1:48 P-40E Warhawk ESSENTIAL

A resin upgrade for the Warhawk

The Curtiss P-40E was a laborer, not a prima donna. The Allison engine without a second supercharger stage took its breath away at high altitude, but the airframe stood up to rough handling, dusty field airstrips and tropical heat, and six heavy machine guns in the wing were a weighty argument for 1941. It fought over New Guinea and over the Aleutians, with the British and the Australians it flew under the name Kittyhawk, and in Soviet regiments it served from Lend-Lease deliveries.

The designation Big Sin belongs to the collective box into which the manufacturer puts several of its resin accessories for one particular type. The castings are thin-walled, the casting blocks tend to be placed so that the cutting is done away from the visible surface, and the surface engraving is finer than what can be pressed into plastic. The ESSENTIAL level aims at the essentials, that is, at the places that attract the most attention on a finished model.

Cast material behaves differently from plastic and it is worth reckoning with that in advance. It is cut with a saw or a sharp cutter, because it cracks under nippers. Before painting it deserves a rinse in lukewarm water with detergent, so that the remains of mold release agent disappear. And super glue holds it; an ordinary solvent type has no effect on it.

Plan the build according to the instructions for the accessory, not according to the booklet from the kit: most of the castings are fitted before the fuselage halves are joined, and afterwards you will no longer get inside. A dry fit of every part beforehand saves a great deal of annoyance.