The Airplane

The P-40 family of fighters (Warhawk, Tomahawk, Kittyhawk) are derived from the P-36 Hawk. The first models entering combat were the P-40 B/C Tomahawk and these same versions were exported to China in the early days of the Japanese invasion.

The prototype XP-40 made its first flight on october 14th, 1938. Powered by a liquid cooled, turbocharged, 1.050 HP Allison engine, it could reach 342 MPH at 12.200ft. Deliveries began on july 1940. The P-40 was armed with two cowl-mounted 0.50mm machine guns. The P-40B had two additional 7.7mm machine guns on each wing and first flew in march 1941.

The Curtiss P-40 was the best plane the United States had at the beginning of WWII and despite having reached 366MPH in tests, upon entering combat pilots soon realized it was no match for the better Zero and Bf-109 fighters. They quickly developed tactics to use the P-40s diving capabilities in combat to avoid direct confrontation  with the smaller and more maneuverable japanese and german fighters.

O P-40 was used by Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egipt, Finland, France, Great Britain, Iraq, Italy, New Zealand, Denmark, Norway, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, United States and Soviet Union.

 

 

The kit and Assembly

Manufacturer: Trumpeter
Kit Number: 2807
Model: Curtiss P-40B Warhawk (Tomahawk IIA)
Scale: 1/48

The kit has 3 parts trees, 2 in gray plastic and one in clear. Also in the box is a set of photo-etched parts for the radiator and flaps. Flying surfaces are all separate parts and can be posed to your desire, which gives a more realistic touch. The model has engraved panel lines and (lots of) rivets.

 

 

    

 

  
 

 

The rivets are a separate case because many modelers hate them, saying they are too big and  too much quantity. I particularly liked the effect on the finished model though this is a matter of taste.

 

 

The kit builds very well and fit is good throughout, but some parts benefit from dryfitting to ensure a good placement. The machine gun cover presented a good deal of problems. It was narrower than the fuselage it mounts on so a piece of sprue was used to widen it as i super-glued to the model. The same problem appeared on the wing to fuselage joint and the same technique was used. As a matter of fact, i`ve been using this technique on all the models i built lately, with good results.

  

 

 
 

 

Th instrument panel was a bit weird to me. I comes in 2 parts: one in gray plastic and another in clear plastic. There should be a printed film to sandwich between them but it is not included in the kit. I printed the bezels myself and the results looked good, even though my printer is not that great.

 

 

 

Another litlle problem of the kit is the seat. It is much smaller than it shoudl be so i made a new one. Nothing fancy: a few pieces drawn on a styrene sheet and cut to shape and glued together. I dressed the seat with lead foil straps and photo-etched buckles.

 

 

Painting and Decals

I chose the USAAF ( US Army Air Force ) version with a flag on the rudder. This version allowed me to paint it olive drab. I used Tamiya Acrilics though, in my oppinion it`s not the correct color, looking more to brown than to green than expected. Even son, painting was simple and decals performed well over a gloss coat. They reacted well to Mr. Mark Softer, my choice of softener. A wash and light drybrushing finished another good looking model for your collection.

 

 

Click here to see pictures of the finished model.