1:48 P-40E Warhawk In&Out Eduard

A Kittyhawk with a shark mouth

The Curtiss P-40E was the most widespread form of the whole family. The Allison V-1710 engine without a second supercharger stage did run out of breath at altitude, but low over the ground the machine was fast, sturdy and would take a hit after which another aircraft would have gone down. The armament consisted of six 0.50-inch machine guns in the wing, and a bomb or an auxiliary fuel tank could be carried under the fuselage. The British and the allies listed the same machine under the name Kittyhawk Mk.IA.

The most famous chapter was written by the American Volunteer Group in China, whose aircraft carried a painted shark mouth on the radiator. It did not appear with them for the first time, though: they took it over from photographs of British machines from North Africa. To this day it is one of the most frequently built color schemes of the Second World War.

Contents and the recommended sequence

The package covers the glazing from both sides. The cockpit of this type is fairly intricate: besides the sliding section it takes in the fixed windscreen with armored glass and the side windows behind the pilot's head, so there would be a long row of frames to trace by hand.

Work from the back forward. First seat the inner shapes into the fixed parts, let them dry, then spray them in the cockpit shade and only at the end stick on the outer side. Leave the sliding section of the cockpit right until last, so that it can be displayed in the open position without the risk of damaging the edge of the finish. Protect the finished glazing from dust until the model is complete; an upturned clear tub or a jar lid will do. A speck that has settled is far harder to remove from fresh paint than one expects.