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

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Cut out the cockpit glass from the side template and trace the outline using the top of the fuselage with the top of the canopy as a guide. Mark the remain lines using your Mk I eyeball.

Lou

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Moving on the the upper forward fuselage. Draw a line 5mm from the center line and 5mm form the outer edge when you get to where the fuselage narrows.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Remove the wood from the two lines. Flip the fuselage over and cut vertically around the spinner and carefully remove the excess wood. The spinner show be eight sided by now.

Lou

[lastvautour]

The green lines are half way between the high points. Roughly round out the fuselage using a blade followed by the sanding stick. My spinner turn out to be deeper than wide. Using the template showed me how much to remove to get it circular. Cut and sand slowly to ensure you do not remove too much.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Your fuselage should look something like this in comparison to the block shape. And a little loo at what the future holds.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Trace a line 5mm from the edge for the rear bottom and side fuselage. Remove the wood between the lines. Trace a line in the center of the newly exposed wood and 2.5mm up the side. Remove the high points and sand smooth.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Draw some vertical parallel lines. Tilt the fuselage to see the profile you have created. Use he template guide to further check your progress. Sand any high spots.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Trace lines 5mm from the edge for the top side and bottom of the forward fuselage. remove the excess wood between the lines. Trace a line on the face of the cooler 1.5mm from the edge as in the 2nd and 3rd photo. Trace a line 10mm from the bottom edge on the side of the cooler. Draw another line vertically 10mm from the face of the cooler.

Lou

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Take your sanding stick to bevel the boxed in area. Flip the stick on its side to do the vertical face fairing into the spinner. Shave the green areas and smooth the bottom of the cooler with your sanding stick or block. The fuselage should look something like this. P-40E on the left, P-40B on the right.

Lou

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Check the fit of the wing to the fuselage. Place the belly pan and see if there is a gap between it and the fuselage. If so, remove wood from the fuselage cutout. Work slow. I needed approx. 1mm to be removed. Once done, thin the belly pan to 2.5mm tapering the forward 10mm to 1.5mm and the rear halt down to 1mm. Round off the belly pan and set aside.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Trace a line 10mm at the leading edge and 1mm at the rear of the wing filet blank. Sand the inner piece to fit snuggly against the fuselage. The filet is horizontal and lined up with the trailing edge of the wing. Put the fairing aside until the wing is glued. Things should look like the last photo.

Lou

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Take the blank undercarriage and throw them away. Use the drawing to locate the undercarriage fairing. Cut out new fairing 6mm X 6MM X 23mm. Line up a blank with the image drawn on the wing and mark to top front part where it needs to be cut. Mine were 3.5mm from the forward end. The cut out is 3mm deep. Round the leg cover as shown.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Glue the undercarriage fairing to the wing. Ensure they are parallel to the center line.

Lou

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Do not spare the glue at this point as the grain are 90 degree to each other therefore shrinkage and expansion makes this a weak joint.
Line up the wing carefully. Note the P-40E has a center line and that makes it easier to align. Regardless, use a clamp or weights to secure the two parts together. Leave that to sit for a couple of days to ensure the glue is cured.

Lou

[lastvautour]

Moving along to the tail feathers, Test fit the stab and tail fin to the fuselage. Since I did not allow for the thickness of the stab, so the fin will sit high. I removes approx. .75mm from the top of the fuselage notch and the bottom of the forward fin. These are marked in red. Take a bit at a time until the base of the fin is level with the lower fuselage. I glued the stab in place. Check to see that the stab is parallel to the main wing. Once set, I will glue the vertical fin.

Next we will attach the filets and upper forward fuselage scoop and fair them into the fuselage. Final sanding will follow with attachment of the guns and exhaust last.

Lou