June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

[No.1]

Your work is nice mate Is there possible that any primer color is used on interior, like green or yellow?

[Second Air Force]

I see some scratchbuild in cockpit,or my eyes deceive me!??
Will be more?
Good progress...Slow,but it goes forward!

Sall,
You're right, there are a few extra parts I've added and there will be some more to fabricate.

No.1,
I'm pretty certain the particular airplane I'm replicating had the aluminum interior color. I'm still studying a couple of relevant photographs that may show some zinc chromate used on parts of the structure in the cockpit.

There are differing opinions about what color the P-36 series cockpits were. The USAAC standard at the time was the alu lacquer and the first French order was aluminum also. I've seen mention made of zinc chromate, interior green, and even grey specified by some of the export customers.

[No.1]

Thank you mate for info, I also lack info about this.

[Second Air Force]

Here is a nice set of photos of the fixed-gear 75 in the Royal Thai Museum:
http://scalemodels.ru/modules/photo/viewcat.php?cid=533&orderby=date
This airplane has a green interior, with beautiful photos here:
http://109lair.hobbyvista.com/DETAILSITE/dsindex800.htm

I'm still not entirely, 100%, positive that mine is supposed to be alu, and I'm going to be doing more research before I continue the cockpit.

[Second Air Force]

Another update--I'm now pretty sure my project should have some form of interior green/zinc chromate interior........research on the internet is great when one is very patient!

[Second Air Force]

I decided to go with the interior green after further research.

June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

I also read some reviews of the Hobbycraft kit and found that the dihedral issue is fairly common. Some kits have the problem and some do not, maybe because of the stacking of parts trees in the kit. It certainly shouldn't deter anyone from building one--the dihedral is pretty easy to fix if your kit has a "flat" wing.

[draken35]

I agree with the dyhedral problem: it's an easy fix. I made such a correction with the upper wing of a Fokker D.VII from Dragon, some years ago...

[Second Air Force]

A very quick update but no time for photos--if you're going to build one of these Hobbycraft/MustHave! kits, don't forget to add the fuel tank just aft of the cockpit. It's quite visible through the oval opening behind the seat. Quite easy to scratchbuild one from sheet plastic, though......

[No.1]

Good point about the tank I will try to find somewhere kit to join your build...

[draken35]

Thanks for the info, Scott!

[Second Air Force]

Here's how I scratched together the oval aft fuel tank. All it takes is a rectangle of .010 styrene and a semi-oval shaped stiffener for inside the rolled sheet.

June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

After you build the front face of the tank it'll look like this glued onto the bulkhead. This bulkhead is a scratchbuilt piece for one of my old Monogram Tomahawk projects.

June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

The final step is to paint the tank and add two mounting straps to the face. I used bare aluminum on this tank but they could also have been the same color as the tank--check your references for more details......

June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

My "Curtiss Assembly Line".

June Group Build--Curtiss Hawk 75

[No.1]

Great work in plastic mate What is the P-40 kits, which manufacturer, look like Monogram?

[draken35]

Nice scratchbuild work!

[Second Air Force]

Thanks on the scratchbuilding comment, but I almost made an error in that respect. I had originally made a flat plate to represent the tank but then realized after looking at the Thai Museum airplane that the tank is oval. An addition that might be nice, but not really visible, would be to extend the "floor" behind the aft bulkhead. That tank sits on a cradle that is part of the wing center section.

Those P-40B/C projects are the old Monogram kits. I've always liked that model and have plans to build both of them soon. In fact, I borrowed the landing gear legs, wheels, and tires from one of the kits shown for the Hawk Build. I'll find a spare set in the parts boxes to replace them later!

[No.1]

Definitely nice Curtiss family in your glass case one day