P-40 Warhawk Part 1 in Detail

Volume 61
Detail & Scale Series

By Bert Kinzey
Squadron Signal Publications, 1999
ISBN 1-888974-14-1
80 Pages

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

While this says it is on the P-40, it actually goes all the way back to the Curtiss Hawk 75, which was really the radial-engined prototype of the P-40. Starting back there, this book takes you through the first steps of the P-40's life. Starting with the Hawk 75 and P-36, this history is covered in great detail, both in text and in pictures. The detail photos of the P-36 at the Air Force Museum are a nice surprise, and every angle is covered, including the cockpit in color.

Moving from the P-36 to the early P-40s, all the subtle differences between the early variants are covered, and some of the confusion concerning what the differences between a P-40B and a P-40C or a Tomahawk IIA or IIB is cleared up. Most of these differences are internal, though, and for a modeler the only real concern would be the fact that the P-40C had self-sealing fuel tanks, reducing internal capacity and resulting in the carrying of an external drop tank.

The drawings included in this book are very well done and cover all the variants up through the P-40C, including the Hawk 75/P-36 family. Drawn by Lloyd Jones, they are all to a constant 1/72 scale and appear to be quite accurate when compared to the photos in the book. Accompanying these plans are some very nice side view profiles showing many of the different camouflages worn by the P-40 and P-36. With the P-40 flying with the Chinese, US, and the British, there are plenty of interesting schemes, but the most colorful ones would have to go to the Hawk 75s with their pre-war markings and odd camouflage patterns.

A nice addition to this title is a set of color detail photos of the P-40C under restoration at Planes of Fame in Chino. With the small number of P-40Cs left in the world, seeing detail shots in color is definitely a plus. The remaining color photos include wartime shots of some AVG P-40s, as well as pre-war birds.

Moving to the detail section, the detail photos are a blend of restored planes and actual service planes. Every corner is shown, and nothing is left unseen. A couple of the photos are fuzzy, though, and look as if they were printed at a lower resolution than the others. This doesn't detract too much from the book, though, and it's only on a couple pictures anyway.

The modeling section is very brief and gives a general glossing over of all the kits in all the major scales. A fair amount of attention is given to the beautiful Craftworks 1/32 resin P-40, but the other scales all require some work to get an accurate representation out of the existing kits. Unfortunately, there is one glaring omission in the kit list, and that is of the 1/72 MAI P-40B/C. I was really hoping to see something on that kit listed there, as I have heard lots of good things about it. Perhaps they had not heard of the kit, as it is from a smaller manufacturer and in resin, but with all the attention given to the Craftworks kit, this excuse is weak at best.

If you're a P-40 fan, this is definitely a book you'll want to pick up. The vast amount of detail presented on these early P-40s is very well done, and with most of the existing books focusing on the later variants, this title is very welcome indeed.