Curtiss P-40B of the Aeronáutica Militar de Portugal -DONE-Pag.3

[Old Wombat]

EZ-Line user here, too.

The build looks good & the wing decals don't look bad from here (only about 17,000km away).   

[DogfighterZen]

Thank you for the suggestion, gentlemen. 
Indeed, EZ-line seems to be the most popular brand but i'm finding that Uschi, AK, Ammo by mig and Infini's equivalents are easier for me to buy. I can't find many stores selling EZ in the EU so i'll probably have to go with one of those brands.
It will be a first for me so i'll probably do at least a couple of test runs on older models to gain some experience before using it on a "proper" build.

[DogfighterZen]

So, this build was started in June of 2023 and i made a prediction of finishing it a year later... guess i only missed the date by around 3 years!
It's finally done and, for a kit i'd lost all interest in just a few weeks after starting it, it came out different from what i'd originally planned but i'm satisfied with the result anyway.
As some of you may know, my daughter was born in February and currently i don't have much time to write up a very elaborate backstory but i'll try my best...

"During WWII, the AMP(Aeronáutica Militar Portuguesa) was to receive a batch of 15 Ex-RAF Curtiss P-36 Hawk 75 A4, which were initially part of the order destined for the L'Armeé de L'Air but were taken up by the RAF when France surrendered.
These fighters didn't suit the needs of the British, who quickly found ways to get rid of them or use them in other minor roles.
The first 10 aircraft were delivered to the Portuguese in August of 1941 but of these, only 6 would be accepted because 6 of them had suffered serious damage during transportation at sea and of these, only 2 were recoverable so, the other damaged 4 were returned.

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The AMP generals would not stay silent because of an extreme need for modern fighter aircraft for it's front lines so, although there was understanding of the situation of the war towards the British, the Portuguese kept asking for more aircraft because they soon realized that the Hawk 75 was not the great fighter they were expecting.

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The Brits would come through at a time when all AMP Hawks had been grounded after a crash in April of 1942 and the subsequent investigation that found severe mechanical maintenance issues and defects, which were responsible for the occurrence.
This left the AMP with zero monoplane fighters in service but things quickly changed after September of 1942 the delivery of 12 Curtiss P-40B or Tomahawk IIB, as they were know in the RAF.

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These aircraft were being replaced in the RAF by the newer variant of the same plane, the P-40E or Kittyhawk and were delivered in reasonable condition, despite already having a somewhat high number of flying hours in combat operations in Africa.
All aircraft were assembled at the OGMA workshops in Alverca and began service with the AMP in the beginning of November of 1942, at the OTA Nº2 air base near Lisbon.
A new squadron with ID letters of PM was formed to replace the Hawk 75 equipped XY squadron previously stationed there.

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The AMP pilots would soon become aware that the P-40 was not as good as a Spitfire in a dogfight but soon forgot the headaches caused by the older Curtiss Hawk 75.
They felt that the sharkmouths seen on several examples of the RAF's 112 Squadron suited the airframe's lines so well that they wanted them on their aircraft too so, the PM squadron proudly gave themselves the unofficial name of "Tubarões" after their planes were painted.

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The P-40 would not see a long life in Portugal due to the short service life left in them and would be retired from active duty in 1948, being relegated to training duties until their final curtain in 1950 when the airframes were already long past their service life limit.

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A rookie pilot died in a crash after the left wing almost completely snapped in half during low level flight, violently rolling the aircraft upside down and into a small hill near the town of Vila Franca-de-Xira. The airframes were supposedly all scrapped soon after the retirement orders but one example was found under tarps with its wings disassembled in 1998 in an abandoned warehouse in Lisbon's suburbs.

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Research revealed that one airframe complete with working engine was sold at the last minute to a wealthy citizen who'd been a pilot in the AMP during the early 1940s and wanted to restore it to fly in races and air shows around the world.

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This aircraft was recovered and restored by the PoAF's restoration team and after 6 years of work, it took its place in the PoAF's display at the Museu do Ar in Sintra."

That's it, people! Hope you like it! It's time for me to move on...

 

[Old Wombat]

P-40! Can't go wrong with a P-40!   

Personally, I prefer the P-40E/F, but if a B/C is all you can get ... Well, that's good enough!   

[2996 Victor]

Fantastic outcome, if I may say so! The Tomahawk looks great in irs AMP markings. Excellent!

Cheers,
Mark

[PR19_Kit]

So, this build was started in June of 2023 and i made a prediction of finishing it a year later... guess i only missed the date by around 3 years!

No matter, close counts. 

Looks superb, and I suppose it's a Whiff because it's right here, but it doesn't look like a Whiff, and the backstory sounds wholly plausible too. 

[comrade harps]

Well worth the wait. 

[NARSES2]

That does look good   

[DogfighterZen]

Glad to know you like it, gentlemen!     

My first idea was to finish it in the early war green/brown/sky camo that the Hawk 75 had but then decided to go with this scheme for various reasons, those being:
A)- It's one of my favorite camo schemes
B)- In real life, the aircraft sent by the UK at around the same dates were the Spitfire Mk.Ia and Hurricane Mk.IIb/c, both had this camo and this was inspired on the Hawk 75 and the Hurricane
C)- I found an excellent build of the Airfix 1/48 Tomahawk II  done as an RAF example of the 1683 Flight (Bomber Defence Training) stationed at RAF Bruntingthorpe in 1944 that convinced me - https://scalespot.com/gallery/aircraft/p40airfix/p40airfix.php

The shark mouth is something i like to see on military aircraft and for me, a must have on an early P-40, i don't know if it's simply because it's such a popular decoration and directly associated with the P-40 because of the 112 Sqdn and Flying Tigers fame and i'm just not creative enough to shake that trend...
Truth is, i don't really care. It's how i like them so that's how i'll build them.

P-40! Can't go wrong with a P-40!   

Personally, I prefer the P-40E/F, but if a B/C is all you can get ... Well, that's good enough!   

Guy, i do like all P-40 variants but i prefer the B/C's lines with the smaller chin... but i do have the Special Hobby 1/72 P-40M/N kit in the stash and the Pegasus XP-40Q is within my arm's reach as i write this...

BTW, thank you all for the suggestions on the rigging/antenna wires issue. I used Ammo by Mig 0,01mm line and it was easier than i thought. It was a good, easy subject to try this for the first time.

[frank2056]

Great all around! Superb paint job and weathering, too - it looks like a well used airplane.

[chrisonord]

Marvellous stuff 

[DogfighterZen]

Glad you like it, gentlemen! Thank you!

[kitbasher]

Very smart 👍, well done you.

[su27rules]

        

[DogfighterZen]

Thank you!   
I've just realized that this build was something i wanted to do since i first built the real world P-40B of the Flying Tigers... and also looking back to when i started this, it was going to look a bit different with no shark mouth, the earlier green/brown/sky camo and the later white roundels with the cross on the fuselage sides instead of just the cross... maybe i should just build one like that, assigned to a different squadron...