Aifix 1/72 Dogfight doubles Curtiss P-40B Warhawk V Mitsubishi Zero

[ScaleModelJedi]

After my late entry into the 'Shiny things' SIG which I really enjoyed I thought I would build this kit as a second entry into this GB.
I bought this kit intending to build it in this GB but ended doing armour instead as I've been enjoying building them.

I will be doing them straight out of the box and will display them on the supplied stand.

The box. Some nice box art as is the usual on aifix kits and I think these are both newly tooled. I won't be using the paints supplied.

From the box:
On the 7th of December 1941, The Japanese air assault on Pearl Harbour plunged the United States of America into a water it sought to avoid since it began in September 1939.
At 7:48am, Japanese aircraft struck, carrier bombers and torpedo planes attacking ships moored at Battleship Row, with fighters attacking airfields, targets of opportunity and any American fighters who dared to rise to oppose them.
The surprise was total, damage to the American fleet extensive, with numerous ships being sunk or damaged. Hundreds of American aircraft were destroyed.
The few fighters that took off to counter the attack were mainly Curtiss P40B fighters, which soon engaged in a vicious and deadly dogfight.
George Street Welch, racing to the field where his Fighter was based, only had time to arm the .30 caliber guns on his P40B. Nonetheless, he rose to defend his base and the Island.
Flying above Wheeler Field, Welch claimed a number of Japanese machines, including a Zero Fighter.
Overall, the day belonged to the Japanese with only a handful of the attacking force lost, but they failed in there primary objective. The American aircraft carrier's survived because they were at sea. As Admiral Yamamoto feared, Japan awoke a sleeping giant, One that would bring about total defeat on Japan in 1945.

[ScaleModelJedi]

[youtube]vIRTIeYko04[/youtube]
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[ScaleModelJedi]

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built,[4] all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941.[5][6] No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo,[7][8] copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.[7] [N 1]



Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero Model 22 (NX712Z), recovered from New Guinea in 1991 and used (with the atypical green camouflage shown) in the film Pearl Harbor

The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range fighter aircraft, manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 Carrier Fighter (零式艦上戦闘機 rei-shiki-kanjō-sentōki?), or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the "Reisen" (zero fighter), "0" being the last digit of the Imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the use of the name "Zero" was later commonly adopted by the Allies as well.

When it was introduced early in World War II, the Zero was considered the most capable carrier-based fighter in the world, combining excellent maneuverability and very long range.[1] The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service ("IJNAS") also frequently used the type as a land-based fighter.

[ScaleModelJedi]

The box contents.


Sprues for the Mitsubishi Zero


Sprues for the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk


The decals


Instructions for the Warhawk



Colour call out


Instructions for the Zero


The colour call out

[ScaleModelJedi]

I made a start on the kits last night mainly removing parts from the Sprues and cleaning them ready for primer.
I will assemble the cockpit and prime in one piece and will add the figures at the end before the canopy goes on.

P-40 parts


Zero parts


I've tried dry fitting the parts and they all seem to fit together really well. There will be some small gaps that will require filling but nothing drastic.

[ScaleModelJedi]

Got the two cockpits built up ready for painting. These will be primed with Ultimate grey primer.


The cockpit painted for the Zero. I have used AK interactive AK-2067 Mitsubishi interior green. First time using the AK paints and they sprayed really nice. As this build is going to be in flight I won't be doing any weathering in the cockpit. It's so small once the pilot and canopy are in place it's virtually impossible to see inside.


The P40 cockpit painted with Vallejo 71.010 interior green. I painted some parts matt black and as with the Zero I haven't done any weathering.


As I will be using the supplied stand you need to drill two holes at the marked positions. These are 2mm in diameter. These need doing before fitting the cockpit.


Two fuselage halves together on the P40. They fit really well and will only require some small work on the seams.


And the Zero. The same as the P40 nice fit with only a little bit of work on the seams.


The P40 cockpit in place on the lower wing section and ready to be fitted to the fuselage.


The lower wing section in place and ready to put the other halves of the wings on. The lower section fitted ok a slight gap on the front this should be easy to fill.


That's where I'm upto for tonight. Will continue tomorrow and try and get them both primed.

Thank you for looking

[Lysus]

Oh, nice! I think the P-40 and F4U were my first planes that got me hooked thanks to that John Wayne movie and the Black Sheep TV show. Though I soon found the B-17, P-51, and Spits the P-40 is still special to me. And they always, ALWAYS, fought against the same Zeros in archival footage



Good start, can't wait to see more!

[ScaleModelJedi]

Oh, nice! I think the P-40 and F4U were my first planes that got me hooked thanks to that John Wayne movie and the Black Sheep TV show. Though I soon found the B-17, P-51, and Spits the P-40 is still special to me. And they always, ALWAYS, fought against the same Zeros in archival footage



Good start, can't wait to see more!

Thank you . Got some more done but haven't had time to upload yet. Will try and do it tomorrow.

[AdamLuscombe]

Good luck with the build

[ScaleModelJedi]

Have finally got some progress on this build and hopefully will get some more over next week as I would like to get this finished before I go on holiday.

The wing section in place on the P-40 fuselage some small filling was put in along the wing route as there was a gap. I now realise that I should have pulled the wings upwards to close the gap and heled them in place while glueing.


The Zero was a relatively good fit.


P-40 with all parts fitted except the canopy.


And the Zero


The canopy of the P-40 was masked by covering with masking tape and using a sharp scalpel to cut around the framing. As the Zero needed painting under the canopy at the rear of the cockpit I masked over the cockpit.


Both primed using Ultimate grey primer and ready for top coat.


Still got the pilots to paint and fit in the cockpits before fitting the canopies in place. I did by a mask set for the Zero but have misplaced it. I did try masking it the same as the P-40 but found it very difficult to get right as the canopy has barely any recess on the framing to cut against. Hopefully I can find the mask set.

More to come, Thank you for looking

[ScaleModelJedi]

Good luck with the build

Thank you Adam

[OliveDrab]

Some very cool fighters

[ScaleModelJedi]

Some very cool fighters

Thank you

[ScaleModelJedi]

The Zero was painted with AK-2061 J3 Hai-iro grey. Not convinced by the colour but that's how it's staying. The engine was painted with Ammo gunmetal as it was all I had at the time and the instructions call for it to be painted matt black. I thought the gunmetal would look better. The engine cowling was painted with AK-2066 anti-glare blue-black. The prop was painted with the anti-glare on the rear side and Vallejo Aluminium metal colour on the front side.


I found my canopy mask and fitted in place. The canopy was then painted and loosely fitted in place.


The Zero was then given a coat of Alclad aqua gloss prior to applying decals.


The decals supplied are from cartograf and go down really nice with some micro sol and set.



I then gave it another coat of aqua gloss to seal the decals and once fully dry applied some AK2074 paneliner.



That's where I'm upto on the Zero. I will be giving it another clear coat and then some more weathering. Still got a couple of bits to add and the pilot.

[ScaleModelJedi]

The P-40 was painted with Vallejo 71.296 curtiss grey on the underneath and then I masked off this to apply the green.


The top was painted with Vallejo 71.294 US Forest Green. Some panels were faded slightly by adding a drop of white into the green and spraying the centre of the panels lightly.


As with the Zero I then coated with aqua gloss for applying the decals.



I gave the P-40 another clear coat to seal the decals. This time I tried some Mr Hobby Aqueous clear gloss H30 thinned with Mr leveling thinner. Seemed to work alot better for me than aqua gloss. I then applied some AK2071 Paneliner to the green areas and AK2072 to the grey areas. This was applied to the panel lines with a small brush then any excess removed with a cotton bud.




Next up is another clear coat and some more weathering. Still need to fit the exhausts and the pilot and get the decals on the props.

[ScaleModelJedi]

The P-40 with the canopy unmasked and the prop fitted.

The exhausts were painted using Mig Ammo A-MIG-192 Polished metal and then I applied some Vallejo pigments mixed with a bit of thinner to give a rusted effect. Also fixed the decals on the props.


The Zero had the pilot fitted in place. I had to cut the feet off to get it to fit in the cockpit. Both pilots are identical so and it seems like its just a generic figure for Airfix 1/72 aircraft. The one in the P-40 fitted with out any problems. The canopy unmasked and fitted in place. The mask set was easy to use and well worth getting if your doing this kit. Also the prop had the decals fixed in place and that was fitted in place.


I applied some light chipping on the Zero around the engine cowling and the wing. I used the Mig polished metal again for this and applied it with a small paint brush.


Final reveal : http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 92&t=19475

[Lysus]

Looking good! 1/72 are not easy to detail and these are looking more like 1/48 from the pictures.

[ScaleModelJedi]

Looking good! 1/72 are not easy to detail and these are looking more like 1/48 from the pictures.

Thank you Lysus There an improvement on my Mustang and given me some more practice at doing them. Hopefully I can improve further on the next ones I do.