What really needs to be said of the P-40E?  It was the only U.S. fighter at the start of the war with much - if any - hope of successfully opposing enemy fighters.  It was heavy, less maneuverable, and restricted in altitude capability than its opponents.  Yet, if flown by a pilot aware of the airplanes strengths and weaknesses, it could be successful; Erik Shilling told me emphatically that if a pilot kept his speed above 250 m.p.h., that the P-40 could more than hold its own against the Japanese Zero. During the first year of combat following Pearl Harbor, the P-40 stood mostly alone against the Axis onslaught.  Overall, the P-40 series served on all fronts with nearly every Allied air force and was considered “the best second choice.”  P-40s were still in first-line service on the last day of the war as they had been on the first. 

      The Hasegawa 1/32 P-40E has been eagerly awaited by modelers since the first surprise announcement of its release this past April.  The only other 1/32 kit of this famous fighter is from Revell, and is now decidedly long in the tooth, having been first released over 35 years ago.

      On opening the box, a modeler should not be surprised at the thought “I’ve been here before.”  Indeed, the kit is a scale-up of the 1/48 kit, with all that means for overall accuracy, detail, and fit.

      First the bad news: Hasegawa saw fit to try and cut corners by releasing the kit with a windscreen that would be adaptable to later versions.  Unfortunately, they not only screwed the pooch for the P-40E but also for any others, since they managed to mold in a clear vision panel on both sides, rather than only on the left.  Since the framing is also done with engraved rather than raised detail, solving the problem is not easy.  The good news is that if you start with a 400-grit sanding stick, then graduate to a 600-grit stick, then move on to Micro-Mesh pads of 2400, 3200, 4800, 6200 and 12,000-grit, you can over about 20-25 minutes, take the panel lines out of the windscreen and polish it out to the point that after a dip in Future, the old lines cannot be seen.  A pain in the patootie?  You bet.  But not an unsolvable one.

     Having heard from several other modelers that the kit seemed to have fit problems that only magnified by size over those found on the 1/48 kit, I proceeded with some test-fitting, which revealed that the problems are indeed there.  However, with careful fitting - as anyone who did more than one of the 1/48 kits learned - the fit problems can be minimized to the point where an application of cyanoacrylate glue over the seams, followed by careful sanding and a further application of Mr. Surfacer, all these problems will disappear.  Past that, the kit goes together as easily as the smaller one did.

      In fact, I was interested enough in the kit that I proceeded from test-fitting to actual assembly and found that the kit is indeed easy to assemble.  I attached the “modular” parts before proceeding further - left tail half to left forward fuselage half, etc. - which allowed me to work on the joints from inside and out and get it as tight as possible.  I did the fuselage as one completed sub-assembly and the wing as a completed sub-assembly.  There are some issues with the upper wing-to-fuselage join, but nothing that cannot be solved with cyanoacrylate, sanding down, applying Mr. Surfacer and smoothing out.

      The cockpit is detailed enough that only a Resinaholic will need to spend money for an aftermarket set.  A very nice multi-part pilot figure is included.  If you use this figure, you will not need to worry about seat harness.  However, if you choose to keep the cockpit empty, do be aware that the P-40E-1 came out of the factory with U.S. seatbelts and harness, which was not replaced with the Sutton harness until the airplanes were delivered to the RAF or a Commonwealth air force, and even then they were not always flown with Sutton harnesses.  Specifically, the two airplanes for which markings are provided in this kit are known to have had U.S. seatbelts, for which the Eduard multi-part seatbelt set is perfect for adding realism to the final result.

      The kit provides decals with the correct-size national insignia and full stenciling.  Individual markings are for two of the P-40E-1 version - otherwise known as Kittyhawk 1A - both taken on charge for U.S. Forces, with one being the P-40 flown by Ed Rector in the early days of the 23^rd Fighter Group in the summer of 1942, and one being the well-known “Texas Longhorn” flown by Lt. John D. Landers of the 49^th Fighter Group in the Southwest Pacific, also in 1942. 

      With an application of “some modeling skill required,” the final result of assembly is a model that is as nice-looking as the other kits in the Hasegawa 1/32 lineup.

    Overall, if the Ki.61 is the best of the Hasegawa 1/32 kits for ease of assembly without a lot of hassle, and the P-47 is the most fiddly when it comes to getting the engine and cowling to mate with the rest of the fuselage, the new P-40 is closer to the P-47 as regards fit, while it is closer to the Ki.61 as regards completeness of detail and ease of assembly (with the caveat of “some modeling skill required”).  Recommended.

 Thanks to HobbyLink Japan for the review kit.  Get yours at www.hlj.com

June 2008