By 1937 it became obvious to the US Army Air Corps that its’s stable of Pursuit aircraft, the P-35 and 36, were not up to par with new types being developed in Europe by Supermarine and Messerschmidt. The Curtiss design team began the project to install the 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 in the P-36 airframe. The initial attempt resulted in the XP-37. The design included a turbosupercharger and the cockpit moved back near the fin for balance. Problems with the supercharger system and poor pilot visibility doomed the design. But it’s demonstrated performance was encouraging. Further re-design eliminated the turbosupercharger and placed the cockpit back in a more conventional position. The new design was designated XP-40.  Elimination of the turbosupercharger meant the XP-37, though troublesome, outperformed the XP-40 at altitude. Like its stablemate the P-39 which suffered a similar fate, this would forestall any chance of the new types being competitive with their European contemporaries above 15,000 feet.  The first production model was the P-40-CU which flew for the first time in April 1940. There were no YP service test aircraft built as the airframe was already well proven. The first 3 production aircraft were utilized for operational evaluation. Initial deliveries were to the 8th, 20th, 31st and 35th Pursuit Groups. The CU was powered by the Allison V-1710-33 rated at 1,040 hp giving a top speed of 357 mph. Initial armament of two cowl mounted .50 cal. machineguns was soon upgraded with two wing-mounted .30s. 200 P-40-CUs were delivered by October 1940 at which time production converted to the more combat capable, though heavier and slower, P-40B.

 I was in high school when the then state of the modeling art P-40B was introduced by Monogram to much fanfare. To a boy enamored by the shark mouthed fighters of the Flying Tigers it was heaven.  Built a lot of those kits over the years but looked forward to a modern replacement. However, it seems all the attempts by various manufacturers to provide an updated P-40B kit have missed the mark in one way or another. The Airfix attempt in 2015 finally got it right for dimensional accuracy.  Engraving is top notch, convincing fabric covered controls, and a great cockpit.  Four parts are used to make the under-nose radiator assembly which is the most realistic I have seen for this airplane type. You get both square and round back seats and two different canopy types (with or without rearview mirror). There are parts for open or closed cowl flaps. Landing gear is well represented and includes parts for extended or retracted gear. You get both short and the earlier long MG blast tubes and the two types of pitots.  This allows one to build (with minor panel line filling) any of the early P-40 types including export models. The only thing I question about the kit is making some of the structure in separate pieces such as cowl panels and those bulges on the wing leading edges housing the landing gear mechanism. Unnecessary complication in my eyes. Decals are for R.T. Smith’s 3rd Squadron AVG aircraft and that flown by Welch during the Pearl Harbor attack. Decals are well printed and include stenciling.  Clear parts are excellent; clear, thin, and well-defined framing. There are two windscreens (one with rearview mirror) and two canopies for open or closed option. The quarter panels have the holes for the fuel and oil filler caps.  The armored glass panel for behind the windscreen is well done. There is also a clear landing light lens.  The six-page Instruction book comprises 51 easy-to-follow drawings and full color 3-view painting and decal guides.  Painting references are for Humbrol Paints and give only the product number for those paints.  There is no generic color reference. There is one glaring omission to note here.  There is no mention of the clear landing light lens (part 08).  Also, there is no hole in the wing to receive this part, inexplicable.

 After reading the other build articles for this kit in Modeling Madness (much recommended) I began the project anticipating a near Hasegawa like build experience. But alas, this turned out not to be the case. I had read about close fit tolerances, and this is true.  Scrape the sprue attachment points well.  The slightest blemish on mating surfaces can cause fit problems. Pay attention to this and test fit, and you should not have any problems. The well-appointed cockpit built up nicely. Interior colors are yellow Zinc Chromate with the cockpit having (according to recognized expert Tom Cleaver) a black tint to this color. Make sure you use the right seat option for your build. No seatbelts are provided so I added PE lap belts. As I was building the early CU there is no shoulder harness. The completed assembly is attached to a fuselage half along with the four-part radiator assembly. I second Cleaver’s opinion to attach the cowl panels before closing the fuselage, it’s easier. The fuselage mated well but required some rubber band clamping to set up with no gaps. No filler was required here needing just minor seam scraping. Next was the unique wing root fillets. The one-piece lower wing half has a nice wheel well insert and glues to the fuselage before mating the upper wing halves. So, I had fit issues with my wings. No one else in the build articles I have read seemed to have this issue. On mine the rear of the lower wing just didn’t want to mate to the fuselage properly. I had to file it down some then clamp it tightly with my fingers until the glue set to get a decent fit. Try as I might to align the upper wing halves, I had to settle for noticeable gaps at the wing roots. The biggest issue with my kit were those separate landing gear knuckles on the wing leading edge. They glue to a pin on the gear well for alignment. Mine would not mate properly to the point I wound up cutting off the pins and had to do some filing on the mounting point. This and the wing gaps required filler on my kit. Next were the stabilizers and separate elevators. I opted for the open cowl flaps to show off that detailed radiator assembly. I consulted a 3-view drawing in Squadron Signal’s P-40 Warhawk in Action for placement of the landing light lens. A 5/32 drill bit proved to be the correct size for the hole. I halted construction at this point for painting.

Shark mouthed P-40Bs are the coolest and one of my all-time favorites.  I am a big AVG fan. Six AVG and a 112 Squadron P-40 currently reside in my collection. I fought the urge to add another and opted for something different for a change. So, how about a natural metal finish early P-40? Don’t see that every day. Some research led me to one of the few early production P-40s in NMF and to Iliad Designs Early P-40s and Tomahawks decal sheet. One of the options on this sheet is P-40-CU s/n 39-160 assigned to the Air Corps Technical Command’s 10th Air Base Squadron in 1940 for evaluation. Knowing that NMF highlights the least flaw and seam, I carefully sanded my filler areas and fuselage seams. I then sprayed a coat of Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. The primer revealed areas requiring further work. That dealt with I then sprayed a coat of AV Model Air Metallic Aluminum 71.062. When dry I inspected the finish and as expected the silver showed minor flaws needing attention. More filling, sanding, and panel line scribing. Then final sanding all over with 6000 grit paper. I then re-sprayed the Aluminum. After curing for a couple days, fabric control surfaces and cowl panels over the exhaust area were masked with Tamiya tape and sprayed Mission Models Duraluminum for contrast. The anti-glare panel was masked and sprayed Tamiya X-1.  The canopy was masked with Tamiya tape and the framework sprayed black first then the Aluminum along with the spinner, gear doors, and wheel hubs. The one-piece prop was painted Tamiya X-1 Black and the tires flat black. Gear struts were brush painted Testor’s Flat Aluminum. The MG blast tubes were picked out with silver. Canvas covers in the gear wells I painted O.D. as all the canvas I ever saw in the Army was that color.

The smooth metallic paint did not need to be clear coated for decals.  The Iliad Designs decals are good quality though a bit delicate and don’t like to be fiddled with too much. However, I was disappointed with this sheet. Biggest problem is the rudder stripe decals.  Both decals are left side, no right side so unusable. Also, they are a little bit out of scale in that the US star insignia and US ARMY are a tad oversized.  Had to fish in the big box of stuff for replacements.  Luckily, I came up with some, Trumpeter, I think.  So, the only decals used from the Illiad sheet are the squadron codes and unit insignia.

The nicely done exhausts were attached.  Next was the canopy parts which fit great with no filler needed.  The landing gear is well detailed, assembles easily, and provides a solid structure. I attached the landing light lens and the early style pitot and it was done. I passed on antenna wires.

 So, not exactly Tamigawa assembly wise. But the only real problems were the landing light and minor wing fit issues. The finished product looks amazing.  Easily the pride of my P-40 collection. Assembly issues were no more than one runs into with most model kits.  Even beginners should be able to get through these. Highly recommended.

Squadron Signal P-40 Warhawk In Action, Richard S. Dann.  Model Airplane International Volume 12 Issue 138 January 2017, kit build article.  The internet.