that accuracy and fit are as good as possible. The casting is first rate, with crisppanel lines (in the right places) and impressive undercut detail inside the complexlower nose intake. The cowl flaps are a surprising omission. The modeller is left tofabricate the cowl flaps from plastic card.

Most of the remaining parts in the new AMtech 1/48-scale P-40F/L arecommon with the AMT P-40 sprues, including a number of redundant parts fordifferent variants. Surface detail is crisply engraved and the kit cockpit detail isadequate. The clear parts are impressively thin and free of distortion, but thecanopy will ride high when in the ‘open’ position. In common with the otherAMT and AMtech P-40s, options include a drop tank and wing-mounted bombs.

Installing the noseLess experienced modellers may choose to ignore the new nose and simplybuild the model using the unmodified fuselage halves, but preparing the plasticparts and installing the resin nose is not too difficult. First, the resin castingplug was cut off with a razor saw. The resin is quite hard, so be prepared tospend more than a few minutes on this task. 53

French P-40F, North Africa, 1/48th

What’s in the AMtech P-40F box?Opening the box of an AMtech 1/48-scale P-40E or P-40F kit might induce afeeling of déjà vu. Yes, we have seen these sprues before – most of them anyway.When AMT stopped producing aircraft models in the late-1990s, they hadalready created the moulds for a P-40E and a long-fuselage P-40F. In commonwith their earlier P-40E, AMtech licensed the use of AMT’s unreleased P-40moulds for their new 1/48-scale P-40F/L Long Tail Warhawk kit.

AMtech’s 1/48-scale P-40F/L Long Tail comprises 65 parts in pale grey styreneand four clear parts, and a large, one-piece resin nose. The shape, detail and panelline arrangement of this all-new resin replacement nose is far more accurate thanthe front of AMT’s plastic fuselage. AMtech has made several revisions to ensure

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P-40F Warhawk of G.C. II/5, flownby Cdt Rozanoff in Tunisia, January1943.

Subject: Lafayette Escadrille French P-40F, North Africa, late-1942

Modeller: Brett Green

Skill level: Advanced

Base kit: AMtech P-40F

Scale: 1/48

Decals: DAM decals set TGR-48102 ‘P-40F/L Warhawk’

Paints: Polly Scale acrylics: Azure Blue, Middle Stone, Dark Earth. The biggest difference between AMtech’s 1/48-scale P-40F andthe mid-1990s release by AMT is the inclusion of a resinreplacement nose. This part is much more accurate in shape and detail than the kit nose.

The small plastic sections assist with alignment when the nose issecured to the plastic fuselage. In this image, the forward fuselagehas been carefully cut off with a razor saw, and the resinsubstitute is being test fitted.

The fit of the resin nose was very good. A little filler eliminated afew tiny gaps, and light sanding completed the successful matingof plastic and resin.

A gap between the wing and fuselage at the upper wing root wasaddressed by taping the wing tips together with a single length ofTamiya masking tape. This forced the gap shut and also set thecorrect dihedral. Liquid glue was used to bond the wing and thefuselage.

The front of the lower wing also requires modification. A square section inthe centre was marked and the cut line was accentuated with a scriber. The areawas removed with a razor saw. Once the wings and fuselage were mated, fourcowl flaps were cut from plastic card and fitted to the lower trailing edges ofthe nose. Remaining construction was the same as for the AMT P-40N.

Painting and markingsThe famous French ‘Lafayette Escadrille’ took charge of a number of P-40Fs in North Africa during late-1942. American ‘Stars and Bars’ and other individual aircraft markings were hastily painted out with a fresh coat of paint,and colourful French markings were applied over the top. The result was a fascinating piebald finish.

Polly Scale acrylics were used for the basic desert camouflage colours ofAzure Blue, Middle Stone and Dark Earth. The disruptive camouflage patternwas masked with thinly rolled ‘sausages’ of Blu Tack. This method of maskingdelivers a hard-edged pattern with just a hint of feathering in places. The areaswhere the US markings had been overpainted were sprayed freehand withoutthe aid of masks for a softer demarcation.

Two coats of Future floor finish were applied by airbrush on the areas to bedecaled. Markings were sourced from DAM Decals 1/48-scale sheet TGR-48102‘P-40F/L Warhawk’. The decals performed flawlessly over the high-gloss finish,including the large tricolour on the rudder. This decal is supplied slightly over-sized, and was trimmed to shape with a new hobby blade once the markings were perfectly dry. The markings were blended with a final coat ofPolly Scale Flat Clear. 55

Markings were sourced from DAMDecals 1/48-scale sheet numberTGR-48102, ‘P-40F/L Warhawk’.They performed flawlessly over thehigh-gloss Future finish. A thin coatof Polly Scale Flat completed thejob.

AMtech’s instructions clearly indicate the cutting lines on the kit fuselage.These were marked with a pencil and two short cuts per side freed the kit readyfor the resin nose. Test-fitting the resin nose to the taped-together fuselage indicated that there would be no serious gaps, but a few steps were evident.Instead of dealing with these steps after assembly, I decided to avoid theproblem by taking a few advance measures. Small pieces of plastic card wereglued to the resin nose under the problem areas. The little plastic tabs weretried in a few different positions before the best result was found, and finalfitting of the nose proved to be free of gaps, steps and ridges. Some minorfilling with Liquid Paper and superglue, followed by sanding and polishing,seamlessly blended the resin and plastic parts.54

The model was painted using PollyScale acrylic paints through a TestorAztek A470 airbrush. Thecamouflage pattern was maskedwith thin sausages of Blu Tack, whilethe ‘over-sprayed’ sections weresprayed freehand.

Future floor finish makes anexcellent gloss coat in preparationfor decals.

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ABOVE Some small details are not supplied with the kit, includingthe fuel dump, whip antenna and gunsight bead. These wereadded from brass wire and scrap plastic.

BELOW The squarer profile of the P-40F’s nose, incorporatingthe Merlin powerplant, is very obvious in this view.