1/18 Curtiss P40C - Finished :)

[airscale]

afternoon all

 

On 8/2/2022 at 6:07 PM, Oldbaldguy said:

Not even going to bother with telling you how mind expanding all this is because you’ve heard it countless times.  However, I have a couple of questions:  How close are the tape you make patterns with and the metal in thickness?  Pretty close?  Not close at all?  If one is noticeably thinner than the other, do you have to make allowances or is that irrelevant?  And, sorry to ask you to repeat yourself, but what exactly is the material you are using and how do we mortals get our hands on some?

 

Hi OBG, thanks for dropping by - the tape is just decorators masking tape and the litho is 0.2mm so i guess there is a tenth of a mm in it - it is pretty close largely because it's slightly textured.. The litho is sheet aluminium used in the litho printing process - it's called Jade Long Runs and I got 100 sheets from Printing Supplies Direct I have no idea how to navigate their website or what their minimum order is, but Geoff (Ironwing here) put me onto them years ago and I just emailed a chap called Brian

 

You can probably get it elsewhere & I have got it on ebay before, but that is after it has been used and I found when I abraded it with wire wool I was getting coloured hues in the metal (reds, greens, blues etc) so went straight to source

 

recent work on the P40 has focussed on getting the cockpit 'pod' completed and onto the fuselage as this was holding up many other things. I got as far as skinning the tail feathers before I had to move on..

 

 

 

..the filler fairings were slightly cut into so the skin will sit under the litho fairings that cover this union - I need to refill over the join or it will show through when burnishing down the fillets..

 

 

..To get the cockpit pod oriented, I mocked up where it sat and added braces so I could assemble the instrument panel mounts and all the final components..

 

 

..once that was fixed, I built out the IP mount and installed it..

 

 

..now I knew the area I had to fit the guns into so made up the mounts and ammo bins into one assembly. The guns were little PE kits and the cocking levers (I assume) were ground with my dremel from sheet aluminium - at 6mm tall this was pretty hard

 

 

 

..the guns were then added to the assembly as were the throttle control rods and any final bobbins before the whole thing would be fixed in place on the fuselage..

 

 

 

..the floor and control column also added - I can add the seat later..

 

..I also removed the panels under the rear canopy glass as these are different for the early version I am doing and I had incorrectly added fuel & oil fillers...

 

 

..I actually installed the cockpit pod and filled it to blend it in before I realised I had it slightly out of position - very frustrating as I had to carefully remove it without damaging anything which took hours of concentration..

 

..with it safely removed I also realised I should have got the windscreen area right before I mounted the pod, so it was a useful quirk of fate I got it wrong. I got the few drawings there are of the early windscreen and built up a 3D structure of templates - filled the bulk with balsa and then P38 filler...

 

 

..this was refined and a plastic card blank pulled to help set out the area where the windshield meets the fuselage skin. I will cast the blank in resin so I can polish it to a smooth finish before vacforming the windshield..

 

 

..the card blank was used to add two structural 'ears' that appear on the forward cowling where there are two hatches on the upper surface..  by carefully positioning the blank I could CA where the contact was needed for the ears and know the windshield part will match with these..

 

..the cotton is used to assure a true centreline through all components.. you can also see the damage on the forward fuselage where I had to chop out the poorly positioned cockpit pod..

 

 

 

 

..the cockpit pod was finally fitted and faired in with the surrounding fuselage structure..

 

 

 

..starting to look like a P40 now..

 

 

TTFN

 

Peter

 

[Thomas Lund]

Wow, just wow

[JayW]

So many things I could say.  Peter your talents really show through when you correct mistakes (serious mistakes included).  It looks to me that the mistake was never made at all.  Great recovery on the cockpit tub.

 

It looks to me that you used annealed aluminum on the empennage leading edges.  Which would mean the fastener marks were made on the surface itself rather than on the bench?  Just wanted you to verify.  I'll be following down that road one day not too long from now....

 

I very much look forward to the fillet fairings, another road I will go down.  Feel free to describe in great detail; I am not the only one who will be interested.

 

Your cockpit, as usual, stands up to the scrutiny of high magnification shots.  That's one area where your work and my work differ.  I just cannot duplicate the quality that finely.  Bravo. 

 

Yes it is looking like a P-40, indeed.

[geedubelyer]

Hubba hubba 

[LSP_Kevin]

Incredible stuff, Peter.

 

Kev

[chuck540z3]

Having watched your superhuman modeling skills for a few years now, I assumed that what you did with your Spitfire XIVe in 2017 was as good as it gets, and you must have plateaued.  After all, how do you improve upon winning every major modeling award at Telford?   Well, I can tell that you are getting even better and growing as a modeler, which is fun to witness, even at your super-high level.  One improvement I now see is that when you encounter a problem, you just fix it with no drama.  The chopped out cockpit pod is a great example of that.  Most of us would have left it as is and not taken the risk.

 

The other improvement I see is that you no longer struggle a bit to create the many complicated parts, which are usually made of metal.  You seem to know what you're going to do before you even start them and the work flow is smoother and as always excellent.  Like your other models, this one is already starting to look like a real winner and maybe another "Best of Show" at Telford in the future?

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[KiwiZac]

Utterly magnificent.

[Daniel Iscold]

What to say????? Amazing??? Magnificent???? A master piece???? Sublime work??? Outstanding???? Masterfull???? Every word in my mind is to short or little to describe such modeling work!!!! My skills is far, far way from this kinf of modeling stuff! 

 

[Super B]

Absolutely lovely!

[RadBaron]

Utterly stunning as always, Peter! Truly inspirational stuff

 

Is this plating similar to what you're using?

 

https://www.printingsuppliesdirect.com/printing-plates/conventional-1-sided-negative/6-gauge/13-x-19-3-8-x-0055-pb-25-premium-in-a-box-of-100-sheets

 

 

https://www.printingsuppliesdirect.com/inkjet-systems/equipment-supplies/vim-ctp-plates/jt-a-metal-plate-multigraphics-125011-x-18-100-plates

 

 

@Oldbaldguy, searching for "Metal Plate" on their website shows a lot of these, difference between them being dimensions and count per box.

 

Denzil

Edited August 18, 2022 by RadBaron

[TorbenD]

Sublime stuff Peter, beautiful work, - nuff said... 

[KiwiZac]

On 8/20/2022 at 7:32 AM, TorbenD said:

Sublime stuff Peter, beautiful work, - nuff said... 

That's the thing with Peter's builds: after the first three progress posts, one is left without words to properly convery the wonder, admiration and inspiration felt upon seeing them!

[airscale]

evening chaps

 

thanks for stopping by and your kind words

 

lets get down to it

 

On 8/15/2022 at 2:34 PM, JayW said:

It looks to me that you used annealed aluminum on the empennage leading edges.  Which would mean the fastener marks were made on the surface itself rather than on the bench?  Just wanted you to verify.  I'll be following down that road one day not too long from now....

 

I very much look forward to the fillet fairings, another road I will go down.  Feel free to describe in great detail; I am not the only one who will be interested.

 

Hi Jay - so the leading edges were riveted before annealing as I marked out the rivet lines on the tape template so used them to lay out the pattern while the metal was flat and stiff. Once fitted, even after sanding the imprints are still there and can be lightly gone over again if they fade..

 

the fillets? well this post is just for you...

 

 

On 8/15/2022 at 11:37 PM, chuck540z3 said:

Having watched your superhuman modeling skills for a few years now, I assumed that what you did with your Spitfire XIVe in 2017 was as good as it gets, and you must have plateaued.  After all, how do you improve upon winning every major modeling award at Telford?   Well, I can tell that you are getting even better and growing as a modeler, which is fun to witness, even at your super-high level.  One improvement I now see is that when you encounter a problem, you just fix it with no drama.  The chopped out cockpit pod is a great example of that.  Most of us would have left it as is and not taken the risk.

 

The other improvement I see is that you no longer struggle a bit to create the many complicated parts, which are usually made of metal.  You seem to know what you're going to do before you even start them and the work flow is smoother and as always excellent.  Like your other models, this one is already starting to look like a real winner and maybe another "Best of Show" at Telford in the future?

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

Chuck, I am blushing and humbled that such a hugely talented contributor here would say such things you really are too kind. The beauty of posting here is we learn from each other and inspire each other in equal measure and I feel I have got better since that Spit. If anything maybe I was punching above my weight but was very lucky it worked out. I don't think I will ever win at Telford again, that was just a surreal experience where stars aligned - an aircraft hadn't won for 5 years, an Englishman for even longer I think, plus it was a Spitfire so I think I just hit a sweet spot on the day Thanks again though

 

On 8/18/2022 at 5:33 PM, RadBaron said:

Utterly stunning as always, Peter! Truly inspirational stuff

 

Is this plating similar to what you're using?

 

https://www.printingsuppliesdirect.com/printing-plates/conventional-1-sided-negative/6-gauge/13-x-19-3-8-x-0055-pb-25-premium-in-a-box-of-100-sheets

 

Denzil

 

Hi Denzil - hows things? I think this is the one - all I know is it's called Jade Long Runs though it doesn't say that on the page as far as I can tell

 

so, onto progress..

 

I wanted to get the rear fuselage skinned so I could take care of the tailplane / fin fillets, so started making up panels - this one is one of two that surround the fuselage access door.. here all masked up ready for contact cement..

 

 

..then completed the upper panel and the door - also added the panels behind the clear vision panels at the rear of the cockpit as these needed to replace the ones I made previously to represent the early version..

 

..you can also see the foam pipe lagging I use to protect the litho trailing edges of the fin & tailplane and a tape template for the shorter top fuselage panel with edges & rivet lines marked out..

 

 

..the door will have a piano hinge added later..

 

 

..with the skin all around the tailfeathers completed it was time for the fillets - these are in 3 parts - an upper and two lower with a nice set of compound curves to work into the metal...

 

 

..here you can see how the skin panels have been recessed into the filler fillet I made a while back when I fitted the tailplane.. all this needs filling as all these edges and ridges would show through soft annealed metal if it was burnished over it..

 

..you can also see the fillet outlines defined by tamiya tape..

 

 

..P38 filler used to close the gaps..

 

 

..sanded and used the curved blade in a scalpel to scrape away the filler to the tape edges so I knew where to feather into..

 

 

..filling any little holes or divots..

 

 

..shot of primer to check the surface is as smooth as I can get it..

 

 

..masking removed and now I have a good clear surface to burnish the fillet parts onto..

 

 

..the borders are then set out again with 2mm tape to give a demarcation ridge into the metal when burnished to determine the shape of the fillets..

 

 

..the top part starts out as a sheet with a slot cut in it for the fin - then it is worked using hardwood or balsa blocks and where the curves are acute a tiny ball pein hammer, taping it to hold position as I go...

 

 

..here the shape is forming and some of the edges being defined by pressing into the tape borders..

 

 

..initially, the metal looks creased and kinks, but normally it can be worked enough to get a good finish - this is why its so important to have a solid smooth substrate beneath it..

 

 

 

..now the part has been cut and glued down..

 

 

 

 

..the same process for the two lower fillets..

 

 

..and after wire wooling and adding the rivets the job is done..

 

 

 

 

 

 

..enjoyed that think I might move to the nose upper cowl as that has about the scariest metalwork coming in this model and I can get all the top p[arts done before I attatch the wings and get the lower panels sorted..

 

TTFN

 

Peter

[chuck540z3]

A few thoughts:

 

• Your progressive pics really tell the story of how you accomplished such a nice final product.  This stuff isn't easy
• I think a lot of us would have bailed after seeing the first few pics of the aluminum skin, which looks very stressed and messy
• Your experience with same kept you at it, with wonderful results
• I think your fillets look better than the real deal!

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

[JayW]

And thanks for that good explanation for the fillets.  Peter they look...well, perfect.  It won't be all that long where I will take a shot at the equivalent parts on the F4U.  I am curious - you say you hate painting.  What is the paint job on this one?