You know, sometimes after finishing a difficult project, a nice, simple, quick build can be just the ticket.
Mine started last night with that wonderful new 1/72 Airfix Hawk 81/P-40 kit.
When I compared the sprues to the parts in my spares box, it seemed the engine & cowling from a cast-off Testor's Dauntless were a nice fit.
The way the Testor's kit is designed, the engine sits far too forward, the cylinders actually meeting the inside lip of the cowling. I was able to kludge it in close to "jest right" with some sprue and a half-circle of card stock.
Now that I had that figured out, what markings and paint scheme would work?
I looked at the Airfix P-40 decals and it hit me. Why not an AVG P-36? A distinct possibility if history had happened a little more quickly.
I swapped out the Airfix shark's mouth for a set from the Academy kit as those were larger and seemed would work better wrapped around that big radial engine. The big 8 I found in my spares.
The model is brush-painted by hand in Model Master acrylics. The OD I had was too brown, so I added some green and came up with a shade that would work next to the Dark Earth. Actually, this OD is the second batch. The first batch came out too dark and with a touch too much blue, but should make an excellent NIVO night scheme.
The pictures are a little dark because those Airfix Chinese markings don't show up very well brightly lit.
Those markings are my only complaint, but all the decals settled down nicely. I especially like Airfix's rendering of the Disney-designed Flying Tigers mascot which is the best I've seen in this scale.
I had a blast with this AVG P-36 and it might be the first time I finished a model in one day. Anyway, it was the perfect tonic and now I'm refreshed and ready to tackle another oddball project!
Brian da Basher
