1to1scale Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Ok folks! I got my hands on one of these from the local IPMS president, he saw the Grey Matter conversion I brought to the last meeting and let me know he bought a few and asked me if I wanted one, since the price he got it for was way cheaper than I have found, I said yes! ...so here we go! I'm gong to start off by showing some comparisons between the old an new Trumpys, the B and F, as well as a P-40E and a Grey Matter conversion. I’m going to most likely paint this as a checkertail, and I will make some minor corrections to fix some deficiencies. I am happy to announce that NOTHING is a carryover from the P-40B kit. This is 100% new. The good... 1. All new cockpit, appears to be the same dimensions as the Hasegawa for depth, and it appears to have better detail! It is significantly different from the old B. I will say there is room for improvement, the IP is nicely done, except for dial faces, there are none, just flat holes, you will need airscale decals, and I suspect Eduard and Yahu will help here. The seat is beautiful, best p-40 seat yet. Trumpeter did include belts, while a welcome addition, they are thick and seem oversized. 2. Wings...Options for flaps up or down, in the down position, they included a beautiful set of PE to replicate the internal structure ribbing, with slots in the wing for the ribs, alignment appears to be guaranteed. They have a nice set of flap actuation rods in plastic, and and optional set of closed flaps. The upper and lower wing is an all new setup, different construction, they even used slide molds for the machine gun barrels, which are molded into the bottom wing, with little notches in the top wing. The gear wells are basically the same setup as Hasegawa, with four walls and a roof. And finally, vastly improved wheels, but they have rubber tires. Resin would give you better detail. 3. Fuselage...No fiddly fictional joints all over the fuselage to fill and sand. Construction is simple and is traditional L/R halves, but the rivet detail, screw heads, panel lines are the best yet from trumpeter! Compared to Hasegawa, Trumpeter wins this round. The bad... 4. The decals, seriously? Apparently trumpeter still can’t get stars right!?!? Hopefully, Montex and Zots will issue some stuff. 5. Rubber tires, seriously? I don’t understand why they persist with this. Maybe they own a miniature rubber tire factory? 6. Here is the controversy, yes, the top curve of the nose is off, it is not as flat as it needs to be, it has a distinct hump, as it gains altitude as it leaves the windshield then curves back down. It is my initial assessment that if this bothers you, there is enough plastic on top to sand this flatter, which should get you pretty close. The bottom cowl appears to be correct profile. The lower cowl opening is a little small, but, again, this can be opened up with a file. My comparison to the the Grey Matter conversion I did, the top is better on the Grey Matter, and the bottom is better on the trumpeter. So I’m going to call it a toss up. I’m going to start the build on this ASAP, I will then take some side by sides of the two for people to compare. I did take more pictures, but I can’t get them to load tonight, I’ll do that in the morning. New wings, ammo bays open, but not guns. Worst box art ever. Trumpeter kills it on detail, finer panel lines than Hasegawa, more tiny rivets, very nice. Panel looks good, decals for the gauges are included. Grey Matter nose for Hasegawa is good on top, a little flat on the bottom, and a little too much angle on the exhaust. Grey Matter “mouth” is a bit too large. The shape of the trumpeter exhausts opening is right on. Way too much curve up top, good news is, the plastic is thick enough to sand it flatter. It’s not as bad as it looks, the actual rise is about .030, where the plastic is probably about .050 thick. There is room to sand. However, sitting on a shelf, to the untrained non-insane person, it would look fine. The opening is better on the Trumpeter. Totally different design. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KUROK Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Looking forward to it. You are leading the pack! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 This'll be great to see! Gaz 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingco57 Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Here we go! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunhertz Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 OK you've got my attention 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 Added pictures and notes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 Ok, I decided to go outside the box, trumpeter includes decals for the IP, but if you sand the back down a bit, you can glue the decals to the back. So out came a sanding stick and a knife. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 There enough sprue gates ?......harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 really nice, a detail that bring it back to life. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I've been waiting for this one! Looks like it'll be a fun build. Where can I get one for a good price? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 4 minutes ago, JohnB said: I've been waiting for this one! Looks like it'll be a fun build. Where can I get one for a good price? Free time has them cheap, $63 https://freetimehobbies.com/1-32-trumpeter-curtiss-p40f-kittyhawk-aircraft/ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 6 minutes ago, 1to1scale said: Free time has them cheap Thanks!!! I just ordered one. VERY likely my next build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 Building has started, cockpit assembled and fit. hasegawa pilot just checking out the new digs. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Is it a long tail or short tail? I can't tell by the photos. Either is fine by me! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty44 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 IS the cockpit floor flat or does it have the top of the wing look we are hoping for? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 The cockpit floor is identical to the Hasegawa, flat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1to1scale Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, JohnB said: Is it a long tail or short tail? I can't tell by the photos. Either is fine by me! It’s a short tail, which is a shame, only one of the zotz sheet is for a short tail, however, if you just change the number, you can make any of the French planes, they give you both styles of exhaust. And if you mix and match the American numbers, you could make some different N Africa F’s. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikester Posted December 19, 2018 Members Share Posted December 19, 2018 Nice to see some discussion about a Trumpeter kit without all the hyperbole you see on some other sites! Overall, looks really good, I'm in. Are these markings appropriate for this kit? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KUROK Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 2 hours ago, Mikester said: Nice to see some discussion about a Trumpeter kit without all the hyperbole you see on some other sites! Overall, looks really good, I'm in. Are these markings appropriate for this kit? Yes the are quite appropriate1 Were gurls going bald beaver way back then? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polsen Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 On 19. Dezember 2018 at 6:14 AM, KUROK said: Yes the are quite appropriate1 Were gurls going bald beaver way back then? ......I guess you'd have to check your references then Beavers aside, should be an interesting build , keep us posted and all the best. Cheers, Pete P.s I love your avatar btw, very cool ! Are those your cats ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Pulling up a chair and will be along for the ride. Some mighty nice research and a super start Keep 'em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 To get a better feel for the shape of the front cowling, here are some pics. Looking good Mark, I like your touch up's, keep them coming Cheers Martin Tail position shot: Nose position shot: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 And once more, well known picture revealing Trumpeters dull edge around the radiator intake opening , Another interesting detail is the absence of the sloped embossed area behind the last exhaust opening. Cheers Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 And one more with an inner detail of the intake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 flaps 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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