Continuation of the P-40 Group Build

[Peter]

I agree with you Dave the ID model program is fascinating and seems to be for the most part a forgotten part of history. 

[Will]

Hi, Guys, I tried to upload a solid plan for the XP-40.  It was a TIFF file but the thumbnail came up as a holiday photo - not mine either!  If you click the thumbnail the proper plan comes up.  I think I've now deleted that version and reloaded as a JPG along with an early P-40 plan (Tomahawk in UK service).

I like the XP-40 in its early guise with the ventral bathtub radiator, though this plan is pretty ropey.  There are 2 different contemporary rubber powered plans i've seen, one with a built up and one with hollow carved solid fuselage.

Will

[Balsabasher]

It is because it is a TIFF file Will,go for jpeg every time,TIFF's are unstable and not accepted by many systems,did you see my XP-40 upload recently ?
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

It is showing now fine Will,the Warhawk as used by the RAF used a long ventral radiator for cooling overseas in desert conditions.
Barry.

[Will]

It is because it is a TIFF file Will,go for jpeg every time,TIFF's are unstable and not accepted by many systems,did you see my XP-40 upload recently ?
Barry.

Yes I've discovered the Tiff problem now.

The drawing you'd uploaded was titled on the sheet as the XP-37 (which also appears in my book) but that had a turbo-supercharger (ie exhaust driven) and an incredibly long bonnet with the cockpit set back a la GB racer.  The XP-37 you uploaded looks more like the XP-40 with the turbo intake planted on the side - I will upload a proper XP-37 drawing in due time (back to work now!).   Curtiss gave the XP-37 the old "heave-ho" as the "ordinary" supercharger-engined XP-40 was faster (after they moved the radiator to the front so it actually did some cooling!).  Later the RAF discovered that the plane wouldn't "go" much at high level (as the USAAC specification was for good lower altitude performance than turned out to be necessary for WW2 interception / combat) so famously used them for ground attack in the Western Desert.

Will

[Balsabasher]

Yes Will I thought that early XP-37 would make a good subject to sit alongside the P-40,come to think of it I think I built one of these a few years ago finished in prototype silver with stars and bars,I would love to see your own plan of this early machine when you get around to placing it in the gallery.
Barry.

[dave_t]

Will,
   I noticed one of your P-40 drawings looks identical to one I found on the web and posted here http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=3248#top_display_media. It was part of an advertisement or collector card. Do you happen to know what book it came from? I always wondered about that drawing.

[Will]

Will,
  I noticed one of your P-40 drawings looks identical to one I found on the web and posted here http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pid=3248#top_display_media. It was part of an advertisement or collector card. Do you happen to know what book it came from? I always wondered about that drawing.

Dave,

I searched the archive and found the "Shea's" plan you refer to - it does look very similar, especially the ultra thick wing roots.  I assume the UK magazine plan drafters would reuse any info they could get hold of, especially for the "glamorous" US types.  Certainly the US mags came over and maybe any colleagues or aquaintances visiting the US would have been told to grab anything they could.

The plans I uploaded come from the 1940 and 1942 editions of C.A.H. Pollitt's "Scale Plans of Military Aircraft".  The 1940 drawings are fat-lined and very odd shapes, the 1942 edition has redrawn versions which are better quality and more accurate, but unfortunately my copy is missing most of the larger (2 engined) types.  The 1940 edition has lots more advertising for kits (which I've previously uploaded).  I will upload some more of the 1940 versions, but they are more for fun I would say, as in the "worst spitfire plan ever" I uploaded some time ago.  The books were published by Harborough who later published "Aircraft of the Fighting Powers" - I've read the first edition of volume 1 has the similar fat lined drawings but later editions of that first volume are similarly better drafted.

Will

[Balsabasher]

Yes those strange drawings with thick lines,never quite understood why ? the draughting team of O.G.Thetford were mentioned in one issue of the wartime 'Aeromodeller' with a team of women tracers,the seeds were sown for the series of 'Aircraft of the Fighting Powers' with the final volumes of good quality images,I managed to get the last two as reprints when Alan Hall offered them for £5 each,a real bargain.
C.A.H.Pollitt did a fair few rubber flying scale jobs for the Aeromodeller with similar thick lines that you describe Will,I wonder if it was something to do with reproduction techniques at that time ?
Barry.

[dave_t]

I haven't looked into what type of outfit Shea's is yet, but the remark about building 500,000 models refers to the ID model project putting it in the 1942-43 range, so maybe they copied the drawing from Pollitt's book. It is definitely not part of the official model program, but maybe something Shea's put together on their own.

My earlier link changed for some reason. This is the pic-http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_P-40.gif

[lastvautour]

Peter, are we ready to proceed?

Lou

[Peter]

Let the build begin! (Cue the fanfare of trumpets). Photos of the Spitfire will be posted tonight.

[Peter]

Hi Lou,

I have roughed out the fuselage and the wing.

[lastvautour]

Peter, you are well ahead of the curve on this one. Care should be taken when cutting the blocks. When you wrap the drawing around the wood it shortens the length of the block. Looking at your fuselage top you must have noticed that the drawing did not reach all the way to the end. How do you post your pictures? I noticed that a previous post your picture disappeared from the site. If you link your picture from another site and that site somehow deletes the picture it will remove the picture from the SMM post.

For my start, here is the shingle I used to make my parts. It is rough but the grain is not to bad. The blocks were cut out and the fuselage piece glued to get the correct thickness. The rest is just like you have done. I prefer to use a chisel for a lot of my work. I made a bench hook based on one that Dave had shown me. It work wonders in controlling small pieces.

[Peter]

Hi Lou,

I got a jump start on the plane because it will be impossible for me to keep up once real life kicks in (which is in about 10 minutes). The templates were stuck on the wood for the photos only, so far their the right size, of course that may change I might try a chisel this time around and see how it works for me. I have know idea about the disappearing photos?

Peter