sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Never go to the Hobby Shop on the dat after Christmas with money in your pocket.... The long term goal of all this madness is to represent the developmental history of the P-40 production types in 1/32 scale. I'm currently in the end stages of the Trumpeter P40-B/C and had planned on doing the Revell E model using Jerry Rutman's conversion kit, but since Trumpeter announced that they will be doing an E and an M (and possibly an F if we can figure out what is meant by "Kittyhawk." See http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.ph...t=ST&f=2&t=8417 ) I'll wait until I see what they have to offer as they seem to do better with each offering. I had bought an extra Trumpeter "B" with then idea of using the Cutting Edge conversion set (see http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.ph...t=ST&f=4&t=7640 ), but I walked into Hobby Island here in Houston this afternoon (I was the only one to show up for work today, so I played hooky after lunch) and saw they had just gotten in the Special Hobby kit. Hobby Island does a neat thing wherin they have a cart near the door with all the latest kits in it with the shrinkwrap off so you can see what's in the box. The tactic worked, cuz I laid out the $50 bux and took it home. A couple of reviews and one build is currently on the net. I'll post them here and go on with my first impressions of the kit, and a possible plan of action: http://www.modelingmadness.com/reviews/pre.../tc/tmc3236.htm http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/sh/..._sh_p-36a.shtml http://kits.kitreview.com/sh32003reviewbg_1.htm The kit comes with all the sprues in one bag and I experienced one major problem mentioned in one of the reviews above: the sliding cockpit glass had separated from the sprue in shipment and had cracked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 There was also an injection problem with the windscreen. Anyone know how I go about getting a replacement? I can probably use the TRumpeter sliding glass, but the windscreen for that kit has some problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 Instructions have a parts map, but no part numbers are on the sprues. This is not a big problem, but it is a pet peeve of mine, only because my workspace theds to get "disorganized." Must be the gremlins.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 Fuse and cowl look good with nice, restrained recess panel lines. I'd have preferred the cowl had been engineered to give the option of opening up the cooling flaps. Good news here is that the fuselage hatch is not raised as it is with the Trumpeter kit. There are some pretty severe ejector pins on the interior, but a quick scan of the instructions shows they will not be visible once the kit is complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 Lower wing looks good with the same restrained recessed panel lines and good fabric detail, not overdone as some kits will. The forward wheel wells look like they may benefit from the Part Photo etch set that works so well with the Trumpeter kit. Since I'm getting to the point in the P40B build ( http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.ph...t=ST&f=4&t=7836 ) that I'll be using the AM stuff for that kit, I'll be looking for places to use bits and pieces from those and do some test fitting at the same time. I'l be building the Harry Winston Brown ship which is one of the color schems provided with the kit decals. As mentioned in one of those "other" reveiws, there's some accuracy issues with the number of guns in the wings, but they seem an easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 The wheel well interior is much more restrained that the Trumpeter kit. The wells box in in pretty much the same manner, but this kit has opened the lightening holes. Unfortunately, one reference says that the wells should have the canvas covers. I may just have to use the "Maverick Mechanic" excuse, as this does just cry our for the addition of some of the same detail done to the P40B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 While looking at the wheel well detail (I just finished that part of the P40, so I'm obsessing just a bit) I did a quick scan of the LG installation. Lots of fiddly bits, much of it resin. I have Jerry Rutman's set for the Revel P40E which I may compare and use, or I could try that which comes with the extra Trumpeter B I now have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 The cockpit parts appear to be all on the same sprue. This is good news for me (see the post re: "disorganized" work space) as the arrangement of parts in the Trjmpeter kit has those necessary for any given subassembly one two or more trees and I spend a good deal fo time searching for the right one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 Inspecting the cockpit tub pieces really got me thinking. This kit nails the depth of the cockpit and the curvature of the floor. The Trumpeter kit is all wrong, of course, and the Cutting Edge fix is bot perfect in this regard. BUT....kitbashing this cockpit with the Trumpeter kit might be the best (albeit most expensive) answer to the problem. And when you start thinking about the fuselage hatch issue with the Trumpeter kit...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 You can see the wheel well pieces here, as well as the rudder and tail planes. Fabric detail here is very nicely done...and if that tailplane has a better shape than the Trumpeter B...... HHHHMMMMmmmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 As with the cockpit, the engine parts are on the same tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 Engine detail is good, which is important in this scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 Elevators and Rudder come as separate pieces, but the Ailerons are not, which is kind of dissapointing, no flaps either, but the fabric detail is better than on the Trumpeter kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 The resin bits are for the Landing Gear. First impression is that the Trumpeter or Rutman LG may be easier to work with and give a better appearance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargevining Posted December 27, 2005 Author Share Posted December 27, 2005 On my way out of Hobby Island I icked up the Eduard seat belt set fo USAAC aircraft. I didn'tneed to. Not only does a good set come with the kit, but it is colored as well..nice touch. There are also a bunch of lil bitty hookusses for switches, knobs and dials for the instrument panel and a finely done crosshair and post gunsight. This is also something that would go nice with the Trumpeter P40B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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