In Box Review of AMT-Ertl 1/48th Scale
U.S. Curtiss P-40E "Warhawk"
Kit no. 8879
By Ray Mehlberger
OUT OF PRODUCTION
Copyright 1990
I paid a whopping $4.25 for my kit in the 90's.
By Ray Mehlberger
OUT OF PRODUCTION
Copyright 1990
I paid a whopping $4.25 for my kit in the 90's.
HISTORY:
The Curtiss P-40 was one of the most widely used American fighters in WWII. Earlier models called "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks" by the British served in Libya, on the Russian front, and in China with the American Volunteer Group or AVG, better known as the "Flying Tigers".
The Warhawk was the first U.S. aircraft to be equipped with the British Merlin engine, replacing the Allison in earlier models. It was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane, and together with the Bell P-39 Airacobra, made up more than half of the U.S. Army Air Corps fighter strength during the first half of the war.
In fact, the only American fighters that were able to take-off during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were 2 brand-new P-40's.
Lieutenant's George Welch and Ken Taylor raced as fast as they could to the small Army airstrip at Haleiwa, which for some strange reason was the only field the Japanese had missed in their sweepin attack.
In short order, their P-40's were airborne and the two young officers brought the fight to the enemy. They landed several times to refuel and rearm and before the day was over, each had shot down 4 Japanese aircraft.
The Curtiss fighter immediately preceding the P-40 was the P-36 Hawk. Basically, the P-40 was an improved P-36 with an inline engine instead of the earlier models' radial engine. The first P-40 was built on the 10th production frame of the P-36 Hawk under and Air Corps contract issued in July 1938. It is interesting to note that before the U.S. had entered the war, an Allied P-36 Hawk was the first fighter to shoot down a German aircraft.
The P-40 Warhawk, of which 2,320 were built, was the first large scale production model. It was similar to the D model, but with 2 additional 50 calibre machine guns, and it was superior to the B.
Strangely, the P-40 was a rather inferior fighter. Its performance and technology were not up to the standards of its counterparts. It was for this reason that Gen. Claire Lee Chennault was able to acquire for his Flying Tigers their first P-40's, which had been turned down by the British.
Later, the AVG wouldn't trade their P-40's for RAF Hurricanes. Chennault, a fighter pilot and brilliant tactician, taught his Tigers how to use the strength of their P-40's (with the familiar tiger shark teeth on their noses) against the weakness of the superior Japanese Zeros.
"Hit hard, go in with full power, everything to the fire wall, but when you've made that attack with all determination, break away and get out. Go down with all speed you have, for the heavy P-40 will take much more than the light Zero before you have to pull out, and when you do, you'll be out in front and can use the excess speed to climb back above the enemy formation. Then, and only then must you think of coming back, and then only when you've studied the new situation and found your opening. Yes, with this ship you've heard talked down by lots of people who've never flown it and never will, you can beat the Japs. Beat them and stay alive if you use the good points of your ship".
That they did against odds of 10 to 1, and as the commander of the China-Burma-India Theater, Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell said "given anything like near equality of numbers, the P-40 would shoot down 12 enemy planes to every P-40 lost".
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter aircraft
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Curtiss-Wright Corporation
First flight: 14 October 1938
Retired: Brazilian Air Force (1958)
Primary users: United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced: 1939–1944
Number built: 13,738
Unit cost: U.S. $44,892 in 1944
Developed from: Curtiss P-36 Hawk
Variants: Curtiss XP-46
The Curtiss P-40 was one of the most widely used American fighters in WWII. Earlier models called "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks" by the British served in Libya, on the Russian front, and in China with the American Volunteer Group or AVG, better known as the "Flying Tigers".
The Warhawk was the first U.S. aircraft to be equipped with the British Merlin engine, replacing the Allison in earlier models. It was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane, and together with the Bell P-39 Airacobra, made up more than half of the U.S. Army Air Corps fighter strength during the first half of the war.
In fact, the only American fighters that were able to take-off during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were 2 brand-new P-40's.
Lieutenant's George Welch and Ken Taylor raced as fast as they could to the small Army airstrip at Haleiwa, which for some strange reason was the only field the Japanese had missed in their sweepin attack.
In short order, their P-40's were airborne and the two young officers brought the fight to the enemy. They landed several times to refuel and rearm and before the day was over, each had shot down 4 Japanese aircraft.
The Curtiss fighter immediately preceding the P-40 was the P-36 Hawk. Basically, the P-40 was an improved P-36 with an inline engine instead of the earlier models' radial engine. The first P-40 was built on the 10th production frame of the P-36 Hawk under and Air Corps contract issued in July 1938. It is interesting to note that before the U.S. had entered the war, an Allied P-36 Hawk was the first fighter to shoot down a German aircraft.
The P-40 Warhawk, of which 2,320 were built, was the first large scale production model. It was similar to the D model, but with 2 additional 50 calibre machine guns, and it was superior to the B.
Strangely, the P-40 was a rather inferior fighter. Its performance and technology were not up to the standards of its counterparts. It was for this reason that Gen. Claire Lee Chennault was able to acquire for his Flying Tigers their first P-40's, which had been turned down by the British.
Later, the AVG wouldn't trade their P-40's for RAF Hurricanes. Chennault, a fighter pilot and brilliant tactician, taught his Tigers how to use the strength of their P-40's (with the familiar tiger shark teeth on their noses) against the weakness of the superior Japanese Zeros.
"Hit hard, go in with full power, everything to the fire wall, but when you've made that attack with all determination, break away and get out. Go down with all speed you have, for the heavy P-40 will take much more than the light Zero before you have to pull out, and when you do, you'll be out in front and can use the excess speed to climb back above the enemy formation. Then, and only then must you think of coming back, and then only when you've studied the new situation and found your opening. Yes, with this ship you've heard talked down by lots of people who've never flown it and never will, you can beat the Japs. Beat them and stay alive if you use the good points of your ship".
That they did against odds of 10 to 1, and as the commander of the China-Burma-India Theater, Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell said "given anything like near equality of numbers, the P-40 would shoot down 12 enemy planes to every P-40 lost".
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Fighter aircraft
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Curtiss-Wright Corporation
First flight: 14 October 1938
Retired: Brazilian Air Force (1958)
Primary users: United States Army Air Forces, Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced: 1939–1944
Number built: 13,738
Unit cost: U.S. $44,892 in 1944
Developed from: Curtiss P-36 Hawk
Variants: Curtiss XP-46
THE KIT:
Aluminum Model Toys, commonly abbreviated as AMT, was a Troy, Michigan-based company that manufactured various pre-assembled plastic promotional models starting in 1948, when attorney West Gallogly, Sr. started it as a side business.
In 1983 AMT was purchased by Ertl from Lesney and renamed AMT-Ertl. AMT-Ertl then had a twenty-four year relationship until AMT was sold in 2007. For a time, AMT kits were reissued by independent companies such as Stevens International and Model King, before AMT came solidly into the stable of Round 2, LLC of South Bend, Indiana. In an ironic turn that parallels other large companies, AMT now co-exists in the same organization alongside a revived MPC and Polar Lights. Ertl is still in the Round 2, LLC stable as Ertl Collectibles.
Ertl Company:
Industry: Die-cast toys and scale models
Founded: 1945; 74 years ago
Location: Was once in Dyersville, Iowa, U.S.
Founder: Fred Ertl, Sr.
The Ertl Company was an American toy company best known for its die-cast metal alloy collectible replicas (or scale models) of farm equipment and vehicles. The company is based in Dyersville, Iowa, home of the National Farm Toy Museum. They later got into plastic model kits.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows 2 P-40 E's flying over a shoreline. Both are olive-drab above a neutral gray undercarriage. Both have tiger heads on the nose, yellow spinners, a diagonal white fuselage band and a white vertical-stripe on the rudder, black wing walks and black U.S. ARMY under the wings.
One side panel begins with features of the kit: detailed cockpit with pilot figure, multi-piece Allison engine, authentic WWII markings for 3 versions, over 60 parts, paint and cement not included, in English and French. Followed by 4 color walk-around type photos of the model made up in the box art scheme.
Aluminum Model Toys, commonly abbreviated as AMT, was a Troy, Michigan-based company that manufactured various pre-assembled plastic promotional models starting in 1948, when attorney West Gallogly, Sr. started it as a side business.
In 1983 AMT was purchased by Ertl from Lesney and renamed AMT-Ertl. AMT-Ertl then had a twenty-four year relationship until AMT was sold in 2007. For a time, AMT kits were reissued by independent companies such as Stevens International and Model King, before AMT came solidly into the stable of Round 2, LLC of South Bend, Indiana. In an ironic turn that parallels other large companies, AMT now co-exists in the same organization alongside a revived MPC and Polar Lights. Ertl is still in the Round 2, LLC stable as Ertl Collectibles.
Ertl Company:
Industry: Die-cast toys and scale models
Founded: 1945; 74 years ago
Location: Was once in Dyersville, Iowa, U.S.
Founder: Fred Ertl, Sr.
The Ertl Company was an American toy company best known for its die-cast metal alloy collectible replicas (or scale models) of farm equipment and vehicles. The company is based in Dyersville, Iowa, home of the National Farm Toy Museum. They later got into plastic model kits.
This kit came in a shrink-wrapped tray and lid type box.
The box art shows 2 P-40 E's flying over a shoreline. Both are olive-drab above a neutral gray undercarriage. Both have tiger heads on the nose, yellow spinners, a diagonal white fuselage band and a white vertical-stripe on the rudder, black wing walks and black U.S. ARMY under the wings.
One side panel begins with features of the kit: detailed cockpit with pilot figure, multi-piece Allison engine, authentic WWII markings for 3 versions, over 60 parts, paint and cement not included, in English and French. Followed by 4 color walk-around type photos of the model made up in the box art scheme.
The other side panel begins with another color photo of the model made up in the box art scheme, followed by a one-paragraph history of the P-40 in English and French, the copyright date of 1990, Ertl's address in Dyersville, IA and the address of their office in Ontario, Canada. Kit was made in Japan and printed and packaged in the U.S.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX:
The kit contains 3 light gray trees and a clear tree in a sealed clear cello bag, the decal sheet, instructions, and a yellow card to subscribe to Ertl's Blueprinter newsletter.
Trees are alphabetized and have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees. But the trees are not illustrated in the instructions.
Light Gray letter A tree holds: the engine halves, engine compartment doors, bomb halves and fuselage halves (8 parts)
The kit contains 3 light gray trees and a clear tree in a sealed clear cello bag, the decal sheet, instructions, and a yellow card to subscribe to Ertl's Blueprinter newsletter.
Trees are alphabetized and have part number tabs next to the parts on the trees. But the trees are not illustrated in the instructions.
Light Gray letter A tree holds: the engine halves, engine compartment doors, bomb halves and fuselage halves (8 parts)
Light gray letter B tree holds the upper and lower wing halves (3 parts)
Light gray letter C tree holds: pilot figure, elevators, exhaust pipes, tail wheel, spinner, drop tank, propeller, bulk-heads, dashboard, cockpit floor, air intakes, landing gear legs etc. (45 parts)
The clear tree holds the canopy windows (3 parts)
The instructions consist of a large single-sheet that accordion folds out into 6 pages in 24" x 8" page format.
Page 1 begins with a black and white line drawing of the P-40, over the history of the aircraft, IMPORTANT instructions, a listing of tools to use and Ertl's 1-800 phone number to call with any kit problems.
Pages 2 through 4 gives a total of 10 assembly steps.
Across Pages 5 & 6 is the decaling and painting instructions, showing three 3-views.
1. A P-40E-1 that is the box art scheme (already described above).
it was with the 11th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
2. A P-40 that is in a wave pattern of dark earth and mid-stone (tan), above an azure blue undercarriage. It has a white fuselage code of GA roundel Y, and a red, white and blue vertical flash on the rudder.
It was with 112th Squadron RAF, Sgt. H.G. Burney's plane 239th Fighter Bomber Group.
3. A Kittyhawk MK 1A (P-40E) in a dark earth and dark green wave pattern over a sky gray under-cariage, It has a white and pale blue spinner, a shark mouth on the sides of the nose, white roundels outlined in dark blue and a vertical-fin flash of those 2 colors.
It was with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Page 1 begins with a black and white line drawing of the P-40, over the history of the aircraft, IMPORTANT instructions, a listing of tools to use and Ertl's 1-800 phone number to call with any kit problems.
Pages 2 through 4 gives a total of 10 assembly steps.
Across Pages 5 & 6 is the decaling and painting instructions, showing three 3-views.
1. A P-40E-1 that is the box art scheme (already described above).
it was with the 11th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group, Kiska, Aleutian Islands.
2. A P-40 that is in a wave pattern of dark earth and mid-stone (tan), above an azure blue undercarriage. It has a white fuselage code of GA roundel Y, and a red, white and blue vertical flash on the rudder.
It was with 112th Squadron RAF, Sgt. H.G. Burney's plane 239th Fighter Bomber Group.
3. A Kittyhawk MK 1A (P-40E) in a dark earth and dark green wave pattern over a sky gray under-cariage, It has a white and pale blue spinner, a shark mouth on the sides of the nose, white roundels outlined in dark blue and a vertical-fin flash of those 2 colors.
It was with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
A subscription card for the Blueprinter is included in the kit.
The decal sheet completes the kit's contents.