I’m just finishing up an AMT 1/48 P-40K, and I have a question about the antenna wires. The kit includes a mast that goes behind the cockpit, and I’ve seen some renditions that show one wire to the mast, or one wire to the mast and one to the top of the fuselage just aft of the mast. I’ve also seen some with no mast, and the wires going out to the wingtips like on the B and E models. IIRC, I also saw one with no mast or wires, but the round, circular antenna on the back of the fuselage. . .
Anybody know what the CORRECT set up for the arials for the P-40K was?
I think it depends on what flavor of K you have. K blocks-1 through 5 used the short E fuselage with the fin fillet. Blocks 10-15 used the longer F fuselage. Check with the Joe Baugher website to confirm what block number it is with the serial number you are using. It is probably parallel with the type of fuselage being used for the type of antenna used.
Milairjunkie - that’s a great website - thanks for sharing! I’ll be spending more time there when I have some more free time.
So, I guess it boils down to finding pics of the actual a/c I’m modeling - or model an a/c I have actual pics of. . . .
For what it’s worth, I’m doing the early K model with the short fuselage and fillet on the tail. Was planning on using the kit decals, but may change that now depending on what Pics I find of actual K models vs whats available in the A/M decal offerings.
OK, I found the pic in my book and was able to find it online. There is no antenna mast, as you can see. But there is a DF antenna loop behind the cockpit on teh fuselage spine. And there is some sort of antenna wire coming out of the tail. From the angle of the insulators it appears to line up with the wing tip , but that is just a Guesstimate.
Stikpusher - thanks, that’s the one! I had just found the same photo in Kinzey’s Detail & Scale Vol. 2 of the P-40, and was coming on here to let you know I’d found it. But the one you found is clearer than the one in the book. I was wondering if that was a DF loop or not - since it seems to be exactly 90 degrees from the camera - but what else could it be? So, from that photo it looks like I need to scratch a DF loop, and run arial wires out to the wingtips, right?
I also noticed that AMT got the exhaust tubes wrong - they don’t have the flared ones, just the normal round ones. Oh well, they’re already glued in - I won’t tell anyone if you won’t! [whstl]
Agreed regarding the wingtip antenna wires and DF loop. The non flared exhausts will be yours and the FSM forum’s little secret. From the way that thing is mounted on the spine I can’t imagine it being anything else but a DF loop antenna. Glad to be of help!
The Has kit shows the DF loop on the box art, and has the same markings as the AMT kit. Check Google images. The round exhausts were used for the early E models. AMT recycled the E kit; am I correct, and never thought about the exhausts.
A good example is the AF Museum’s E model which was in the early E model Holloway markings when it is actually a late E with the flared exhausts.
