EDIT 10-2-2009: This model was published in the November 2009 edition of FSM on page 42. My first!
This is the 1/48 Amtech P-40F kit. The build was fairly straight-forward, but it’s certainly not a shake & bake kit like the Tamiyas. Still… it’s the only reasonable P-40F in town, albeit hard to find now that Amtech closed up shop. The kit has been supplemented with aftermarket resin control surfaces, a USAAF pilot figure from an ICM P-51B kit, and several scratch-built features. Most of the decals came from an Eagle-Strike sheet (nice decals). The build took me about 6 weeks at a moderate pace.
The subject is my Grandfather’s #13 aircraft. In 1942 he officially joined the War, flying the P-40F over Africa with the 64th FS (57th FG) in late 1942. Later he flew this aircraft over Italy. This build is his birthday present, which has become something of a tradition between us over the last few years. I still have 3-4 more planes to build to cover the rest of his career. It is worth noting that the SL number is likely not correct for this aircraft, as he could not find a record/photograph of the actual S/L number and he asked me to improvise.
This is my first attempt at significantly weathering an aircraft. Any advice or criticisms are most welcomed. Thanks for looking.
Well done my friend… I have heard that that kit aint the nicest to build especially around the nose section…
But from where I am sittin, you fought the plastic & you won hands down. Wow she looks great over all!!
I am sure Grandpa will be smilen when he sees her done!! From what I gather, he never took any pix of his a/c nor of his Squadron?
Yeah know, I seen a few of these at my LHS a few months ago… Wonder if her still has any[:P] I thought AmTech was still lurking in the shadow…!! Sad really
Thank you for sharing and please wish your Grandfgather a Happy Birthday for me!!
My step-Grandfather also flew P-40s over North Africa… although in the SAAF. I was lucky enough to be given his old Irvine jacket when he passed on some years ago.
Interestingly enough, of all the WW2 fighters I’ve built… I’ve never done a P-40. hmm.
But she looks spot on, the Camo lines are nice and clean, my only comment is that Desert Air Force birds would have looked a little more well used (they often got the newer and better fighters later on in the war), so their P-40s would look rather beaten up on a diet of desert sand and flak etc…
+1 to the birthday wishes!!! Sadly WW2 vets are slowly fading into the history books, along with the war they fought.
Awesome P-40F IL2. Looks just simply amazing. Great job with the conversion and all. The weathering really makes it look good. I have AMtech’s P-40K conversion and I hope it turns out as good as that.
+2 on the birthday wishes as well!! My great-grandfather also served in Africa and Italy with the 9th Air Force I believe. It really is too bad about WWII vets. He passed away about two years ago. There is only one WWII vet left in my family out of four that I know of.
Outstanding build! You ought to be very proud of that one. Good on you as well for building this for your Grandfather. I have these markings in my decal collection as I really liked the scorpion on the nose. Now when I build mine, I can say that I know a guy who knew the guy who flew it!
Ditto on the in-flight display, well executed! Adds a sense of drama to the bird. Well done! [tup]
My Grandfather hasn’t even seen a build photo yet, so he should get the full effect when he sees the model in person this weekend. He’s answered alot my questions during the build to help me get it right. Apparently he has a few photographs somewhere, but unfortunately he couldn’t find them! Surely they will surface a month after he gets the model (in proper accordance with Murphy’s Law). At which point I guess I could probably rework the tail numbers if he wants me to. Pretty easy to do. I also used the excellent Osprey book “P-40 aces of the MTO” by Carl Molesworth as a reference, which will also be given as part of the gift.
Tacan, which squadron did your Grandfather fly with? Were they also part of Montgomery’s Desert Air Force? Warhammer, what about your grandfather? Do you know which squad he flew with, and which aircraft?
Sadly I dont know. He passed on when I was about 12 or so, I never got the chance to ask. I think he would have served in one of the SAAF Desert squadrons (probly 5 or something), I should have to look it up.
I made a mistake. He served with the 12th Air Force, not the 9th, still in North Africa, Italy, and Southern France. He was in the 68th AS Squadron. Not real sure what AS stands for. He was corpsman/dentist, so never flew combat missions that I know of. I got copies of his war photograph book and all his war memorabilia when he died. Some very interesting pictures in their.
