discussion Andrew's 1/72 Airfix P-40B Warhawk (Pearl Harbour)

[adt70hk]

Afternoon all

Firstly, thanks to @Geoffers for suggesting this, even if I nearly missed it!

So discovering this GB came at a good time as, even before finishing the IAF Spitfire, I had decided that my next victim would be a P-40B of Pearl Harbour vintage.....even if I will struggle to finish it in time!

Although I have only ever built two US aircraft (F-51D and Corsair) this is something of a nostalgia build as one of the first ever military aircraft books I was bought as a child featured the P-40 in its Flying Tigers guise, and so I'm pretty sure it's the first US fighter I had heard of.

Whilst the P-40 gets a bad rep, it is perhaps a slightly unsung hero, given that it served throughout almost the entire war, in every theatre (that I can think of), in a variety of roles and was the third most produced US fighter of the war behind the P-51 and P-47, with almost 14,000 produced.

So some background on the plane, kit and my research so far***, just in case some of you are not familiar with it:

• Curtiss P-40B Warhawk (although I understand that us Brits called the P-40B the Tomahawk to make life complicated)
• Airfix No. A01003B - a 2021 reboxing of a 2011 tooling.
• Colours.....a very short version, as this is another 'right colour' rabbit hole if you're not careful: no. 41 Olive Drab (a darker and browner green than the later war USAAF OD) and Neutral Gray (a mid-tone grey e.g. darker than the mid-late war RAF greys we're used to)
• Generally looks good on the sprue, albeit some minor flash (but is a 2011 tooling), and the canopy looks nice and clear, and online reviews are positive, albeit the pilot is a bit blobby as usual for these earlier Airfix kits......but the kit cost me less than £7 so I can't really complain.
• Destructions....nice and simple.....only 3 A4 pages of them....and not too many decals! Happy am I
• However........Airfix would have you believe that the plane represented served with the 6th Pursuit Squadron, part of the 18th Pursuit Group. But I think they have it wrong, albeit I am awaiting confirmation. The 6th only flew P-36s as far as I have been able to find out. However, the 19th Pursuit Squadron (part of the same Group) were flying P-40s at the time of the attack. If I am right....happy to be proved wrong....then the markings are for a plane from the 19th that survived the attack and is still flying in the US (and previously flew at Duxford).

*** In terms of the research I'm being helped out by someone on a US forum I'm on who knows a lot about the early P-40s and their role in defending Pearl Harbour, so a lot of the credit goes to him!!

Obligatory introductory shots below!

ACW as usual.

ATB

Andrew


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[scottie3158]

Hi Andrew I will follow along mate.

 

[adt70hk]

Hi Andrew I will follow along mate.

Thanks mate!

 

[Jim R]

Certainly an unsung hero so definitely qualifies as a US Icon.

 

[adt70hk]

Certainly an unsung hero so definitely qualifies as a US Icon.

Thanks Jim. It's not exactly the best plane out there but it helped carry a lot of the load, especially in the when things were not looking great.

 

[flyjoe180]

Looks like an interesting little build.
Here's the history of your chosen subject https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-40/41-13297.html

 

[adt70hk]

Looks like an interesting little build.
Here's the history of your chosen subject https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-40/41-13297.html

Thanks for that Joe! Very much appreciated. I seem to recall seeing that when I first started looking into conundrum I found myself but at the time missed the reference to it being 284, so thanks again for bringing it to my attention!

ATB

Andrew

 

[boatman]

YES ive always liked the ole P /40 as i love that film called death race with doug mac-clure in as he was flying a P/40 with the sharks mouth on in the desert great film hope to get it on dvd
chrisb

 

[Neil]

Good choice, the P40 is a nice aircraft, not the best, but given the number produced, it was certainly effective enough.

 

[adt70hk]

YES ive always liked the ole P /40 as i love that film called death race with doug mac-clure in as he was flying a P/40 with the sharks mouth on in the desert great film hope to get it on dvd
chrisb

Good choice, the P40 is a nice aircraft, not the best, but given the number produced, it was certainly effective enough.

Chris, Neil

Thanks for the support, as always.


Neil - as you say not the best but effective nonetheless....good but not quite as good as what followed...a bit like the Hurricane. That said, one of the reference books I have quotes another author's comments about them, to the effect that 'a 2nd rate fighter is better than no fighter at all' and he has a point. I also read somewhere that over 200 pilots became aces in them...no mean feat! And at least 20 were double aces!! So they cannot have been that bad!


Thanks again chaps.

ATB

Andrew

 

[Neil]

Neil - as you say not the best but effective nonetheless....good but not quite as good as what followed...a bit like the Hurricane.
...

Funny, I was thinking of the same analogy - a fine aircraft, eclipsed by later ones (Spitfire, and F5 / P47 / P51 respectively). As you say, clearly good enough to get that many aces.

 

[Geoffers]

Looks like a nice little kit Andrew

Wise move getting the mask set, they save an awful lot of faff

Geoff.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Following along Andy.

 

[pjgtech]

Looks good, following along matey, chair pulled up, brew on the go, feet up......

 

[adt70hk]

Looks like a nice little kit Andrew

Wise move getting the mask set, they save an awful lot of faff

Geoff.

Following along Andy.

Looks good, following along matey, chair pulled up, brew on the go, feet up......

Thanks chaps...glad to have you on board.

Geoff - I know masks are an not cheap and almost as expensive as the kit in this case but I can't be faffed doing my own masks! Not worth the agro.

Thanks again chaps!

ATB

Andrew

 

[adt70hk]

Ok chaps, so the first of three updates on this build.

First the marking conundrum I mentioned.....i.e. Airfix claiming 284 was on the 6th Pursuit Squadron, when everything I read has them flying P-36s on that fateful day. The 19th PS were though flying P-40Bs.

I think I have got to the bottom of it.....and whilst I am genuinely happy to be proved wrong...I think Airfix got the right markings but the wrong squadron - it should be the 19th PS.

As I mentioned 284, P-40B Warhawk 41-13297, survived the war and is as far as I am aware still flying.....and it originally served on the 19th PS.

Below are some links supporting my thinking plus a couple of pics, including of 284 after the its crash landing in October 1941, which resulted it being in the hangar on the day of the attack.

ACW as usual

ATB

Andrew

PS....as I said happy to be proved wrong, if anyone knows better.

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- www.globalaviationresource.com/v2/2015/12/07/historic-aviation-in-focus-the-collings-foundations-curtiss-p-40b-warhawk-41-13297/
- https://pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p-40/41-13297.html
- https://www.americanheritagemuseum.org/aircrafts/curtiss-p-40b-tomahawk/

 

[Neil]

Dear Airix, your bio details are wrong. Please send me a free kit for finding the corrected info for you.

 

[adt70hk]

Dear Airix, your bio details are wrong. Please send me a free kit for finding the corrected info for you.

Actually it's the second time in four builds that I've found error with the destruction markings.....not sure if you saw it but I did in spades with my Tempest build!

Post in thread 'Andrew's 'Secret Santa' 1/72 Airfix Tempest V (post war)'

Apr 19, 2025

yak face, Geoffers, flyjoe180 - Geoff, Joe, Tony - as promised more info following some research


WARNING - ERRORS IN AIRFIX'S DESTRUCTIONS

OK chaps, so plastic has been cut and I've pretty much reached the point where primer needs to fly for the internals.

However, in my research I stumbled across a discussion on another site with one picture of this plane in the workshop and pics of other Tempests in the same metal finish. In this case an individual, Chris Thomas, who has written a number of books on Tiffies and Tempests, chipped in with some very helpful...

• adt70hk

• 

 

[adt70hk]

So having put it in the wrong thread..... Let's try again......


Hi all

So another update...albeit not directly build related.....but important nonetheless....

So even even before finishing my Spit I knew my work table was in need of a real deep clean but thought it one more build in it before that was needed....but when I put my nice fresh spray booth filter in, it made the rest of it look very shabby and dusty...as you can see:










Ahead of the clean....it all of course needed to go somewhere....fortunately my wife was out for the evening.....







After a deep clean.....protective paper went down to save the worst of the paint spills (UK members will recognise the paper!)....followed by a base for my spray booth. The table is almost 30 years old and a little bit warped....










And the fully reinstated work area....you can see how well the lamp shining through the roof works....










Oh and as an aside, the table itself was a gift from my grandmother when I moved out of home and started renting a flat...

.....it's one of those ones that collapses down and stores the chairs inside......but clearly the designer was ahead of his time and of great wisdom, as it also has built in a stash storage capability.....