P-70

[squeakie]

I picked up an A20G Havoic off the internet awhile back, and now think it would make a nice conversion into the P-70 if I could find the pieces in 1/48th scale. Anybody make this stuff? Has anybody here ever built one in 1/48th? I have the old Revell kit in 1/72 to use as a reference, but it’s not all that great of a kit.

gary

[cardshark_14]

AMT/Ertl also made a variant of their basic A-20 kit into the P-70 Nighthawk. Its a very nice kit, and though scratching the parts needed for a conversion would be easy, its even easier to build the kit.

I don’t know of any AM conversion parts for a P-70, though MDC did make parts for most of the british variants, like the Turbinlite, and the ‘Night Invader’.

[Old_Dog]

There are some accuracy issues with the P-70 from AMT at least from the stand point that the plane shown on the box top is not reality. It’s a case of the kit maker trying to maximize the use of the dies without doing all their homework. None the less a couple different versions of the P-70 can be built from the kit but you need to do your homework if you are interested in historical accuracy. More info on the kit here. http://www.olddogsplanes.com/p70.htm

[squeakie]

AMT/Ertl also made a variant of their basic A-20 kit into the P-70 Nighthawk. Its a very nice kit, and though scratching the parts needed for a conversion would be easy, its even easier to build the kit.

I don’t know of any AM conversion parts for a P-70, though MDC did make parts for most of the british variants, like the Turbinlite, and the ‘Night Invader’.

I didn’t know that AMT sold a P-70 in 1/48th. I guess I need to dig a little deeper in my research.

thanks

gary

[bondoman]

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed reading the info and there’s a new kit I need to find now. A good friend trained in P-70s at Orlando 1942-1943 before being sent to England and equipped with Beaus. I’ve got a number of shots of the Douglas a/c from him, he had to bail out of one in Florida. Looks to be OD over gray. I’ve built him a Beaufighter and a P-61 in 1/72, I’ll add a P-70 to the collection.

Any ideas in 1/72?

[mucker]

AMT/Ertl also made a variant of their basic A-20 kit into the P-70 Nighthawk. Its a very nice kit, and though scratching the parts needed for a conversion would be easy, its even easier to build the kit.

I don’t know of any AM conversion parts for a P-70, though MDC did make parts for most of the british variants, like the Turbinlite, and the ‘Night Invader’.

I didn’t know that AMT sold a P-70 in 1/48th. I guess I need to dig a little deeper in my research.

thanks

gary

Gary:

I’ve been to a few model shows over the years and I frequently see the AMT P-70 kit in the $15 - $20 range. You can probably find it on eBay, so hopefully this gives you an idea of the market price. Having built the A-20 I can vouch that it was a fun kit. Here’s mine:

[Mel_Sharkskin]

I don’t know how elaborate you want to go with this, but Bill Koster (of KAE) still sells his 1/48 A-20/P-70 and the French and Brit variations on it. It was, when it first appeared in the late-80s, a whole new chapter in the progress of the mixed-media kit (you name the medium: PE, WM, Resin, VF, it has it in spades).

If you can find one, it has the potential to build up into the finest 1/48 kit you ever saw. And I remember being told by Mr. Koster when the AMT kit came out (I made the rather rude mistake of calling to ask him if I could buy everything but the vacform parts for his A-20 series). He rightfully and firmly set me straight. I mean, this is the guy that made Monogram’s 1/48 masters for such classic kits as the B-17G, the B-25s and virtually all of their 1/48 Century Series fighters, so he knows from whence he speaks…

…oh, anyway, he let me know that the AMT A-20/P-70 fuselage was visibly too skinny from tip to tail, and it didn’t take much consultation with multiple drawings to prove him true. And that was only one glaring problem with that kit. We’re not talking about niggling rivet-counter complaints here. Anyway, Bill turned me down purely out of pride in his own work. And he has every right to be proud of his contributions to our hobby.

TOM

PS: And that Koster A-20 cost just under $50 when released, and isn’t much more than that today. Koster’s vacuform parts are the closest I’ve found to working with injection molded parts in a VF kit. His Sopwith Triplane, with its wing and landing gear jigs, is a perfect first vacform kit, and for the $20 list price, you get a sizeable bag of white metal parts and a very large decal sheet.

[squeakie]

AMT/Ertl also made a variant of their basic A-20 kit into the P-70 Nighthawk. Its a very nice kit, and though scratching the parts needed for a conversion would be easy, its even easier to build the kit.

I don’t know of any AM conversion parts for a P-70, though MDC did make parts for most of the british variants, like the Turbinlite, and the ‘Night Invader’.

I didn’t know that AMT sold a P-70 in 1/48th. I guess I need to dig a little deeper in my research.

thanks

gary

Gary:

I’ve been to a few model shows over the years and I frequently see the AMT P-70 kit in the $15 - $20 range. You can probably find it on eBay, so hopefully this gives you an idea of the market price. Having built the A-20 I can vouch that it was a fun kit. Here’s mine:

I love the art work! Were those from the kit?

gary

[squeakie]

I don’t know how elaborate you want to go with this, but Bill Koster (of KAE) still sells his 1/48 A-20/P-70 and the French and Brit variations on it. It was, when it first appeared in the late-80s, a whole new chapter in the progress of the mixed-media kit (you name the medium: PE, WM, Resin, VF, it has it in spades).

If you can find one, it has the potential to build up into the finest 1/48 kit you ever saw. And I remember being told by Mr. Koster when the AMT kit came out (I made the rather rude mistake of calling to ask him if I could buy everything but the vacform parts for his A-20 series). He rightfully and firmly set me straight. I mean, this is the guy that made Monogram’s 1/48 masters for such classic kits as the B-17G, the B-25s and virtually all of their 1/48 Century Series fighters, so he knows from whence he speaks…

…oh, anyway, he let me know that the AMT A-20/P-70 fuselage was visibly too skinny from tip to tail, and it didn’t take much consultation with multiple drawings to prove him true. And that was only one glaring problem with that kit. We’re not talking about niggling rivet-counter complaints here. Anyway, Bill turned me down purely out of pride in his own work. And he has every right to be proud of his contributions to our hobby.

TOM

PS: And that Koster A-20 cost just under $50 when released, and isn’t much more than that today. Koster’s vacuform parts are the closest I’ve found to working with injection molded parts in a VF kit. His Sopwith Triplane, with its wing and landing gear jigs, is a perfect first vacform kit, and for the $20 list price, you get a sizeable bag of white metal parts and a very large decal sheet.

funny thing you said that about the AMT kit! I’ve had the chance to look at an A-20 up close, and the first thing I thought when I looked at the 1/72 Revell kit was that it looked thin. I’ve never built a Vacuform kit, and was always kinda scared of them. Maybe I’ll just try one out, after you gotta get your feet wet sometime or another.

gary

[cardshark_14]

While I’m sure that Bill Koster is right about the skinniness of the kit, I can tell you that its not glaringly wrong. I work on an A-20G nearly everyday (!) and to my eyes, the AMT kit looks right. We’ve all heard that sometimes in order for something to look right, it has to be wrong, like the famous Jaguar tire slant, or the recently referenced maps post. I believe that this is one of those cases. The AMT kit looks like an A-20, both at a casual glance, and after close inspection.

The interior while bare, does look nice OOB with a bit of paint work. If that’s not enough, Eduard also makes plenty of PE detail sets.

Point is, the kit may be skinny, but its not a “fatal” flaw by any stretch of the imagination. Build it. You’ll like your results. It s one of, if not my very, favorite kit series.