A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

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pmmaker
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A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

Going to document this build in a workbench thread. My latest acquisition is this Hobby Boss 1/72nd scale P-40M. I haven't built a P-40 in years and I've never built one in RAF desert colors before. Should be fun as I stretch myself a bit out of my comfort/interest zones.

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I hope to begin work this weekend as it is the Thanksgiving holiday here in the states and I'll have a bit of time at the workbench.

pmmaker
The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
ShaunW
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by ShaunW »

This looks promising, PMM and I also like the P-40 but haven't built one in a few years although I have one of the newer Airfix 1/48th examples in the stash to be done at some point. Have a great Thanksgiving - we don't celebrate it over here but I know it is a big holiday period in the States.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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pmmaker
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

Got to the workbench today after a great Thanksgiving dinner. Painted small parts and started building the cockpit. These partially-built Hobby Boss kits simplify the building process and cut down on those tedious filling and sanding tasks. Parts are well molded and go together rather well.

I was going to spray paint the camouflage pattern, but now I think I'll be hand painting by brush instead.

pmmaker

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The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
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iggie
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by iggie »

Those kits fly together! Looking very neat already 8-)
Best wishes

Jim
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pmmaker
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

iggie wrote:Those kits fly together! Looking very neat already 8-)
Thanks iggie. This is my second Hobby Boss kit and so far the engineering has been consistent. The parts go together cleanly and with a minimum of trimming and gluing. My goal is to finish the assembling today and then focus on painting and decaling. I have to mix the correct blue for the underside.

pmmaker
The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by ShaunW »

That does look to be a neat kit and I know they are popular amongst the blitzbau crew on here due to the speed with which they can be assembled. The detail looks good to me as well so I would say that this is no oversimplified kit despite coming partially assembled. I spy a bit of drilling going on near the nose, what's that in connection with?
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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pmmaker
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

ShaunW wrote:That does look to be a neat kit and I know they are popular amongst the blitzbau crew on here due to the speed with which they can be assembled. The detail looks good to me as well so I would say that this is no oversimplified kit despite coming partially assembled. I spy a bit of drilling going on near the nose, what's that in connection with?
Ah, yes. One of the modifications made to the P-40M was the addition of engine cooling grills behind the spinner and in front of the exhaust stacks. The kit has the grill work "dimpled" in the mold. I decided to use a sharp hobby knife blade and drill them out. It's a simple touch that adds a bit of realism to what is a nicely detailed mold.

pmmaker
The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

Took time to complete the cockpit (added seat belts, painted instruments, added a gun sight) and did a rough painting of the wings:

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When I attached the lower wing to the fuselage, my first problem reared up - the fit is not quite there and a large seam gap runs from the engine through the wing-root/fuselage join, all the way back to the tail wheel bay.

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Luckily I have my tube of Perfect Plastic Putty. I filled in the gaps and smoothed them out with a wet finger.

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In a couple of hours when the putty is dry, I'll give the seams a light sanding and then I'll be ready for final painting.

pmmaker
The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by ShaunW »

Great further progress, PMM and hopefully you can smooth out those annoying joins without too much further work. Personally I'm not sure that HB's method of part-construction has not resulted in more difficult to cure seam lines that if they had left the kit to be joined along more traditional lines :???:
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

After a week away, I return to the bench for a few hours work. Today I painted the camouflage pattern for this RAF P-40M in desert colors. I used Tamiya Desert Yellow and Tamiya Dark Earth for the upper surfaces. For the underside blue I mixed equal parts Tamiya Sky Blue and Japanese Navy Gray.

I painted the entire model by hand using both a soft sable art brush and a fine tipped brush. All the remaining small parts are painted and ready for assembly.

pmmaker

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The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
ShaunW
NOT the sheep
Posts: 26118
Joined: November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm
Location: Pontefract West Yorkshire

Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by ShaunW »

That's a great looking paint job, PMM.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
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pmmaker
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Re: A Builder's Bench - pmmaker's Hobby Boss P-40M

Post by pmmaker »

Finally finished the building and painting on this one. All I need to do is applying the decals. Once that's done I'll start a new thread in the Aircraft Modeling section to show off the finished project. Overall, not a bad kit for my first P-40 build in many, many years.

pmmaker

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The Mad Hatter: "Have I gone mad"
Alice: “I’m afraid so. . . you’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. . . All the BEST people are.”
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