Is this a good kit? Not too much on the internet about this one. Am looking for a merlin driven short tailed version. The hobbycraft offering is the long tailed version. I think this one is the only game in town…[^o)]
Need a P-40 in my collection[;)]
thanks
It’s not a bad kit, but it isn’t great. The best 1/48 P-40’s currently available are the Hasegawa kits, IMHO.
Regards, Rick
Matter of perspective… Is it loaded with PE fiddly-bits and resin cockpit details and cost 35-50 bucks? Nope…
Is it cheap and does it build out to look like a P-40 and allow you add as much or as little detail as you want? Yup…
That’s a good kit, IMHO…
I probably would go for a Hasegawa or the AMtech, but I want the earlier, short tailed version of the F. [:(]
Maybe the AMT with a new True Details cockpit will do the trick…[;)]
So far as I know the AMT/AmTech kit is the only F. The nose is a bit off on the AMT kit and AMTech did the kit with a resin nose replacement, that is the best one to find.
John, is the AMtech kit a long tailed version of the F?
I believe the AMtech kit is the long tail version, yes. I built it with the replacement fuselage halve and the resin nose. The nose is molded nice but where it meets the front of the wing on the underside is a putty nightmare. At least the way I remember it. That was about four years ago.
A note about the fuse halve. When AMtech first released the kit one of the fuse halves was noticably shorter than the other. Once the error was found they added a loose fuse half to the box along with the other sprues. If you get the kit be sure the halves match if there isn’t a loose half in the box. I forget which half was the problem.
The whole difference in the tail is in the last section of the fuselage. I have some resin pieces around somewhere that were to convert a short tail to a long tail. I haven’t done the research lately but it should work to graft a P-40E or other short tail section on to the AMTech or AMT kit to get what you want.
There is some fit work to do to match up the resin nose and you have to be careful not to lose some of the surface detail, as HK says.
When the kit was released AMtech was selling the resin nose separately so folks with an “E” could build a short tail version F. I don’t know if it’s still possible to find that resin nose or not but it’d be nice. Since AMtech is gone it may be hard to come by. I think it was Hitech that molded the nose. French maybe?
Found this on the AMTech K-model, FWIW…
http://tedtaylor.hobbyvista.com/45-amtech-p-40-k/page-45.html