Flying Tigers P-40 Movie Prop Restoration

Commission: Restore the original (1942) 1/8th Scale P-40 movie prop from the classic "Flying Tigers" film starring John Wayne.
Client: Les Hemstock
Original Studio: Republic Pictures
Model Builder: Unknown

The prop was probably contracted through Republic Pictures FX Supervisor Lydecker Brothers. I found a small label deep within the fuselage that reads: "Kurry Pattison, 740 Marzella, Los Angeles, CA. 90049." Any info on Kurry Pattison appreciated.

"Flying Tigers" colorized version screenshot of John Wayne's Ship.

Shipping & Arrival

The 64 year old movie prop was crated and then shipped from Southern California to Pacifica. Unfortunately, "CTS" (a sub-contractor for UPS) failed to handle the crates as marked. Alas, the props (and crates) were damaged by being stacked, because the crates were not built well.

Sanding & Structural Repair

Sanding down through 64 years of paint revealed the original AVG P-40 painting theme, along with some wood working techniques that I have never seen until now.

With all of the wings, holes, and cracks repaired, this bird is ready for filler and primer. After hours of work, the mixture of "Acrylic Gesso, Matte Medium, and Lt. Gray color" did not perform well enough to cover the aging paint and cracks in the wood. Therefore, the paint on the top-side of the plane is being stripped down to the wood grain and Miniwax Wood Hardener applied. I had a ton of new and old products to choose from. I decided that the removal of the old lead paint should provide a better restoration for the model and new paint.

Preservation, Filler & Primer

Restorers are faced with one of two choices early on, and that is to "cover" or "remove" age-old surface and paint. As mentioned above, covering was my first choice in order to try and save time and stay on schedule working within the budget. However, after much effort and re-covering/sanding, it became obvious that flakes of old paint buried deep below were still coming off, and cracks were not covering well enough. So I made a decision to remove, and proceeded to sand off 64 years of lead paint. First I sanded as much as I could, and then used Jasco Premium Paint Remover several times over all of the top surfaces, and then sanded the last remaining layers. This revealed a very nice old wood-grain (probably poplar). The wood was nicely aged, but somewhat soft - so I realized that disintegration is occurring in the strength and fiber of the old wood. Therefore I researched wood hardeners on the web, and learned that people were well pleased with Miniwax Wood Hardener. While this succeeded in "petrifying" the wood, and providing a stronger base for the top-coat, it also added to workload and expense because it really clogs sandpaper. Even so, the thought that the aging process has been arrested makes me feel more confident in the overall restoration process. On top of all of this, I always made sure to preserve all of the original artist/model builder's work wherever possible, including most all of the original wing fillets (also made from wood).

Not long afterward, it was time to begin re-covering the surface and structural repairs with Bondo, Wood filler, and Squadron White Putty. Then I proceeded to make a paper-pattern for the canopy, whittle replacement Propellers from basswood stock and mount them.

After the filling and primer was complete on the bottom of the aircraft, I worked the top in the same manner, and then scratch-built the Allison V-1710-39 mufflers and mounted them on the fuselage. Ace Hardware came in handy once again, this time for coming up with a new solution for mounting the propeller assembly because the original hardware had long since vanished. Total project time thus far: over 150 hours! Finally this bird is ready for a scratch-built canopy, and for the final paint-job.