The P-40 was an evolutionary development from the Curtiss
drawing boards which started with the Model 75. Curtiss' Model
75 created the basic wing and fuselage that would distinguish
this unique family, but equipped with a radial engine, this
prototype would lead to the earlier P-36 Hawk. As engine technology
continued, an Allison V1710 liquid-cooled engine was mounted
on the firewall, and the resulting streamlined cowling led
to the now-familiar P-40 silhouette.
Powered by the 1,000 horsepower Allison V-1710 engine, the
early P-40s were underpowered and combat experience had shown
that the twin .303 and twin .50 caliber machine guns of these
early variants lacked sufficient firepower. Despite this, the
aircraft was so ruggedly designed that in capable hands, the
P-40 could hold its own against the enemy aircraft fielded
in the early stages of World War II.
The P-40M was the next to the last production version
of the Warhawk powered by the later 1,200 horsepower version
of the V-1710. The P-40M was distinquishable with the intake
vents ahead of the exhaust stacks and the longer tail of the
later P-40L. The P-40M was widely distributed to allied air
arms including the USSR and UK Commonwealth.
The Kit
Hasegawa continues to turn out different variants of the Curtiss
P-40 family. We've previously examined the P-40E, P-40K, and
P-40N kits, and this P-40M is the latest out of the chocks
from Hasegawa.
Molded in light gray styrene, this kit is presented on eight
parts trees, plus a single tree of clear parts. You can see
by the layout of some of these trees that these are really
subsets of a larger set of tooling that get gated to mold only
those parts needed for a particular variant.
Like their 1/48
scale tooling, the tail section is rendered separately from
the main fuselage to facilitate the short-tail and round-tail
versions from the previous releases, and the long-tail
replacement for this kit. The gaps in
the wing leading edges are for fillets that have different
numbers of holes for the in-wing machine guns, with the number
of holes corresponding to the variant.
The cockpit is nicely laid out with details molded into the
floor and sidewalls and additional detail parts to complete
the busy look of the front office. Even the hydraulic hand
pump handle is there.
I'm really pleased with the detail in the wheel wells. Eduard
had produced a beautiful photo-etch set for the Revell kit
to represent the stiffeners inside the wheel well that were
absent in the stock Revell kit, but they are done nicely here.
The jury is out for now on how well these various modules
and inserts are all going to fit together and how much putty
will be required to make the aircraft look as if it were a
whole airframe and not a jigsaw puzzle.
The kit does have some really nice details in here including
correct open dove-tailed cowl flaps, separately molded tires
and wheel hubs to make painting much easier, and very nice
main landing gear struts. External stores include a centerline
drop tank or a single bomb suspended on the centerline.
Stepping up this nice offering is a very impressive pilot
figure seated in the cockpit. This isn't your usual two or
three-piece figure, this one is eight pieces and the detailing
here is also very nicely rendered.
The windscreen is molded with the forward deck to eliminate
the usual gap under the windscreen. Any filling or sanding
is done on the portion of the deck that gets painted anyway.
The kit also comes with two canopy sections, each with a slightly
different width. One is tailored to drop onto the canopy rails
for a closed cockpit. The other is designed to properly straddle
the dorsal spine for an open canopy.
Markings
Markings are provided for two aircraft:
P-40M, 44 FS/18 FG, USAAF, Munda, New Georgia Island, 1943
Kittyhawk Mk.III, NZ3072, 14 Sqn, RNZAF, 1943
The decal sheet has a nice selection of airframe maintenance
stencils as well.
Conclusion
This popular tooling from Hasegawa opens
up more options for colorful subjects and aftermarket possibilities.
While I wish the tooling wasn't so modular, but with a little
patience and skill the completed model should show no hint
of the tooling strategy.
