Tutorial Novice - Curtiss P-40E/Tomahawk Mk I

[lastvautour]

Remove the excess wood cutting from the outside in to the deepest part.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Next as a break from the large carvings, we will do the smaller pieces.

First is upper fuselage air scoop. Cut out the shape from 2mm thick stock and shape the vertical face. Contour will consist of reducing the rear to 1mmthickness. Carving the bottom to make it fit to the fuselage will be done later.

Next is the belly pan is from 5mm stock. Note that I took the shape from the bottom image and not the SMM template. Contour shaping will also be done later.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Trace the knee joint on 5'' stock. More on them later.

Next thin a piece to 1mm thick and 2mm wide. You will need two pieces 25mm long. Make three for good measure. these will be used to mount the exhaust stubs. Using a flat piece of wood scrap wood and mark a 45 degree angle. Cut a shallow grove parallel to the bottom line. Next place two vertical lines centered on the angled line 5mm apart.  Run you blade several times over the lines to act as a guide. Line up a round toothpick with the vertical lines and cut off the end square on the right side followed by the angle line and then the left end. This will give you two exhaust stubs. Those are glued with super or wood glue two at a time. Once thoroughly dry, I used a spacer made from three thickness of cereal box cardboard to space out the grouping of two stubs. The exhaust  two X two X two belong to the P-40E were the other is for my P-40B.

[lastvautour]

Tail feathers and main wing filet guide are thinned to 2mm. The filet guide can be put aside for now. Make the center of the stab/vertical fin. The flat faces are marked 6mm from the edge. I use a pencil but a red felt tip is only used for your benefit. Remove with a blade and/or sand to a symmetrical  airfoil shape. These parts usually have the thickest part at approx. 1/3 distance from the leading edge.

Lou

[Gearup]

Excellent exhaust stacks. Was the different pairing of the stubs related to engine type? Also thanks for showing the different wing constructions for the same model. Very informative. Thanks
Fraser

[lastvautour]

Yes, different engines. Early versions did not have superchargers. Personally I prefer one piece wing with the dihedral built in.

Lou

[lastvautour]

The rear fuselage will now be contoured. Trace a thrust line from the center of the spinner to 10mm below the notch for the stab. Trace a line 1mm from the top edge and 2mm above the trust line we installed. Remove the wood between the lines. repeat for the other side. It is better oif you do both sides at once.

[Boomerang]

Looking good Lou.

Enjoying the tutorial.

Cheers

Gordon

[lastvautour]

Mark an additional line 1mm on top and 2mm on the side and remove the wood between those lines. Work slow as to not take too much away. The side of the fuselage should look something like the last photo.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Thank you Gordon.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Place the template and mark the bottom of the canopy, front and rear. Flip the template and repeat for the other side. I marked the locations with red ink.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Mark the forward fuselage 5mm from the center line and 5mm above the thrust line.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Using the vertical template, draw the outline of the windscreen. Cut vertically the remove the wood down to the windscreen side image. The finished product looks like the last picture.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Mark the rear fuselage as shown. Remove the wood between the top and side lines.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Using either a sanding block or stick round off the upper fuselage. This is the time to try out the cross section gauge if you are so inclined. I wait until the lower fuselage is done.

Lou