortunately they are getting harder to find in the colors I like to use since Model Master has discontinued the majority of their line. I'm not a big fan of acrylics. I might have to give these paints a go when the time comes. (Or else I'll have to start custom mixing certain colors).

    Too bad about the mishap on the canopy. I'm happy to hear that another member squared you away. This is a great place...
    Looks great Tom.

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    Tom Bebout said 5 years, 3 months ago:

    Decals in place, and the last coat of Future is now on to seal the decals. Next up a dull coat and then add some antenna wire and we'll call her done except for that canopy that's on it's way.