Always nice to see a P-40, David!

Great choice, David @davids_models
Your start is already impressive.

The second week of the Lulu Belle covers the detailing of the fuselage and the start of the painting. Using the photo etch detail set I added the mounts for the drop tank and the cowl flaps. I opted to use the open set so the details inside can be seen. The tail wheel doors were replaced with the photo etch replacements as well. The main gear struts were also detailed. I used wire to add the hydraulic hoses to the main gear struts. On the nose there are two vented panels. The kit had tiny marks to represent these but the marks appeared way too small so I opted to use a 0.5mm drill and open the holes up for a better appearance. The underside of the aircraft and drop tank was then base coat painted with neutral gray.

While the underside was drying I masked and painted the canopy sections with the olive drab. The topside of the aircraft was then base coat painted with the olive drab. The Banshees scheme had some deep green scallops along the wing edges and tail so I painted them to match the reference photos. I then painted the propellers, nose cone, and exhaust pipes. I added some exhaust staining with some brown, gray and black pastel chalk. I am preparing to start the decals. One thing I noticed was the “Lulu Belle” decals are set up as two parts. Once white then a yellow decal will need to be aligned on top. I will let you know how it goes. I should be able to complete the model by next week.

You can see more photos and details in my build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-p-40n-burma-banshees-lulu-belle/

9 attached images. Click to enlarge.

All looking good, David @davids_models

The Burma Banshees P-40N is now finished. For this final week I applied all the decals. The “Lulu Belle” being two parts was not too bad to get them lined up. The skulls required some finesse to place. If you plan on building this kit I would recommend placing the skulls on before the exhaust pipes. It took a while for me to place the decals in between the exhaust pipes and not damage the decals. The rest of the decals went down very well and conformed to the surface details with a little help from the decal solvent.

The aircraft was then top coated with matte finish. I installed the clear parts and painted the wing lights with Tamiya clear paints. The canopy and windscreen were installed and this completed the aircraft.

This kit was a nice build. The fit was not too bad with the wing roots being the area needing the most work. The instructions were laid out well and the kit decals were good. The Eduard detail set was easy to install and adds nice details to the cockpit and main landing gear bays. I would recommend this kit as the finished aircraft looks nice and represents 2nd LT Adair’s aircraft very well. Thank for following along. Happy Modeling!

You can see all the photos and details from start to finish in my build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-p-40n-burma-banshees-lulu-belle/

7 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Looks great on the headlines, David @davids_models