SPA Modeler

This is my second completed model since returning to the hobby. I built it for my son to have one day, after a conversation my wife and I had about what our son would fly if he were a fighter ace. So I built this for him and he can have it to hang up in his room one day when he's old enough, if he wants.

I contacted Barracudacals about whether or not they'd re-stock their Flying Tigers decal set, and didn't hear back from them. That's why the tiger and the number 7 is missing.

I painted this with a brush and Tamiya acrylics, and tried some rudimentary weathering on it. My son is ten months old. When I was holding him and showed him this he smiled and clapped his hands. I'll be building his twin sister a Spitfire once I'm done with the Messerschmitt I'm currently working on.

Anyway, here it is:

You’re off to a good start. Very nice work on your P-40.

Thanks!

I made a few mistakes on this kit, and learned a lot from making them. One good lesson I learned is “Setting aside landing gear, make sure you double-check the instructions and make sure all exterior parts are on before you fill and sand” ... I missed the two little “caps” you mount on the front of each wing, where the landing gear bays are. And one of them didn’t fit right no matter what I did, and there’s an obvious hole. Didn’t notice it till after painting.

But that okay! I enjoyed building this kit, so much so that I bought me a 1/32 and I’m planning on building that one, making sure not to make any of the same mistakes (but probably a few new ones LOL).

Live and learn right. Nobody here (or anywhere else) started off as an expert or master. We all have our learning curve.

Heed the words of Stikpusher.

If you are looking to contact Mr Sutherland about decals, drop him a line through Facebook, perhaps, or check out Cutting Edge. I like the quality of Cutting Edge and Eagle Cals. The set with Lt. Carl E. Hardy’s Warhawk on it looks good! Since you already picked up a 1/32 version check Eagle Cals and Cutting Edge as well if you need to model a specific bird. Ditto for the Gustav you mentioned in your other thread.

Again, welcome.

Looks good. Nice job on the wing root wear from mounting up.

Stikpusher wrote:Live and learn right. Nobody here (or anywhere else) started off as an expert or master. We all have our learning curve.

Thank you :-) Sincerely.

It’s bad for me when I look at pics of stuff like what Doogs does and think to myself “Man, I wish I was doing that.” LOL That’s the wrong mentality. I’m a beginner. I have to get the fundamentals down. Nobody starts off as a master, indeed. And isn’t it about all the work you put into what you love doing along the way what counts?

I enjoyed the hell out of this build, and I’m gonna keep on building, and keep on enjoying it.

speedgraflex wrote:Heed the words of Stikpusher.

If you are looking to contact Mr Sutherland about decals, drop him a line through Facebook, perhaps, or check out Cutting Edge. I like the quality of Cutting Edge and Eagle Cals. The set with Lt. Carl E. Hardy’s Warhawk on it looks good! Since you already picked up a 1/32 version check Eagle Cals and Cutting Edge as well if you need to model a specific bird. Ditto for the Gustav you mentioned in your other thread.

Again, welcome.

He’s good people, as are pretty much all you guys here. And thank you so much for your input! I’ll check out cutting edge for those decals, when the time comes. The Warhawk is, so far, my favorite plane, and I have a lot of stuff I want to bring to that aircraft when I build it again. Doing the 1/48 taught me a lot!

lawman56 wrote:Looks good. Nice job on the wing root wear from mounting up.

I appreciate it! Thank you! And that wing root was a happy accident! I accidentally used Tamiya, thinned heavily, instead of my Vallejo. As I was scraping some off with a cocktail umbrella, I noticed it was eating through the lacquer and paint beneath LOL! So I just rolled with it, did some touch-ups, then lacquered it again, and took it as a lesson-learned not to do weathering first thing in the morning at 5AM without enough coffee, and moved on.

Just don’t do precision work after too much coffee...

Unless you drink decaffinated... which is like non alcoholic beer in my book...