Airfix P 40B Pearl Harbor

[41chevy]

One of the six that got airborne flown by Pilot Lt. George Welch of the 47th Pursuit Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group. 

So far, I've assembled the interior tub. It is a combination of the Airfix, most of the Aires "B" series resin interior and the Eduard P40B P.E. seat and belts. Light wash and dry brush only. Not too worried about the guns as 90% are not seen under the cowl.

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[spook]

Nice

[keavdog]

Oh cool. I just got this kit as well - I'll be following along.

[kyledehart5]

Nice start! Look forward to seeing this.

[handiabled]

Following along with this one. I'm liking the detail in the office!

[TJ]

Great start. The cockpit looks fantastic

[406 Silverado]

Off to a good start on this one and there's lots to look at in that pit Paul.

[benb]

Nice! I’ve got this one in my stash so I’ll be following along.

Ben

[brandonk]

I have this kit but have not built it yet. Good stuff. Looking forward to seeing more.

[stikpusher]

You’re off to a good start. This kit builds up beautifully from several that I’ve seen completed.

[41chevy]

Just a quick shot of the completed cockpit. The kit is impressive from Airfix. I removed the fuselage halves from the sprue with my usual tool, the Tamiya .010 micro saw blades. With them there is most times zero clean up in the feed gate spot. Anyhow the halves fit together perfectly with just tape AND the tub fits right in easy peasy. Nice to see the fuselage can be all together before the tub is in.

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[kyledehart5]

Nice!! I need to add a P40 to my collection sometime. Perhaps this airfix

[406 Silverado]

Sept 27, 2024 13:49:30 GMT -5 41chevy said:

Just a quick shot of the completed cockpit. The kit is impressive from Airfix. I removed the fuselage halves from the sprue with my usual tool, the Tamiya .010 micro saw blades. With them there is most times zero clean up in the feed gate spot. Anyhow the halves fit together perfectly with just tape AND the tub fits right in easy peasy. Nice to see the fuselage can be all together before the tub is in.

 Aint it though? I've got that going on with my current build and it sure makes things nice as alot of the handling and prep work can be done without the actual cockpit tub in place. Looks great so far and will be watching for the next update Paul. 

[mach7]

Nice work!
The pit looks great. Great to hear the fit is good also.

If you can make the trek to The American Heritage Museum in Hudson Mass.
They have the last surviving Wheeler field P-40B from the Pearl Harbor attack.

[41chevy]

Sept 28, 2024 19:49:55 GMT -5 mach7 said:

Nice work!
The pit looks great. Great to hear the fit is good also.

If you can make the trek to The American Heritage Museum in Hudson Mass.
They have the last surviving Wheeler field P-40B from the Pearl Harbor attack.

Came down last year and not only saw it but got a very close tour of it. My uncle was Chief Pharmacist Mate on the Okie. He was identified through DNA after being Unknown in the Punch bowl since 1942 during salvage. We requested his remains were shipped to Maine in November 2019. My  V.N.Vet Assoc. got permission to put a small bit of his ashes in it.  Number 160 and 284actually flew together at Pearl  to cover each other.

[mach7]

I'm very glad your uncle made it home.

There is a chance I saw his grave in the punch bowl in 2014.

Too many "Unknown" graves.

The next time I go see 284 I'll know your uncle is there.

What was his name?

[kyledehart5]

I also want to express that I’m very glad your uncle got to come home too. Far too many unknown graves indeed.

[406 Silverado]

That is indeed great news that your uncle was identified and brought home Paul as well as bringing a bit of closure to the family after all these years.

[TJ]

Sept 30, 2024 4:13:52 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

That is indeed great news that your uncle was identified and brought home Paul as well as bringing a bit of closure to the family after all these years.

Well said. I'm glad he's home

[handiabled]

Wonderful to hear your Uncle was identified and is back home again.

[stuart]

So many men didn't make it home, that's awesome news for your family.

Loving this build - having just completed their equally nice 1/72 kit, I take it this is the 1/48th version?

[41chevy]

Back after dealing with health issues from my race crash. Here is a rather large Pl-40B up date. Almost done!  Yes it is 1/48  scale

Multi piece nose assembly is pretty good but wing fit issues leave a lot to be desired. When finished it will be as it was immediately after it's baptism of fire, slightly weathered.

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[kyledehart5]

Excellent!! I’m really liking how this is looking. Great work. Hope your health issues from your crash are headed the right direction!!

[Mike]

This Airfix kit really is a well engineered gem for a B model. It's a lot easier to build up into a fine model than the Old Monogram/Revell kit.


Monogram 1/48 (upper left), Academy 1/72 (middle left), Airfix 1/72 (middle right), and the Airfix 1/48 (lower right)

I still need to finish my Airfix build and as its been through a bit of mild abuse it needs some repair, but I do think it builds up very well. It was nice to see a B model kit produced with the correct AVG markings unlike the old Monogram/Revell offering with the markings of three different squadrons combined onto one airframe lol. The Airfix kit does edge out on accuracy, especially in the cockpit, but there's no end of love for the old Monogram kit for me. It's one of the few kits I've built many models of over the years and I've got one on the bench again to build up that British scheme as I've never built that one before.

I love seeing this Airfix kit being built. Not so much the Monogram kit as we've all seen it built with the AVG scheme 1000's of times.

Keep up the most excellent work! One piece of advice that is that the underside of the pre war P-40's were painted in Neutral Gray and not the Sky Grey or Curtis Grey most people think they were painted. All of the lend/lease and war time aircraft were painted in the lighter shades. I hope this doesn't cause you any worries. We are all entitled to our own interpretations and artistic licenses. If you're pleased with it, then that's all that matters.

Now, lets see more!

[406 Silverado]

You're sure putting your fair share of "lovin" into this aircraft Paul! Great body work going on and it should look nice n' smoothed out when it's all said and done. I do hope that your recovery is progressing well buddy.

I've got a strange love for the old Monogram kits as well Mike. Good tips on the paint and great photo comparison. 

[Mike]

Oct 20, 2024 20:58:12 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

You're sure putting your fair share of "lovin" into this aircraft Paul! Great body work going on and it should look nice n' smoothed out when it's all said and done. I do hope that your recovery is progressing well buddy.

I've got a strange love for the old Monogram kits as well Mike. Good tips on the paint and great photo comparison. 

It was the monogram kit that made me delve into a lot of research on the P-40. Lately I've been repairing a lot of my completed kits and I'm currently building a Ta-152, which is an awkward looking bird to be sure. But it has reawakened my need to build things with wings lol.

I might even continue my A-24 Banshee project.

I haven't posted any pictures because my phone doesn't have any space on it. It needs to be upgraded. Something I'll eventually do.