Curtiss P-40B Warhawk

This was built with the Eduard PE set, Eduard Brassin Wheels and exhaust, HGW seatbelts and Master gun barrels and pitot tube. There was also some rods of sprue used in the cockpit to add a little extra detail. This was the first time I complete a build thread. I also used Mr Finishing Surface 1500 with Mr Color Levelling Thinner for the primer - this will certainly be my primer of choice going forward

I also mixed the colours for the camouflage. Although it wasn't particularly problematic I still think I will continue to try to use standard colour going forward, it becomes a bit of nuisance having to continuously mix them

There are two issues I had with the build. The first was the riveting, which I started but then it completely killed the mojo which delayed the build about six months. The other was when I got super glue de-bonder all over the finish model so had to repaint part of one of the wings. I was very please with the cockpit, by far my best one so far, and I was also pleased I managed to blend in the new paint on the wing quite well.

The kit was okay but the various parts for the nose didn't fit very well at all and needed a lot of filling and sanding to get looking right. The landing gears were also not very sharp and could have been better (I'm not sure if there are white metal legs out there, but that may be worth considering). In terms of the aftermarket; most of it added a lot to the finished model, the only thing to consider is that the only really advantage with the exhausts is that I didn't need to drill holes into the plastic one, but other than that there is not much different between the resin and those supplied in the kit

For weathering I used a dark dirt wash on a satin coat, which worked very well as it highlighted the panel line and also got the plane looking used and dirty. I then added streaks with Abteilung oils, although I think next time I will try doing this over a flat coat rather than satin one. I also used oils rather than pigment for the exhaust and gun stains, which I think worked quite well (although those on the exhaust rub off very easily!).

Overall I am happy with the finish