This is another
update on the original AMT P-40 kit and AMtech are to be congratulated for
making this version available, the plane was used by the allies in the
North Africa campaign and the markings supplied reflect this with the
inclusion of US and RAAF markings for Libya, Egypt and the western desert
plus an additional set for a training Sqdn in Texas.
|
|
The box contains the
original kit with its step in the fuselage where it meets the tail, plus a
completely new fuselage correctly moulded. The new Item is the Black Box tail
cast in resin there are also alternative cockpit parts which are shown in the
construction sheet.
Construction begins with the cockpit as usual and the sheet has drawings in
1/48th scale showing where to cut the kit fuselage, I found a little problem
here if cut exactly where the line is shown the resin tail is not quite the same
diameter, luckily as I always cut a couple of mm away from, and then sand back
to the line, I had enough to fit the tail where the height matched the fuselage
so be warned.
The resin tail
has some delicate details around the rudder post which need clearing out with a
small file and/or scalpel before mounting on the model and there is a hole to
drill out for the tailwheel mount.
The engine cowlings had the
exhausts fitted and then were mounted into their respective locations but I
found that they were a little short in length and it showed where the spinner
met the cowlings so I cemented small pieces of 15thou plasticard on the
nose section to make up the difference. when this had hardened I sanded it to
shape and the spinner matched perfectly.
There are a
number of tiny holes to fill in the lower wing where other bomb racks etc.
etc. were to fit but as these are not needed here I filled mine using 1mm
rod cemented in then sanded flat when hard. When it came to mating
the wings to the fuselage I found a slight gap between the two components
on each side , to get over this I splayed the fuselage with a piece of
sprue frame until it matched the wing area then after cementing, all it
needed was a gentle sand down just to clean up the top join. The under
surface needed a little attention as there was a small gap at the rear
edge which I filled again using 15thou card strips to be later
sanded down level, I hate using filler. |
|
Tailplanes were
fitted using superglue and the tiny gaps there only needed a few drops of the
stuff to level them off, again a little sanding was needed to get a nice smooth
contour.
The remainder of construction is fairly basic but do remember
to paint the area inside the rear canopy windows the same as the outer
camouflage colour before you add the windows..My prop and spinner are a push fit
so were left off until all the spraying was finished but the canopies were
masked and cemented into position first.
The paint I wanted was ANA sand 49 and the only tin I could find in my draw was
an old tin from the Gloy authentic colour range and although it is positively
ancient it matched my colour chips exactly and sprayed beautifully. The neutral
grey 43 came from the old Compucolour range, the nearest FS colour to it is
FS36270 not FS36118 as suggested.. Humbrols equivilant is Hu 176 and
Xtracolor is X133.
When dry I shot a couple of dusted coats of Johnsons Klear (Future) to
give a good base for the decals, these quickly released and were a
pleasure to handle, next day I put another couple of coats of Klear over
to seal everything in then dusted a matting coat, of three parts Klear to
one part Tamiya flat base, over to bring the finish back to a slight
sheen.
The masking was removed and any tiny details painted, the wheels
were added and the whole thing left over night to harden off and there I
had a new P-40K model for my collection a worthy addition. |
Click on
image below to see larger image
|
|
|
Ted
Drop
by Ted's Website to see more of his models. Ted
Taylor's Modelworks
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|
|
|