What's the best P-40 Kit?

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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The Navair kit is apparently a rebox of the AMT P-40F. The AMT is a nice kit although there are some inaccuracies, especially with the cowl flaps. There’s not much of a selection of P-40F/L kits out there. If it were me, I’d go with AMtech’s P-40F over Navair. It’s also a rebox of the AMT molds, but has the nice resin nose and excellent decals. I wouldn’t hold my breath for a new-tooled F/L anytime soon. Hasegawa doesn’t appear interested in doing it, simply based on how its P-40 breaks down. Too bad-it’s my favorite version of the Warhawk.

Lots of nice models displayed on this post, that’s for sure!

Mark

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I’m a bit old-fashioned, I guess, in that I have a long-term love-affair with the old Monogram P-40B/C - the last time I built it, I did it as one of the first RAF Tomahawks in UK/temperate camouflage - I did a diorama, with it nosed over. I sacrificed a few rare Bandai 1/48 soldiers, including a poor bloody PFC digging it out while a bike-riding sergeant looked on smugly. I detailed the hell out of it (so the flaps could drop, etc.), not with after-market but with old-fashioned scratch-building, and was quite pleased - and it took a few awards at regional events in North and South Carolina, which was gratifying. I also enjoyed (as someone else noted) the Otaki (now Arii) kit of the P-40E - very, very good for the price.

I also used the Monogram P-40 to help me detail and correct the very old AMT P-36, converting it into Clair Chennault’s personal Hawk 75M with the fixed gear (hand-carved from the gear from an ancient Lindbergh Stuka). For years, the AMT kit was the only 1/48 P-36 game in town - a truly awful kit in many ways, but I’m hooked on the P-36 and especially early P-40s, and for many years, that meant AMT and Monogram. Today, there are great kits of both planes in many larger scales, and I’ve got a whole shelf of unbuilt kits.

Right now, I’m in the process of moving (and will be selling off about 2/3rds of my unbuilt kits to “fit” the rest in my new home), but I’ve got a 1/72nd Airacuda resin kit on my bench, along with a couple of long-term projects:

A. An ancient resin conversion of the old Monogram F4F (nowhere near as salvagable as their P-40) into an FM-2 Wilder Wildcat

B. A weird-assed conversion of a 1/200 (Hasegawa? - I forget) B-52H into Dale Brown’s “Old Dog” Megafortress

C. Conversion of the very old He-115 kit in 1/72nd into the prototype as shown in William Green’s book

D. An obsessive paper-airplane conversion of the Heller Connie into the XB-30

E. A fever-dream creation of a P-47 version of the P-82 Mustang - a cobbled-together mid-'43 fantasy long-range escort fighter to help the B-17s survive until the Mustangs could arrive (if I go “all the way” I’ll do one as a razorback escort fighter, one as a twin-fuselage Jabo and one as a super-long-range upgrade of the P-47N - I’ve got the plans for all three drawn, and plan to do a test-shot in 1/72nd before I start cutting on 1/48th plastic).

Probably more, too, but this is enough. This is my first post here, and if I bore you to tears, maybe my last

Ned (who won his first IPMS contest in '66 - Atlanta, Jr. Division - and who’s been modeling long before that - not bad for a guy as young as I am[:)]

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Jaypack55;

Well for the Early P-40’s the Revell-o-Grams is the oldest and is more accurate on the exterior even though it has raised panel lines and the instrument panel is that of the later versions, it’s most likely you best one out there, the Academy/Hobbycraft even though it’s newer and has recessed panel lines the center wing is WRONG for this version, it’s not deep enough for the radiator ducting aft of the cowling, and the interior is very sparse,and is in dire need of an AM cockpit. the Trumpeter kit even thought it’s the newest kit on the block it has way to many rivets, and the same with the cockpit but it’s also very expensive compaired to the Academy & Revell kits,

For the later P-40’s; Arii, Revell & Promodelers are the oldest and of these 3 the Arii’s is the best and will be a very nice item when you use the True Details P-40 resin cockpit set and tires, and now we’ll get into the newest batch of late model P-40’s AMT/Ertl’s & AMTech’s are the same molds and are very nice but the cockpits are lacking and the True Details P-40 Resin cockpit set, & tires really set’s them off, but the Mauve/Eduard P-40’s are a touch better and line up closer then the AMT’s but they are pricey compaired to the AMT’s line up, now we come to the top dog the Hasegawa’s runs of P-40’s they are by far the best so far on the market but their only down fall is they are pricey but you get what you pay for, they pretty much don’t need any AM stuff but the AM weighted tires are the only thing you’ll need to get a museum quality kit and a show stopper so you choose your P-40, I myself would go for the Revell-O-Grams Early Model P-40 (with some work) and the Hasegawa’s Late Model P-40’s from E-N for now, then if Hasegawa comes out the the early version then that too will be the best choice of Curtiss’ most produced prised fighter

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My Hasagawa 1/48th E:

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Great bunch of P-40’s posted here, thanks for taking the time to put up the pictures and the comments, everybody. Thanks to Jaypack for starting the thread. It’s a fun read!

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Trumpeter 1/32 scale P-40B is the one I have .At contest tables their is no match from any other P-40 models.