1:32 P-40N

The lightened P-40N

The last large-series form came about in a chase for lower weight: two machine guns went, lighter wheels and aluminum radiators arrived, and the early batches were given a cut-down decking behind the cockpit supplemented with further glazing, which finally let the pilot look behind him. The machines served mainly in the Pacific, with the British Commonwealth and in the China theater.

The rear window decides whether the set pays off

That added pane behind the pilot is the most tiresome spot on the whole model. It is narrow, divided by a bar and lies exactly where the flat surface of the fuselage runs into a curve. A strip of tape breaks in that place and lifts by itself in the corner, so the paint bleeds. Masking this one area by hand adds a good forty minutes and usually one extra touch-up as well; a cut piece handles it in a single application.

When you do not need the set so much

The later production batches returned to a full decking. If you are building such an example, part of the pieces will stay unused on the sheet and the benefit shrinks to the sliding section of the cockpit itself, which tape can manage on its own.

Two stencils and a decal sheet

The national insignia are sprayed from two pieces, the other markings are covered by the decals enclosed. On matte olive drab the difference between a sprayed and an applied insignia is visible even in a photograph. Lay the stencil onto a smooth gloss base, then, otherwise the edge bleeds and the star gets a smeared point. Apply the covering paint in two coats, because over an olive finish white only asserts itself on the second one.