Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $63.00 Kit Supplied by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Wow! How long have I waited for this kit to be a reality? The Curtiss P-40 has long been a favorite of mine. I have long heard it said, "You can never have enough P-40's" and I believe it! Opening the large sturdy box I found about 180 parts of grey plastic, 23 parts in clear plastic and decal options for two different aircraft. Surface detail, with one exception, is very well defined and appears very accurate at first glance. The exception being that Hasegawa has added an extra framing to the side panels of the windshield. This frame didn't show up on the P-40's until the later L, M, and N variants. The treatment for the rear side windows is unique. The concaved part of the fuselage is added behind the cockpit as two pieces and then the windows that fit over it are two pieces of clear plastic that go over that. This way you're not going to mess up and get glue or solvent up under the inside of the glass. The rudder and stabilizer section plugs into the rear of the fuselage just like on the Hasegawa 1/48 scale kits so I think we can look down the road and see several other variants of the P-40 coming later on. Each of the twelve exhaust pipes is composed of two pieces, which likely means there will be other styles coming as well. Aftermarket companies such as Eduard, Quick Boost, and others will likely cover this also. The decals offer marking options for Maj. Ed Rector in mid 1942 and John Landers in New Guinea during 1942. I can't wait to get started on this kit. Thanks to IPMS/USA and the Dragon Models USA for allowing me the opportunity to review this kit.

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