Arma Hobby 1/72 Curtiss Hawk 81-A2
By Matt Bittner
Overview
Taken from the Arma Hobby site:
"The Curtiss Hawk 81 was developed directly from the successful Hawk 75 fighter, known in U.S. Army service as the P-36. Retaining much of its predecessor’s structure while introducing the Allison V-1710 inline engine, it became the first member of the famous P-40 family that would serve on every major front of the Second World War.
"The earliest production aircraft entered service with both the U.S. Army Air Corps as the P-40 and the Royal Air Force as the Tomahawk. Aircraft built for British contracts were finished at the Curtiss factory in American-made DuPont paints formulated to match RAF camouflage colours. One hundred of these export fighters, designated Hawk 81-A2, were diverted before delivery and transferred to the American Volunteer Group in China.
"Flying from late 1941, the Flying Tigers quickly earned worldwide fame by defending China and the Burma Road against Japanese air attacks. Under Claire Chennault’s leadership, the AVG exploited the Hawk’s speed, rugged construction and heavy armament while avoiding turning combat with more manoeuvrable Japanese fighters."
It's no surprise that Arma Hobby continued their line of Curtiss Hawks by following the H-75/P-36 with the H-81/P-40. While there has been plenty of 1/72 later P-40 models (from the 'E' forward) there hasn't been as many quality kits of the early P-40s. A few years ago Airfix released theirs and it was considered the best until the release of this Arma Hobby H-81/P-40.
The Kit
The Arma Hobby 1/72 Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 consists of 55 pieces of gray, injected plastic; nine clear-injected pieces (which also includes a four-piece assembly jig); a 3D-printed pilot's seat with molded-on seat belts; yellow-tape masks; and decals for three aircraft:
- Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 P-8109, flown by Charles Older of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron "Hell's Angels", American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers), China, 1941–1942
- Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 P-8182, flown by Greg "Pappy" Boyington of the 1st Pursuit Squadron "Adam & Eves", American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers), China, 1941–1942
- Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 P-8103, flown by Dick Rossi of the 1st Pursuit Squadron "Adam & Eves", American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers), China, 1941–1942
Decals are by Cartograf, printed to a very high standard.
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The first instruction step has you glue the canvas wheel-well inserts into the lower half of the wing then glue the wing halves together. From there construction moves naturally to the cockpit. There is plenty of molded on detail that while you can add more, out of the box the detail is wonderful, especially coupled with the decals that are also added (which include seat belts). The filters are added to the underside nose piece then that is glued into one fuselage half, along with the instrument panel and the rear bulkhead the seat attaches to which isn't added until later. More of the nose pieces are added to one fuselage half before the halves are glued together. From here the rest of the nose is constructed, including adding the exhaust stacks (although I will add those at the end, prior to the final over-coat).
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Once the assembled wing is glued to the fuselage, the 3D printed seat (if you want to use it) is added after painting, of course. Turn the model over and add pieces to the underside prior to gluing on the tail parts (and the rudder - only - is separate). From here the landing gear is put together, along with the two-piece wheels. The instructions also have you glue together the clear assembly jig which will help with landing gear alignment (although like the exhausts, these are best left until right before the final over-coat). In fact, everything on the instructions from here on out is best left off the model until the end, except for the clear pieces. The rear-most tear-dropped clear pieces should definitely be added (after painting the area behind them first) along with the windscreen. Remember that Arma Hobby provides masks for these pieces so adding them before painting is best. One thing that is very nice is the clear armor plate for the windscreen is a separate piece, so for other iterations of this kit easily left out.
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When you're finished painting, then adding all the final pieces will result in a finished Hawk 81-A2, or otherwise known as a P-40.
Conclusion
With the superb molded-on-and-in detail the Arma Hobby Hawk 81-A2 is really not lacking much, if anything. With the inclusion of the 3D printed seat with in-situ belts, you can have a great looking seat and not worry about the decal seat belts. This is a stunning kit and will build beautifully into a first-rate P-40.
Many, many thanks to Arma Hobby for providing the review model.