Landing Gear Doors

Added the landing gear doors to the customized wheel wells, have to be careful when handling the kit now as these parts are delicate.

Motor & Prop

Finally got the motor casing and propeller installed which spins freely. The bottom of the motor casing has a large air intake which allows full view of the kits interior. I used an old camera film plastic bottle that I cut in half, painted black and glued to block this view. This will provide the perception of depth while blocking off the inside.

Vertical Stabalizer

Will be spraying the plane with a transparent sealer soon so I have installed the vertical stabilizer. This plane is now starting to take shape!

Adding Color to the Cockpit

Painted the cockpit interior green and added a black joystick with a red button. I decided to use the kits dashboard cutout instead of painting one to save time and I figure that for the most part it will barely be visible once the cockpit glass frame has been painted.

Masking the Windows

Spent a good hour masking the cockpit in preparations of painting the model. Was a bit nervous using an Exacto on clear plastic but the grooves for the window panels guided the blade fairly well.

Have a Seat...

The plans show how to create a seat but was not satisfied with the head piece so I glued three thin pieces of balsa wood together and sanded it to get a nice rounded part.

Rear Cockpit

The rear cockpit of the P-40 is odd, contains two curved panels which I suspect are used to deflect wind if the window is open. In any case I had to take thin sheets of balsa which I cut using the plans as a template and with the aid of Gorilla Super Glue held them in place until it dried. Then with an Exacto I trimmed the wood to place a flush finish with the air frame.