Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Hi Oliver, You know me, I really don't do much weathering at all but I am thinking of giving the P-40 a more of an operational/used look. Just have to see how it goes. There just very well might be a dark side build next year. 🚁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted December 30, 2022 Administrators Share Posted December 30, 2022 Looking awesome as usual, Peter. Nice, nice, nice! I DO love your choice of pilots. I met Tex Hill many years ago, and he was as salty as they come. He has a Middle School named after him in San Antonio, and he’s a real Texas Legend, much like Happy Jack Ilfrey. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 That looks awesome, Peter. The top wing decals kinda throw me... they seem so light. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Awesome result with the decaling on your P-40 comes to life. I'm glad to hear, that the quality of the decals is decent, but like Gary, I'm wondering about the light shade of the upper markings. I use the Tamiya LP clear as well and it also works great for me as I can't seem to handle Mr. Color GX 100 on a constant base. I'm a little disappointed with the Tamiya LP flat clear, which is not flat at all, maybe semi matte. Concerning the insignia decals, I went through my Pensacola and found some shots from above as well, as some of the underside of the wings. Some were made with and some without flash. Hard to tell, if there is a difference and yes, it's a restored bird. Cheers Rob 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 12 hours ago, Clunkmeister said: Looking awesome as usual, Peter. Nice, nice, nice! I DO love your choice of pilots. I met Tex Hill many years ago, and he was as salty as they come. He has a Middle School named after him in San Antonio, and he’s a real Texas Legend, much like Happy Jack Ilfrey. Ernie Much appreciated and thank you for posting. What a thrill, privilege and honor meeting Tex Hill a true American Hero. So glad he is honored and remembered by having a school named after him in San Antonio and yes, a true Texan. And of course, part of the Greatest Generation, who are now almost all gone. Many, many years ago, I meet both Bob Hoover and Frank Tallman and was honored for the privilege as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks Gaz, much appreciated. Information provided in the kit pointed out the China Blue Paint used for the roundels didn't hold up well and faded rather quickly and the reason for the two different blues. How true that is, I don't know. Robs photos show all four roundels were the same lighter shade of blue. I'm just not sure and decided to just use the kit decals, which also had the roundel sizes reversed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 4 hours ago, DocRob said: Awesome result with the decaling on your P-40 comes to life. I'm glad to hear, that the quality of the decals is decent, but like Gary, I'm wondering about the light shade of the upper markings. I use the Tamiya LP clear as well and it also works great for me as I can't seem to handle Mr. Color GX 100 on a constant base. I'm a little disappointed with the Tamiya LP flat clear, which is not flat at all, maybe semi matte. Concerning the insignia decals, I went through my Pensacola and found some shots from above as well, as some of the underside of the wings. Some were made with and some without flash. Hard to tell, if there is a difference and yes, it's a restored bird. Cheers Rob Rob Much appreciated and I'm with you in lov'in the new Tamiya lacquer clear gloss. I'll have to do some double checking on the Tamiya flat and see how it looks on the P-40, as. I prefer my aircraft finish to be a light semi mat and not a full matt but the degree needs to be looked at. Decals are exceptional and are some of the best I've ever used. Thank you for posting the photos as they answer a lot of questions and if I had a full set of four of the lighter blue, I would have used them. They also show the upper roundels are larger then the lower roundels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 That certainly looks the business, impressive. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks Dennis Should be in the home stretch now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 5 hours ago, Peterpools said: Thank you for posting the photos as they answer a lot of questions and if I had a full set of four of the lighter blue, I would have used them. They also show the upper roundels are larger then the lower roundels. Peter, I pulled out a Cutting Edge decal sheet I have for a P-40 and here's what it says about the roundels. The upper and lower roundels are the same size. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks Carl for digging out the info. It seems the best approach would have been to use the light blue for both the upper and lower roundels, which were not included in the kit. At least I have the color more correct for the upper ones. Kowing this, I wish GWH's would have included four correct roundels of each color but of course they didn't. Again, loads of R&D money and time spent on including details that will never be seen and then skimping on the decals. Makes no sense. My fault, I should have bought an AM decal sheet and not relied on GWHs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Peter, I think you've got it correct on your model. The lower roundels should be darker as they haven't faded. If anything, the upper roundels could also be darker if they were freshly painted. I don't have any other references for the P-40 unfortunately to double check. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thanks Carl, much appreciated. I'm pretty sure the roundel colors are now sorted out correctly, size is another issue and I'm just going to let it slide as is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Well Well Welll .............That looks like a frigg'in Nice P-40 methinks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 30, 2022 Author Share Posted December 30, 2022 Thaks Kev Getting there slowly but surely 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 ALMOST THERE Finally, I can see the finish line as the build is almost complete. Since the last update: Pin washes and a gloss seal cote done, followed up with a final clear cote mix of Alclad Semi Matt and Alclad Flat, as I prefer a finish with a slight hint of gloss. Here is where you can really appreciate how fine the vast majority of the surface panel lines and rivets are, as the washes had a hard time working their magic. Main Gear assembly done. A lot of time was devoted to painting, weathering and loads of detailed parts. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at a Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen instead of Alclad Chrome and the one I brought, the tip was way still too thick and I couldn’t get it to work as intended. I needed to blot on the chrome and then smooth it out with a brush. I was still pleased with the results and will absolutely buy one with a much finer tip for a more accurate comparison to Alclad Chrome. Tailwheel assembly was built up, painted, installed and slightly weather – looks pretty good. Exhausts: even though the exhaust ends all had then ends hollowed out, I drilled them out a lot deeper and wider for a better effect. The exhaust stacks were finished with Alclad Dark Aluminum and sealed with Alclad Semi Clear Sheen and still need to do the weathering and exhaust stains. The radio access hatch was finished with the addition of the Quinta 3D door decal and installed with the latch lock bar. The armor plate glass and frame were assembled, painted and added; just a bit finicky. If added earlier as the instructions wanted, I would have had problems in masking and painting the interior of the windscreen. All the machine guns were cleaned up and painted. The masking was removed, canopy frames had been painted both inside and outside look awesome. GWH masks are equal to the best AM available. All the canopy glass was added. All that remains is to add all the lights and glass lenses, antennas, a few small bits with detail painting, some light weathering and then the P-40 is ready to roll across the finish line. 6 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 That looks amazing my friend !!....harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Thanks Harv Much appreciative. Just a few bits and pieces and light weathering and the P-40 will be across the line and in the display case. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 What a beauty Peter. Your painting and finish looks spot on and I think you went the right way with the faded blue insignia. It's good to read , that there were no issues with residues on the clear parts and that the masks fit so well. As a tiny eyecatcher, I really like the opened access hatch. I used Molotow Chrome markers on different occasions and only the first fas satisfactory. It was the headlight of my Ford GT MK II, where it looked like chrome. On all other applications, it looked dull and grainy, last on the LG of my Corsair build. After unsuccessfully trying chrome foil there, I went back to my trusty Uschi van der Rosten chrome pigments. Rubbed on properly, they have the perfect shininess to my eye. On the second pic the last two exhaust seem to be out of order or is it only an illusion, as it does not show that much on pic # four. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbert27 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Awesome work!!! Have a kit in the stash and your work is just wonderful. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 this is amazing. It looks like a museum piece. Stunning model. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Thanks Rob Glass came out well, just a lot of work double asking. I completely missed seeing the out of alignment of those two exhaust stacks and just added them to the fix list for the next and last build session. Part of the problem is the way GWH designed the stacks - they are too small for the opening and there is no positive fit location - they move all over the place. Appreciate the thoughts and experiences with using the Molotow Chrome Pens - I'm now starting to have some hesitations about spending another $7.95 to do additional testing. The Quina 3D decal adds a lot of interest to the hatch and that's the only tiny opening to see all the detailing and work that went into the interior. Just wasn't worth the effort and time I spent. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Peter, the P-40 looks great. Really captures the lines of the plane with the cowls on. Something that would be lost if they were open. I've had the similar mixed results with Molotow markers as well. I use Hasegawa mirror finish film. Think of Bare Metal Foil but much shinier and much more durable. It even has a bit of stretch to it. Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Jbert - thank you for the nice comments on the P-40. Looking back at the build, there are alternatives to approaching the build and the final presentation, including displaying it with the full Allision visible and the detailed flaps with PE down as well. It's a bit pricy but offers a lot and now almost done, I would recommend the kit - just beware of the instructions - they look so good but are confusing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Thanks Oliver, much appreciated A few more hours tomorrow morning and she will be done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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