Using Starfighter Decals Aftermarket to Upgrade a Monogram 1/72 Curtiss P-6E
By Matt Bittner
Overview
Many years ago I built the Monogram F4B-4 and F11C-2 using the Starfighter Decals aftermarket items. It was high time I also did that to Monogram's 1/72 Curtiss P-6E. Everything you need to enhance this venerable kit is catered to by Starfighter Decals and utilizing these parts can really make these older Monogram kits really shine.
The Build
I actually started this upgrade many years ago, and it was only in 2024 I decided to bring it to final completion. I utilized the following Starfighter Decals aftermarket parts, unfortunately the decals are no longer available:
Starfighter Decals 1/72 Curtiss P-6E Part 2 Decals
Starfighter Decals 1/72 Monogram P-6E EZ Rigging
Starfighter 1/72 Curtiss P-6E Cockpit
Naturally construction starts in the cockpit so follow Starfighter's instructions closely. You'll need to remove some items from this area before working on the resin replacement bits. Also pay attention to the measurements to place all the pieces correctly. Do this and everything will work out in the end. I sprayed my cockpit with Vallejo Metal Color Aluminum then used various washes and dry brushing to bring out the details.
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Now that the cockpit was painted and installed in one fuselage half I could glue the halves together. Thankfully there were no major gaps until I added the upper nose piece. Remember to take care during assembly because the center struts are molded with the fuselage halves and could be broken off if not careful. I hollowed out the intake at the front of the upper nose piece before gluing it down, and I tried hollowing out the exhausts; that was not easy and I don't think I got them all, but it's difficult to tell. There were some gaps with the upper nose piece and those were taken care of.
The intake on the fuselage underside is its own piece, and this is where most of my trouble lay. First, the back-side of the channel is hollow and does not look prototypical; thankfully, Starfighter includes a piece on its photoetch set to put into this place to stop the "hollow feeling" of the kit part. But take your time while fitting this piece and do lots of dry-fits. I still ended up having to fill a couple of places where the photoetch piece met the plastic of the kit part. Once the photoetch was in/on, then I had difficulty blending the part in to the rest of the fuselage and more putty was needed. Eventually I was able to get it so it looked acceptable.
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There is a photo of the plane I modeled in the Squadron In Action book on Curtiss biplanes. In that photo you can see there was a venturi tube mounted on the starboard fuselage just below and in front of the cockpit. I drilled a hole to accept an aftermarket venturi I had from Croco Models.
Now it was time to add the lower wing and again, some gaps were present. In addition the stabs and rudder were also glued on - filling gaps as needed - but after holes were drilled for the control horns in both parts (which were supplied by Steelwork Models). Once the gaps were taken care of, the plane was finally ready for a primer coat of Stylnrez white. While I used Vallejo OD for the main fuselage color, I went down the rabbit hole of finding the right acrylic alternative for Tamiya "rattle can" Camel Yellow for the flying surfaces, as that paint is (was) the best to represent USAAC yellow. It was definitely a good time time stall on this project because eventually Vallejo re-did their Game Air line and came out with a line of yellows and one in particular - Moon Yellow (I think) - matches Tamiya Camel Yellow almost perfectly; good enough for scale modeling.
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Once all painting was accomplished then it was time to apply a coat of Quick Shine, prior to adding the decals. The Starfighter Decals went down extremely well and I had no issues with them at all. Having the said photo in the In Action book helped with fuselage-decals placement. Once the decals were down and dry, then another coat of Quick Shine was applied, prior to a small amount of weathering. These US 'tweeners were pretty clean so I definitely kept the weathering to a minimum. The control horns were attached to the tail then .005 stainless steel wire was used for the control wires, as Starfighter doesn't include those on their photoetch set. Then the Starfighter photoetch rigging was added, but each piece was dry fit to their areas and adjusted accordingly. Once all rigging was on the model was then sprayed with Vallejo satin.
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One note: the back of a lot of USAAC 'tweeners was mauve so an appropriate Vallejo color was used.
Conclusion
These older Monogram kits should not be ignored. With their fuselage molded-on center struts makes adding the upper wing super easy. With the addition of all the Starfighter Decals aftermarket, you can have some great looking US 'tweeners on your shelf. I have a few more Monogram/Accurate Miniature (same kit) P-6Es to build, along with two Olimp kits and I hope to get to those in the future. There are a lot of great markings still to use on the Starfighter Decals decal sheets.
Huge thanks to Starfighter Decals for all the aftermarket goodies.