Ignoring the older releases from Monogram and Revell, there are two modern short run kits of the P-36 Hawk 75 family, one from AML the other from the MPM group (Azur, Special Hobby). They are very close in size but details differ widely.
Same kit as above with only one engine and cowling. SMAKR has a review of this kit.
Cheap and inaccurate. Direct to the spares box.
Detailed interior. Typical short run kit. Lots of work ahead. I have not checked accuracy. The side windows are not provided, you are expected to cut them out of a piece of clear plastic. This is bad since that window is curved not flat. I plan to do an AVG plane with this model.
This kit comes in multiple flavors. This kit represents the -C version used by the RAF in the desert. I have not studied the kit in detail but it should be interesting compared to the Pavla model. The side windows are correct on this one. This one is marked to be RAF in the desert.
Pros
Finely detailed
Good interior
Cons
Ventilation hole in wing root missing
Canopy is wrong in shape and framing. It is too high and the windscreen angle is too vertical when viewed from the side. The angle should be about 30 degrees from the engine deck. The kit has it closer to 45 degrees. I used the Airfix canopy: the framing is also wrong but the windshield angle is right.
Fuselage is too high behind the canopy.
RAF pitot has to be scratched (crank type)
In hindsight, if you're willing to add an aftermarket interior, the Hasegawa P-40's look to be more accurate.
Click here for the SMAKR review of this kit
Pros
Pilot figure
Accurate shape
Good canopy
Cheap (under 5 USD)
Markings for 112 Squadron (Egypt 1942) and 77 Squadron RAAF (Australia 1942)
Cons
raised panel lines
Studded with rivets
The kit is completely outclassed by more modern offerings. I bought it for the pilot and the desert sharkmouth RAF markings. GA-Y was flown by Clive Caldwell. (You can also build his P-40C, Spitfire Vc, and Spitfire VIII). The accurate canopy was a pleasant surprise when I encountered issues with the Academy kit.
The RAAF 77 Squadron machine flown by Dick Cresswell is also depicted by Academy. It sports a beautiful 4 flag marking on the port side of the nose, which is poorly rendered in decal form (kit decals have hard colors and fall down on shaded markings). Follow this link for an analysis of the markings of this plane on Hyperscale. Both Airfix and Academy have missed the squadron leader flag on the starboard side. I sure hope PynUp do a 1/72 version of their 1/48 sheet.
Click here for a more complete SMAKR review of this kit
This is an early MPM production. I
stumbled upon it by chance in a local hobby store. I didn't even know they had
one. The kit is typical short run with thick details, tree-sized
sprues ,barely noticeably engraved panel lines and a vacform canopy (just one, no backup). On the other hand it does come with a beautiful resin interior, a photo-etch fret and a printed film instrument panel backing for the dials. Markings are provided for "Dammit" a US P-40F-5 in Operation Torch with yellow-bordered stars and US flags and a US P-40L (4 guns) from 316 Squadron in Foggia, 1943. The L version is a 4 gun machine. According to Details and Scale only the 2 inboard guns need to be sanded off, the wing panels remaining the same as for the 6-gun version. It looks pretty accurate. This link
shows that you could easily marry the typical Merlin engine front to
a standard P-40N from Academy or Hasegawa. Marking are for an F
during Operation Torch and a L in 1943.
Click here for kit instructions.
I need to verify if this is a reboxing of the older MPM production. This is a new molding. It has nothing in common with the MPM kit. It is made entirely from injected plastic, including the canopy. HyperScale have an online review of this kit.
This kit definitely supersedes the early MPM release. It includes both the long and short fuselages and holds enough parts for two models (one long, one short). Is it a great value for money as it is about 150% of the price of the single kits. I have not yet checked the kit for accuracy. Aeroscale has a review of this kit.
Same basic P-40F kit with long fuselage and USAAC Guadalcanal markings. Will look good next to a Marine Wildcat.
Despite the bare interior I find the Hasegawa P-40's more accurate than the more recent Academy models. My main gripe with this kit is the cream colored US markings. I suppose Hasegawa's way to prevent decal yellowing is to provide them already yellowed. There are several previews and build reviews online:
This kit is more recent and better detailed than Hasegawa's offering. It also allows the M version to be built. Like the Academy P-40E, the windscreen's angle is too vertical and the rear spine too high. Hasegawa wins out in accuracy. SMAKR has a review of this kit and here is a Youtube video.
The Airacobra model is is as popular as its original. The Academy P-39 is pretty much the only one on the market in this scale. I haven't examined it much. There is a throttle on each door, another case of “what were they thinking?”. Decals are provided for a white-tailed P-39Q from a USAAF TRS unit in New Guinea in 1944 (did the US still use P-39's that late!!) and a Soviet P-39N with overpainted US markings. The Russians did well with the Airacobra as its heavy armament and low altitude capabilities were well suited to that theater. Academy released the same kit with Russian Aces markings in 2005. I used some of the stars on my La-5FN. They are very thick and do not stick well. When I removed the very visible carrier film between the stars, these started falling off!
Here are some cool reviews of this model:
Very good level of detail but some major shape flaws. Not worth the price/effort of correcting (wings, tail, engine...)
Pros
Good cockpit
Cheap and easy to find
Cons
Wings are too narrow by a couple mm
Tail is too narrow. Fin is missing 3mm in height.
Engine too small and low on details
Guns line up with wing. They should be horizontal, in a line parallel to the ground. Cut them off, drill new holes, add new gun tubes form plastic rod. The originals are much too thick anyway.
Undersize details (vents, exhausts, etc)
Misplaced panel lines
Stiff decals (half a bottle of micro-sol needed to get the checkerboards to settle)
Same as above with new fuselage. The transparent canopy has incorrect framing. It should be deeper around the middle part of the canopy.
Superseded by Tamiya kits
This kit has received rave reviews but I find it as bad or worse than the Academy kits.
Pros
Very good level of detail (engine and cockpit)
includes dorsal strake for D30 and later versions
Cons
Too long by 4mm (just forward of the tailwheel door, according to my reference drawings)
Belly too deep by 3mm just forward of the wing.
Shape flaws very hard to correct
WingMasters reports that the French decals are incorrect, the roundels and rudder tricolor being too small
I couldn't resist buying the Tamiya Thunderbolt to act as judge between Revell and Academy. The verdict is in: if Tamiya is reckoned to be accurate, then Academy is a close second. The two kits match well, wing and fuselage, with Tamiya having a better larger rudder.
I couldn't resist buying the Tamiya Thunderbolt to act as judge between Revell and Academy. The verdict is in: if Tamiya is reckoned to be accurate, then Academy is a close second. The two kits match well, wing and fuselage, with Tamiya having a better larger rudder.
I couldn't resist buying the Tamiya Thunderbolt to act as judge between Revell and Academy. The verdict is in: if Tamiya is reckoned to be accurate, then Academy is a close second. The two kits match well, wing and fuselage, with Tamiya having a better larger rudder.
This kit is in the same vein as the P-40B/C. It sells for under $5.00 and delivers comparable value. It is wildly inaccurate. If you map it to a drawing only the starting reference point will match. Panel lines are pure fantasy. The interior is a black hole. Yet when built, it looks like a Wildcat. This was my first attempt at airbrushing and I have kept it in my collection despite all its flaws.
If you exclude the preceding toy, Hasegawa Wildcats are the only game in town. The same kit comes in multiple flavors, with different props and cowls. Overall the kit is accurate with the usual Hasegawa quality. The interior could be beefed up with the True Details resin interior, which also include the wheel wells. The one major issue is that the wings are only for a -4. You need to fill the wing fold line for a - 3 and remove the outboard guns and related panel lines. For the FM-1/Wildcat V just remove the guns. The kit also comes as a Royal Navy Martlet III F4F3A used over the Lybian desert. The cowl flaps need to be rescribed for this version, and it is explained in the instructions. Quickboost sell a replacement fixed wing for the F4F-3.
This kit broke a record when it came out in 2005: the first 1/72 single seat fighter to sell for more than 42 US dollars!!! I got it on sale online for less than 20. I have not opened it yet. It is not high on my list.
VF-17 on the USS Hornet
This is a pretty good kit of the Hellcat with some correctable flaws.
Pros
Choice of bombs and rockets
Correct outline
Cons
Tricolor lights missing on fuselage bottom
Most plans show the engine clearly tilted towards the bottom in side views. The kit engine does not.
The 4 kits have obviously been designed together as a lot of the sprues are shared. Unfortunately Italeri has made a mess of it as indicated in the table below:
|
Model |
Features |
1/72 Model |
Correction |
|---|---|---|---|
|
F4U-4b |
chin jowl under cowling |
OK |
F4U-4 model fuselage is good |
|
4 staggered stub rocket launchers under each wing |
wings with 5 launchers |
use F4U-5 model wings if you don't care about the fabric ridge pattern on the outer panels. Otherwise build as F4U-4 with 6 .50 MGs using wings from a F4U-1d (Tamiya ?) |
|
|
fabric wing (same as F4U-1s) with 2 20mm cannon |
metal wing |
||
|
elevators with round access panels, asymmetrical panels top on left, bottom on right |
OK |
||
|
F4U-5 |
2 cheek jowls under cowling |
OK |
|
|
lengthened fuselage with raised cockpit |
fuselage too short by 1/8in just fore of the wing |
use longer fuselage from F4U-7 box and modify exhaust (should be 1 frame higher)or scratch : no easy choices |
|
|
higher canopy with a sill |
OK |
||
|
4 staggered stub rocket launchers under each wing |
OK |
||
|
all metal wings |
OK |
||
|
elevators without access panels, redesigned actuators |
F4U-4 elevators |
fill in round panels |
|
|
redesigned tail gear doors (flush with fuselage when closed, no opening, goes all the way to tail cone) |
wrong F4U-1 type tail gear doors |
modify tail gear doors |
|
|
F4U-5N |
same as F4U-5 plus radome on right wing, shielded cannon, exhaust shields |
same as F4U-5 |
same as F4U-5 |
|
F4U-6 (AU-1) |
2 closed cheek jowls under cowling |
OK |
|
|
lengthened fuselage with raised cockpit |
OK |
||
|
higher canopy with a sill |
OK |
||
|
5 full length rocket launchers under each wing |
OK |
||
|
all metal wings |
OK |
||
|
elevators without access panels, redesigned actuators |
F4U-4 elevators |
fill in round panels |
|
|
redesigned tail gear doors (flush with fuselage when closed, no opening, goes all the way to tail cone) |
wrong F4U-1 type tail gear doors |
modify tail gear doors |
|
|
F4U-7 |
chin jowl under cowling (F4U-4 engine) |
OK |
|
|
lengthened fuselage with raised cockpit |
OK |
||
|
higher canopy with a sill |
OK |
||
|
5 full length rocket launchers under each wing |
OK |
||
|
all metal wings |
OK |
||
|
elevators without access panels, redesigned actuators |
F4U-4 elevators |
fill in round panels |
|
|
redesigned tail gear doors (flush with fuselage when closed, no opening, goes all the way to tail cone) |
wrong F4U-1 type tail gear doors |
modify tail gear doors |
Other comments
All late corsairs have 4 blade Hamilton paddle props. The ones in the kit are too skinny. Use spare ones (from P47) or buy Aeroclub spares if you care.
The new wings on the -5 and later have single blue landing lights on each wing, instead of the earlier tricolor.
The exhausts look funny on all kits. I left them off my F4U-7 as they protruded too much. The kits all show closed cowling vents so the exhausts should be almost flush.
The canopies are very thick: they have a magnifying glass effect.
The engraving is a bit on the thick side. It's OK after painting.
Color scheme is Glossy sea blue
for everyone! I sprayed a coat of flat to tone down the sheen. They
look like toys otherwise at this scale.
Argentinean F4U-5s were
gray and white in the early 60's.
If you include a pilot for a Korean war or later period, make sure he has a crash helmet, not the WWII leather or cloth types!
There is conflicting doc on whether the F4U7 had the lengthened fuselage. It looks from photos that they had but Detail and Scale claims the contrary.
References
F4U Corsair In Detail & Scale Part 2 (ssp8256): great references series, a boon or a bane for the modeler as no model can live up to the close-up they provide.