Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk IIB 1/72 scale..

[wappynutter]

Okay i'm back with another go at an aeroplane kit and this time I have chosen the "new tool" Airfix starter kit of the Tomahawk IIB.
As most of you know this is the American built, sold to allied countries fighter with the Sharks mouth graphics for effect..
Known by the Americans as the Warhawk, us Brit's flew the 2 variants Tomahawk and Kittyhawk.
This fighter was excellent at what it was designed to do, favoured by most for its tough, get ya home robustness, where most would fail this bird would, no matter how badly beaten, get most home in one piece...
During the African conflict of WW2, Britain had little air support until these fighters flew out from Libya in 1941...
Flying as the DAF, these would go in and wreak havoc on German forces during the North African campaign, capable of carrying a selection of bombs and having some serious machine gun emplacements, not only did they look the part, they could dish out the punishment too!!

So on with the build, and nothing special with this one. Going to be a quick, no fuss OOB...




















My bits and bobs box for modelling.....



Okay so first up, and using the supplied colours, even though the cockpit is a more yellow colour according to online discussions. I make a start to build, paint, weather and decal the bits up!!














Wing glue time.....


Cockpit in place too!


Okay I have made up the prop and wings, and glued up the fuselage, no hanging about with this one then eh? They have gone together quite well....











Now there is a poorly moulded pilot with the kit so I am going to use him as I want this model to be "in flight"....
Paint and weather time...
















Hmmmmm, just needs a seatbelt to stop him face planting the canopy when in a roll....

Tail on.....








Wheels and landing struts, painting now so I can portray in flight...




Seatbelt making...... Masking tape, folded then cut thinly, painted yellow then weathered with an oil wash....








Wheel wells painted and wheels glued in place....




Tail wheel cover glued in place...


.....and I will end there for now!
Hopefully some of you found this interesting and stayed till the end, if you did.....Thank you!
Till next time, take care, comments welcome, and as always Happy Modelling...

[Nige201980]

great start mate will be following this one closely.

[Joesdad]

Aw you stopped Andy.... Hopefully not long for more.

[T3hGuppy]

Nice start one this.

Maybe a starter set SIG in the works?

Would be interesting what people could come up with only using the supplied paints.

[Paul]

Nice work andy, look forward to seeing more

[Drazimo]

Looking good so far, defo watching this. Loving me some 1/72 aircraft, and I really like the seat belts.

-Draz

[Johni044]

Great work so far.

You may want to do a little research on the colour scheme. The instruction show a so splodge of blue under the port tailplain. I couldn't find a picture of it and suspect it might be a printing error but I could be wrong.

[wappynutter]

Okay back again, sorry its been a while, had some real life issues that needed my 100% attention...
Thanks guys for all the comments...
Now Johni sir I did check my reference PDF collection this one in particular..
Osprey - Aircam S 03 - Sharkmouth (1) 1916-1945.pdf
An excellent reference of ALL sharkmouth fighters and included is this little kit....
Here it is picture 3...


As you can see, NO blue!! Also these colours are probably more accurate than the supplied Humbrol pots with the kit..
Also note the RED nose, most sharkmouth fighters had this, the Airfix kit doesn't show this as obviously extra colours would have to be supplied as with the different cockpit interior colour I imagine...
So I will probably follow this image, oddly the Camo pattern is slightly different too!

So Wing attachment time....






Held tight to keep the wing angle....






A little filler and a re-score of some of the ends of panel lines near the wing roots..










Side window areas painted cockpit colour and the caps painted red and silver as seen in some reference images of Tomahawks..



Blurry image sorry...
So a quick mask up with some blutac in the cockpit area and wheel wells then Grey primer time...












Underside paint time now the grey is dry, masked off the lines around the sharkmouth area and tapered to the tail...
Humbrol 157 Light blue....














Tapes off ready to re-tape for the top Sand yellow coat...
















So time to mask everything off, including the canopy now it has dried after being dipped it Klear and left 48 hours...




















...and that's where I am at this week...
I have started to paint the Sand Yellow but had to stop because I had thinned the Humbrol but it kept clogging the airbrush and seemed dead gritty and pigment was all like separated so will have to re-mix some colour up and continue next week...

Thanks again for taking a look, Aircraft are not my thing really, I am not skilled enough to do them justice, but I will carry on as its part of a Bigger build.... wink...wink.....
As always comments welcome, take care all and Happy Modelling...

[Nige201980]

Great work andy she is looking fantastic nuddy

[wappynutter]

Great work andy she is looking fantastic nuddy

Thanks Nige mate, glad you like her...

[ludicrusmaximus]

Coming along more than brilliantly there!

Can I ask what brand of masking tape the white stuff is?

[RobertA]

Good to see a nice quick, no fuss, build..

[wappynutter]

Back for an update guys...
Ludicrus mate the white masking tape is the standard 3/4 inch or 18mm decorators masking tape.
Nothing special, I just use it to cover the larger areas after edging with the Tamiya tape..
Thanks Robert, yes no real fuss or issues with this new tool, but I will never do it justice like you have with those pair of P47's mate... Such a fantastic job done on those.......your decal work and invasion stripes are superb!!

Right Tomahawk time...
As I mentioned at the end of the last post, the supplied sand colour was all clogging and bitty, I think I thinned it to within an inch of its life and the paint broke down and granulated.... I dunno???
So I tried and tried again, eventually top coating with the Revell 88 Ochre to try and recover the finish.....




















Not an easy thing to spray and to photograph, it is actually a better, more buff colour finish in real life!

So masking time for the Camo effect... "GULP!!" Not done this since 1979/80, and then it was a brushed handpainted camo in Humbrol Enamels....

Here goes....... bluetac and tiny pieces of masking tape at the ready!!

























Hours of bluetac application with cocktail stick to shape and we have that little pattern. I used the Airfix camo scheme off the box in the end and not the scheme from my reference as I didn't have enough info to finish both sides..

I am going to use the supplied Humbrol 29 colour, thinning and making it not quite so thin as before.
It still went a little grainy and bitty but I tried a near neat shoot to finish it off, then cleaned out the airbrush and waited.......










Fingers crossed it works!!

What do you think?? Salvageable??





























...and the canopy gets a colour...




So today I have picked out the details, painted the prop and given it a Red snout.. exhausts and guns picked in silver and prop tips yellowed.
































......and that's where I am at as of now!!
all ready for a gloss coat, then decals time, including the Sharkmouth
Then weather and flatcoat to finish......Yay!!

Thanks for taking a look at my endless supply of out of focus, over exposed, artificially lit bad pictures... Sorry..
Please feel free to drop a comment, aircraft are not my thing so I am trying honest!!
Take care guys and as always, Happy Modelling...
Till next time..

[RobertA]

Yup.. that'll do.. so far! This is turning out a gem... very nice indeed!


...even though I STILL use the 1980's Humbrol approach to camuflage, myself..

[wappynutter]

Yup.. that'll do.. so far! This is turning out a gem... very nice indeed!


...even though I STILL use the 1980's Humbrol approach to camuflage, myself..

Thanks Robert...... And oh yeah... hairy stick rules... Ooopps...
Don't worry, this was my first time masking and spraying,. I did ponder the idea of brush painting the camo pattern on, its just my brush skills are nearly as bad as my airbrush ones!!! Lol...
Thanks for looking in mate..

[RobertA]

Yup.. that'll do.. so far! This is turning out a gem... very nice indeed!


...even though I STILL use the 1980's Humbrol approach to camuflage, myself..

Thanks Robert...... And oh yeah... hairy stick rules... Ooopps...
Don't worry, this was my first time masking and spraying,. I did ponder the idea of brush painting the camo pattern on, its just my brush skills are nearly as bad as my airbrush ones!!! Lol...
Thanks for looking in mate..

Airbrushing does give a superior result, and allow for different weathering techniques that simply can't be mastered with a hairy stick, and I do (almost) envy that babybottom smooth surface.. One day I'm sure I'll give in and get an airbrush, (perish the thought!!) but for now I'll do things the traditional way! If that was one of your first attempts at masking and spraying, then I'm even more impressed than I was already!!

[Nige201980]

WOW Andy top job mate looks brilliant buddy.

[wappynutter]

Cheers Nige mate....
Just finished the decal work....
My eyes hurt, but finished now and the Sharkmouth wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!!
Still got annoyed when folk came trying to talk to me while I was placing delicate decals in tight places....
Just got to let them dry then another gloss coat to seal.
Quick slight weather then flat coat to finish...
Thanks again matey...

[wappynutter]

Yup.. that'll do.. so far! This is turning out a gem... very nice indeed!


...even though I STILL use the 1980's Humbrol approach to camuflage, myself..

Thanks Robert...... And oh yeah... hairy stick rules... Ooopps...
Don't worry, this was my first time masking and spraying,. I did ponder the idea of brush painting the camo pattern on, its just my brush skills are nearly as bad as my airbrush ones!!! Lol...
Thanks for looking in mate..

Airbrushing does give a superior result, and allow for different weathering techniques that simply can't be mastered with a hairy stick, and I do (almost) envy that babybottom smooth surface.. One day I'm sure I'll give in and get an airbrush, (perish the thought!!) but for now I'll do things the traditional way! If that was one of your first attempts at masking and spraying, then I'm even more impressed than I was already!!

Thanks again Rob, yeah first ever go with the airbrush camo... My Saetta was a sprayed base colour with brushed on 2 tone blobs as was the Italian airforce camo of the time.
Kits before that were painted all by brush using stinky Enamels in the bedroom as a small boy 34 years ago!!
Airbrushing does give a nice even finish but i have found can still leave a texture similar to dust on the plane. Think its just my poor handling of the airbrush to be honest..
As far as weathering techniques using the airbrush, those i have still to attempt..
Thanks again mate for looking in, hope the mojo has returned...no more modellers block!!

[RobertA]

Have got as far as digging out a kit.. may get started on it tonight! Just need a bit of a break from those P-47's..

[wappynutter]

Good luck Rob!!.......

Okay so last time I left this we was all camo'd up and awaiting some gloss coat then Decals!!

Now these decals have a Sharkmouth, and some guy over on a FB group informed me that I should probably have left off the prop to ensure I got these decals on and looking right without any hiccups....... Oopps!!

Well I will give it a go! Did I mention this is only my 2nd plane build since returning, 1st camo by airbrush and most definitely my first "sharkmouth" Decal application ever!!

Best foot forward and all that.......................
Gloss coat, again a cheap £1 shop clear gloss lacquer...
















...and we leave to dry for a day or so......
Now for the fun part, and to bring this up to date as it is right now....
Bring on the decals, some Microset, some Microsol and a bit of luck....



































....And some eyes and "Sharkmouth" too finish!!!









The only slight error is visible on the black line and the slight overlap on the teeth...














































and that I am afraid is your lot for now....
Decals are on and sealed with another gloss coat. Slight weathering, panel line wash and a Matt coat to finish I think.
Of course if anyone thinks I should not go overboard with the weathering, or should leave it a semi shiny finish just let me know...
I personally have no real idea how or what these were supposed to look like. I will just splash an oil wash all over, remove some, maybe add some pastel dust for scuffs and smoke, maybe some slight aluminium paint chips then coat of Vallejo Matt varnish to complete.
Thanks for looking guys, leave a comment with any suggestions etc.. if you want, all comments are greatly appreciated.
Till the next time, as always, take care and Happy Modelling.....

[Paul]

Great work andy, as for the weathering, i say go for it mate

[ludicrusmaximus]

Back for an update guys...
Ludicrus mate the white masking tape is the standard 3/4 inch or 18mm decorators masking tape.
Nothing special, I just use it to cover the larger areas after edging with the Tamiya tape..

Thanks mate! It looks a lot better than the crappy wide modellers tape they had at my local hobby shop.

[wappynutter]

Glad I could help Ludicrus mate......

But now for the sad, bad news!.........
I think I may have killed this Tomahawk dead with my damn weathering heavy-handedness!!

I know you said Go for it Paul, but I think I went for it a tad too much.....

Let me know what you think guys!
Lots of pictures incoming!!

So I started by giving a tiny silver chipping/scuffing then oil wash to the maximum!!
Before...


After and so on..........






























Canopy fix and weather time!!! slight booboo but it will be okay....
























and I suppose I best throw some Matt finish to fix and dusty things up!!
Now have I gone to much??
....and yes the canopy isn't fantastic but we live and learn!!...













Look.... he's in there looking all pilot like!!.....





















Look he's smiling because he's finished...... but the weathering, glue and fix of the canopy is noticeable at this close range.....
I'll get better, I promise!!


Okay so here are the final Shots of my finished Curtiss Tomahawk IIB......






























That's it guys........ all finished, not gonna touch up or try to put right the finish anymore than it is!
Hopefully you Aircraft pro's will overlook the poor construction and iffy weathering!
I tried, next time it will be better....Promise....

If you are still reading, Thank you for looking, All comments welcomed and appreciated..
Cheers everyone for your encouragement over the past few weeks with this......
....... as always stay safe and Happy Modelling!

[Nige201980]

Andy don't worry about the weathering mate where the flew they wouldn't have time to clean the I've seen photos from the era of really filthy planes mate the water the had would not have been wasted the pilots would have been living in tents and what have you there would have been dust storms and what have you it's a great build give your self a pat on the back because you gave it ago mate and it actually looks good mate. Just one question what did you use for the wash? And how did you try to remove it?

[wappynutter]

Thanks for dropping by Nige mate...
Yeah I kinda imagined the fighter planes would be all dusty, dirty, scratched and scuffed to hell! After all, this is War, in a Desert, little time to rest let alone clean ya plane!.....and as you mention, water was for drinking not washing chunks of fighting machine!!
I just thought I maybe had gone OTT with the sooty, grimey finish...
Talking of which, its a standard artist black oil wash, slightly removed and streaked with turps dampened cotton buds. Also while slightly damp from the turps, black pastel dust, white pastel dust and a mix of all, applied by finger, brush or cotton bud.
To finish the plane was gently wafted over with a couple of coats of Vallejo Matt varnish, which in my opinion leaves a slightly dusty weathered finish as well.
....or maybe its because my pastel dust doesn't show until I wet it with the finish coat!
That's my technique with this one, hope my explanations made sense??
Thanks again for asking dude....cheers..

[Nige201980]

Cheers Andy my method is similar which I will be hoping to show when I get to that stage of the weathering on the spit with plenty of chips and faded paint hoping to show it live when I get there.

[wappynutter]

Here you go Nige...... all displayed with my Matilda II Tank build on the Desert Diorama...
Called simply "Call in the DAF", I decided a while back that I wanted to include my next Plane build into a North Africa Diorama...
Had I waited a little longer, this would have been in your YouTube GB mate, but unfortunately I had started before I thought about it!...
Oh well, enjoy these final Diorama images guys, Thanks for looking in !














































Okay, thanks again for taking a look....

All comments welcomed and appreciated..
As always,take care and Happy Modelling!!

[ludicrusmaximus]

I'm liking the dio, Wappy! It all turned out very well in the end

[wappynutter]

Thanks Ludicrous mate, glad you like it!

Looks well cool on the shelf, being in a diorama the small errors are less visible as the viewer looks at the whole scene as opposed to just the model..
Thanks again buddy!

[Nige201980]

Fantastic little dio mate love it near the end of the GB I'll get you to send me some photos and I'll put it in the revel vid I'm going to do for all the builds if that's ok with you buddy

[wappynutter]

Thanks Nige, and yeah, that would be cool!
I would love to be a part of your reveal video mate.
PM me when your ready and I will sort a couple of images out for you...
Thanks again!

[Merlin]

That looks brilliant Andy, the weathering does make her look a battle hardened old girl. The diorama finishes it off nicely.

[Nige201980]

Thanks Nige, and yeah, that would be cool!
I would love to be a part of your reveal video mate.
PM me when your ready and I will sort a couple of images out for you...
Thanks again!

Will do mate.

[wappynutter]

Thanks Andy mate, much appreciated...
And thanks again Nige...

[LudvigN]

Are those panel lines oob? If so, that looks freaking awesome! Nice weathering mate!

[wappynutter]

Hi Ludvig..
Yes good sir, the panel lines look like that OOB.
This is one of the Airfix Retooled kits so was going to be an okay kit!
The only area I did rescribe slightly was at the very wing root where I got over keen with the filler and sanding. I had a slight misalignment on the starboard wing so had to lose a raised seam line, my own fault as I didn't clamp it correctly as the glue dried..
This wasn't a full on scribe just a redefine of panel line ends..
Thanks again matey for the compliment, much appreciated ..

[UKscalemodeller]

Wow! What a thread. Great work. I have the chinese version of this.planning on lend leaseing it.

[wappynutter]

Wow! What a thread. Great work. I have the chinese version of this.planning on lend leaseing it.

Cheers Ian mate, look forward to your Chinese version lend lease!!!
.....but who are you planning on lend leasing it too?? lol...
Thanks again for looking in on my build, much appreciated dude..