Special Hobby P-40D Warhawk/Kittyhawk Mk.I ‘Four Guns’ (SH72367) 1:72

[Mike]

P-40D Warhawk/Kittyhawk Mk.I ‘Four Guns’ (SH72367)

1:72 Special Hobby

 

 

First flying before the outbreak of WWII, the Warhawk was a development of the P-36 Hawk, and although it was never the fastest fighter in the sky, it was a sturdy one that took part in the whole of WWII in American and Allied hands, with large numbers used by Soviet pilots in their battles on the Eastern front.  The various marks garnered different names such as Tomahawk and Kittyhawk, so it can get a mite confusing if you're not familiar with the type.  It was unable to keep pace with the supercharged Bf.109, but was used to great effect in the Far East and Africa, which may have assisted in the feeling that it was a second-string aircraft of inferior design, when this actually wasn't the case – certainly not to the extent inferred.

 

It was robust, cheap to make, and easy to repair, although its high-altitude performance dropped off somewhat.  The early marks were under-armed with just two .50 guns firing through the prop from the top of the engine cowling and a pair of .303s in the wings, but later models benefited from improved armament.  The B model was a revision of  the initial airframe with lessons learned from early production, self-sealing fuel tanks and armour in critical parts of the airframe, although this extra weight did have an impact on performance.  The -D was a partial re-design, eliminating the nose guns, narrowing the fuselage and improving the cockpit layout and canopy.  In British service it was known as the Kittyhawk Mk.I, but only a small number were made before the -E replaced it with a more powerful Allison engine, and an extra pair of .50cl machine guns in the wings bringing the total to six, but even that wasn’t sufficient to let it keep up with the opposition.  It wasn't until the –F model that the Allison engine was replaced by a license built Merlin that gave it better high altitude performance and a sleeker chin.

 

 

The Kit

This is a rebox of a recent tooling from Special Hobby with new parts to depict this variant, and it arrives in a red/white/grey themed top-opening box with a painting of the subject after a brief but successful tangle with an Italian Macchi that has since developed a smoking habit.  Inside the box are two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue that’s separately bagged, a tiny bag of two 3D printed parts, decal sheet with a small fret of PE in the same bag, and the A5 portrait instruction booklet printed on glossy paper in colour.  Detail is good, with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed details around the airframe and a few spare parts that can stay on the sprues, which are marked with a red X on the sprue diagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the pilot’s seat, which is mounted on a frame, then attached to the bulkhead and given a set of four-point decal seatbelts, after which it is set aside for a few steps.  The fuselage sides are fitted with sidewall inserts, with sections further forward painted silver as they form part of the intake pathway, adding the core with three circular intakes inside, and the intake lip in front once the fuselage halves are together.  The rear bulkhead with seat and the instrument panel with two decals for the dials are trapped between the two halves of the fuselage as it is closed, and for one decal option,  the intake on the top of the cowling is shortened and the resultant hole should be filled with styrene strip or your filler of choice.  A small triangular shape on the cockpit side is removed and smoothed over at this stage too.

 

 

Moving on to the wings, the full-span lower has the perimeter around the bay openings painted, as are the side-walls that are glued in the recesses, and the roof that is moulded into the upper wing half.  The cockpit floor is moulded into the centre of the upper wing, and that is also painted the same colour, so quite convenient while you have the paint out.  The control column and another lever are inserted into the floor, then the wings can be joined to the fuselage, taking care not to ping the stick off as you do so.  The wing-mounted machine guns will need some adjustment to correctly match the guns carried by the decal options, with three scrap diagrams showing the mixture of removal and/or addition that you will need to carry out for accuracy’s sake.  The PE sheet will also see some action at this stage too, as it is used in the removal and reinstatement of a panel line in a different place to extend the gun bay panel lines.  The elevators are each a single part that affix with the usual slot and tab method, with a separate rudder that can be posed deflected if you wish.  The exhaust stubs are supplied as three paired inserts per side, and are far too small to drill out unless you have the world’s steadiest hands.

 

There is more adjustment needed under the wing, filling the panel lines and spent brass chutes marked in red, and using another side of the template to scribe new panel lines as marked in blue.  A raised section behind the ejection ports is sanded away and replaced by the 3D printed parts, but the adaptations don’t end there.  There is a choice of two styles of pitot probe, the kit part used for just one, the other three requiring some alteration of the part.  The end is cut away and a new L-shaped section is fabricated according to the measurements given in the scrap diagram, with all options inserted into the port wingtip.  The last option is straight forward and involves selecting open or closed cooling gills behind the radiator housing.  The main gear struts have an additional bracing leg fixed at the top, then the tripod arrangement is inserted into the sockets in the bay, adding the two doors to each side of the bays, and another two with a cross-brace in the tail bay and a single part strut/wheel to complete the undercarriage.  You then have a choice of three loads under the centre of the fuselage, consisting of two types of fuel tank, or a bomb for ground-attack operations.  Each option is made from two halves plus four braces for the fuel tanks, and two for the bomb.  Flipping the model over allows the last step to be completed, fitting the coaming and gunsight into the cockpit and adding the windscreen with optional rear-view mirror, and the two side windows into the scalloped sections behind the canopy, which can be posed open or closed as you like it.

 

 

Markings

There are four options available on the decal sheet, two of which are British desert standard schemes, the other two are out of the ordinary.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• Kittyhawk Mk.I AK578/GA-V, No.112 Sqn. RAF, North Africa, January 1942
• Kittyhawk Mk.I AK51/CV-J, No.3 Sqn. RAF, North Africa, January 1942
• P-40D Warhawk, Captured by the Japanese Army at Malaybalay base, Mindanao Island, Philippines, 1942
• P-40D Warhawk, 79th Pursuit Sqn., 20th Pursuit Group, Hamilton Field, USA, Autumn 1941 in temporary wargames markings.

 

 

 

The decals appear to be printed by the same process that Eduard use, and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film.  It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain.

 

 

Conclusion

The P-40 is an interesting aircraft, and played some important parts in WWII, as evidenced by the number of notable pilots that gained their reputation in this doughty fighter.  This is a well-detailed kit of a short-lived variant, and has some interesting decal options that make it an appealing prospect, bearing in mind that for improved accuracy, you’ll need to make a few minor amendments to the plastic.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of