Another of my hobbies.

[Dogsbody55]

Thanks to the tip on Micro Kristal Klear from "rosslandman" and the generosity of one of my fellow model forum members who supplied me with the parts needed to repair this model, for just the cost of postage, I've finally managed to complete this P-40B model to a standard that I'm happy with.

New windscreen and armour glass glued together:



Old windscreen removed (a bit of a YIKES moment as I didn't want to repaint the model):



And the final result:









The last image also has my current project in the background. I'm sure there's many here who will recognise it.

This model represents the P-40B Tomahawk flown by Pilot Officer Neville Duke, based in the Western Desert in December of 1941. I had originally intended to do a Flying Tigers P-40, but after a suggestion from Lewis about doing a Desert P-40, I had a rethink and decided that a Flying Tigers model would look too much like the RAAF P-40M on the same shelf, so Western Desert it became. What do you think??



Cheers,
Mike

[Lewis - A2A]

Well done matey the final result looks bloody lovely!

And well done on the Canopy micro surgery lol I bet your heart beat was up during that process hehe But end result you cant even tell there was ever an issue. Just looks like the way its suppose to.

cheers,
Lewis

[MkIV Hvd]

What do you think??



Cheers,
Mike

I think you're an extremely talented artist and model builder and that those are professional museum level models...amazing!!!

Cheers,
Rob

[Dogsbody55]

I think you're an extremely talented artist and model builder and that those are professional museum level models...amazing!!!

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks Rob. But there are others on my modelling forum that have me saying the same thing as you. There's a ME-262B build and a F-104 build currently on my modelling forum that are just mind blowing to me. It's very inspiring stuff if you like building models. In my case, I've been doing it almost 60 years, so it's about time I made something worth displaying .

@ Lewis. Yes, that surgery had me holding my breath for sure. <<the colour of my face


Cheers,
Mike

[Dogsbody55]

I thought you might like to see my latest model build. This time, it's a Spitfire MkVIII in RAAF markings.







Engine:





Cockpit:





Cheers,
Mike

[Dogsbody55]

My latest model build; something that many here wish to have the A2A Accu-Sim treatment.







Engine detail. The salmon pink was the standard primer colour on these very early Corsairs.



Cockpit in construction.








Cheers,
Mike

[Tug002]

Beautiful work on all of the models. I know how hard it is as I used to build them myself, cars mostly and some aircraft.

Keep smiling
Tug

[Lewis - A2A]

Amazing work and very envious of your skills for sure, love seeing it all on display. Very Very Cool, and the subject matter of course is right up my alley

cheers,
Lewis

[Dogsbody55]

Thanks for the replies. Both the Spitfire and Corsair were a joy to build. In both cases all the parts just fitted perfectly. I've never built a Birdcage Corsair before and this kit was even better than the Spitfire. But the Spitfire was a fun build too and the kit is a nice build. That particular Spitfire is one I've wanted to build for decades, but no-one made a MkVIII until recently, and it also came together with the 79 Squadron RAAF markings I wanted becoming available in the aftermarket. The father of a very dear friend who is no longer with us served with the Spitfire wing so this is a little tribute to both of them.


Cheers,
Michael

[Dogsbody55]

I've been lax in keeping this up to date. Since the Corsair, I've finished two more 1/32 scale models, and they're a little different to the usual SpitSchmittHurriFockeZeroStangBolt on offer in this scale. I have to build large scale models, as my eyes don't see the smaller scales as well as they used to .

The first one is a Henschel HS-129B ground attack plane and the kit is by a smaller Japanese outfit, Zoukei Mura. Their philosophy is to detail as much of the insides as possible, even though you may not be able to see it when done. They like to see what makes a plane tick under the skin. This is the finished model.



The cockpit was so cramped on this, the gunsight and some of the instruments had to go outside. You can see the gunsight on the picture above. Below are the engine instruments for the left engine.



Here's the cockpit. The pilot's head armour hinges back so the pilot can get in, and I've added the restraining straps as per the original so that armour can't go forward and squash his head against the armour glass in a crash. The lines on the gunsight and canopy are to gauge dive angle.



Fuselage innards. The cockpit attaches later.



Cockpit.



Wing innards.



I could have painted the fuel tanks, but decided not to as they're completely covered when it's finished. You can also see the aileron control rods in the next shot.





Another view of the finished model, showing the 30mm cannon fitted.



It looks complex, but this model was a pleasure to build. I like that you have to option to do different variations, be they completely closed up, or partially or exposed. I am presently building another of their kits which unfortunately is the only other Z-M kit I have in my kit stash. Thankfully, they're releasing a Messerschmitt 109G next year, so that will be a definite addition to my collection.


Cheers,
Mike

[Dogsbody55]

And here's the other plane I finished a month ago. This time, it's the world's last biplane fighter, the Fiat CR-42, which first flew in 1938.







I'm thinking of building a diorama display base for it, using the sand bags and fuel drums you can see in the last picture.

Here's a shot of the completed engine, to which I added the oil lines peculiar to the Fiat A-74R engine, as well as the copper spark plug leads which come from the back of the engine.



And here's the cockpit.





I would have feared for my manhood, flying one of these things. The seat harnesses have a large chain content passing between your legs. At least in this plane, there's room in the cockpit for both pilot and all the instruments, even though the panel is in two halves.



The completed model, but not after a struggle.



On this side, after I'd painted it and put the decals on, I airbrushed the final clear coat only to find it reacted with the paint on the right side of the fuselage. The white fuselage band became something of a squiggle, and the camo colours seemed to tear, showing the bear plastic underneath. Fixing it was certainly a test of my airbrush skills, which I don't rate all that highly, and also the cause of much swearing and gnashing of teeth.

However, this was another nice kit to build and one representing a combatant nation which is very poorly represented in large scale models. I'd love to see more Italian WW2 planes in "my" scale but these kits are expensive to engineer and it's not a particularly big market these days. Anyway, here's hoping that one day soon, someone comes out with a good injection molded plastic Macchi C-202 or 205.


Cheers,
Mike

[Tug002]

Beautiful work on all of the aircraft

Keep smiling
Tug

[AKar]

Absolutely brilliant!

-Esa

[Lewis - A2A]

Beautiful and the subject matter is great the oft forgotten Hs129 and CR42. Love the details, just wow!

[gulredrel]

Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing.