Hasegawa 1/32 Curtis Warhalk P40E Aleutain Tiger

[Vaughan]

Here's my next build and a quick look at the office.

Vaughan

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[Guest]

Looking forward to this one Vaughan!

[Vaughan]

Well I've made a start with the cockpit. Side walls and floor pan with green zinc chromate and the seat and supports in interior green. Dry fit with the fuselage looks good although I'm not quite sure why Hasegawa have opted to split the tail section from the rest of the fuselage. There is no natural panel line at that point (see line drawing this is actually a Kittyhalk but the fuselage is the same and I managed to find this image of a warhalk tail section as well), so filling it so it's not seen is going to be a real pain as there is rivet detail along the spine and underneath.

Vaughan

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[Vaughan]

More progress with the office more detail added and some weathering just got the seat belts to do. I have some pre painted Eduard american belts but typically I'm fresh out of glue.

Vaughan

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[michaelm]

Very nice Vaughan, really like this plane.

[stona]

Good spot. Many WW2 aircraft were constructed with an entire tail section that bolted on but the P-40 series was an exception.

There is a panel line running vertically for most of the depth of the suselage but it is not a joint between two elements of the airframe and hence could be filled,taped,sanded or whatever during construction.

Cheers

Steve

[Vaughan]

Steve thanks for the info and images. The panel line your referring to is "A" which is already there. But the join that is a result of the tail section fitting into the rest of the fuselage is further along at "B" where there is no natural panel line, so will need to be completely filled. And that's the problem all the rivets that are right next to the join will make it near impossible to fill without loosing them. Any suggestion on how to do this will be greatly appreciated as I have no real experience at re-scribing and don't want to going down that road if I can avoid it.

Vaughan

p.s Sorry Steve I've realise you are just talking about that particular panel line (A) on the real aircraft and not the join on the kit (B).

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[Vaughan]

Some progress with that fuselage. Whilst scouring the internet I found another build of a Warhalk which had a work around regarding the fuselage and tail sections. The guy got round it by attaching the tail sections to their corresponding fuselage halves first thus minimising the seam line and getting a better fit. Once glued you can then join the halves when required. They still required some work to get them flush but it was definitely a better option. The only draw back is that you get a tapered gap on the underside, this makes you appreciate what a step would have been created had you followed the instructions. This can easily be filled once the fuselage halves are together.

Vaughan

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[Dave W]

Im surprised this kit has that join and the associated problems.Not what you expect from an expensive Hasegawa kit.Having seen your other excellent builds i am sure you will sort it Vaughan.

[stona]

That's a good fix. There's often a way of shifting a problem to somewhere it is more easily fixed.

Hasegawa do a similar thing with their Bf109s but then they did have different tails and a nice convenient join. Not sure why they do it with the P-40.

Cheers

Steve

[Vaughan]

Now that fuselage and tail sections are sorted I've moved onto the air intake scoop. The radiator grills were first painted silver followed by some masking fluid and once dry a coat of zinc chromate green. I think it worked well. Finally a dry fit in the a fuselage half. The next step will be to start making the seat belts and then button up the office as it's still a dry fit.

Vaughan

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[papa 695]

Great work so far Vaughan

[Vaughan]

Seat belt are fitted and the office is now complete.

Vaughan

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[Guest]

absolutely fantastic detail work in there,its jaw droppinly good

mobeae

[Vaughan]

Thanks for that Ole building the office and getting the camo on( once the model is together) are I think my most enjoyable parts of model making. Glueing wings and fuselages with out seeing those dreaded seams is still a real bugbear for me.

Vaughan