1/48 AMtech P-40E

by Edward Fuquay

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     When AMtech released their P-40E I was really hoping it would better than AMT/ERLT’s product, but to my chagrin it was based in the latter. This new P-40E model offered much better decals and more colorful versions. I liked that.

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    Soon I discovered a myriad of little problems with my sample. The most serious was the tail section. I had to cut it off from the rest of the fuselage to align it. The pilot’s seat is the wrong type and the rear cockpit bulkhead is a bit short at the headrest. This leaves an unsightly gap atop the bulkhead. The headrest cushion is also a bit small. I fashioned a new bulkhead, headrest and used an Ultracast resin seat.

The cockpit is well detailed, and with care it looks good. The floor is a bit bare, but it looks good once everything is in place. The canopy rails are missing and I did not add them as I intended to use the kit’s part. That may change in the near future.

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Fit is very marginal and the only thing that saved the model from the scrap heap was that I had already invested in replacement parts and time fixing the tail and engine covers fit problems. I like the end result, but it is a kit that requires care. Now I am looking forward to building Hasegawa’s offering, but I am pretty sure I will use on it some of the surplus AMtech decals. Once again happy modeling,

Ed   

Photos and text © by Edward Fuquay