Czech Model 1/48 XP-55 Ascender

CZECH MODEL 1:48 CURTISS XP-55 ASCENDER
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Trevor Boxall (rec.models.scale)

Kit Details: Czech Model (4806) 1:48 Curtiss XP-55 Ascender, multimedia kit with True Details resin parts

Aircraft History: The XP-55 was conceived from a 1939 USAAC specification for a single-seat interceptor to be powered by the then new P&W inline engine, with low drag, optimum pilot visibility and a strong armament capability. Along the way the P&W engine was delayed and failed to eventuate so the army awarded a contract to the three manufacturers that submitted designs, to be flown by an Allison engine. The result were some rather radical fighter designs, of which one was adopted the P-38, while three prototypes of the XP-55 Ascender were produced. The design of the XP-55 centred around the lighter structure that could be afforded with a "tail first" design, or which many now simply refer to as canards, although these were very small on the nose of the aircraft, while the main wings were sharply swept back. The aircraft featured a couple of other differences from traditional fighter design apart from the aft-facing propeller and those already mentioned, which were a jettisonable propeller to enable the pilot to bail out safely without fear of being finely sliced, and a tricycle landing gear which was a first for Curtiss.

After a series of disappointing performance trials it was clear that the aircraft was unable to achieve the expected results, so the Army cancelled the program in 1944. Furthermore, small control surfaces as well as the design of the wing lead to problems encountered when flying the aircraft at low speeds and the first and third prototypes were eventually lost to crashes.

Kit Parts: The separate components of the kit (plastic, resin, decals, etc) are all bagged separately inside the rather flimsy cardboard box, depicting the readily identifiable box type and logo of the company on the top. The kit consists of two plastic sprues holding just under 40 parts, a bag of about 16 True Details resin parts and two vacform canopies, one being a spare. The resin is superbly cast and detailed, and once removed from their blocks with a razor saw will add a heightened level of detail to the model. The plastic parts clearly give off a limited run feel with some rough areas to be smoothed over as well as some small amounts of flash to clean up. Panel lines are very finely engraved and the sprue lugs are of medium thickness, which is quite good for short run tooling.

Instructions: The four page instruction sheet is small but adequate and aimed at the modeller who has a few kits under their belt. There is a short history and sprue diagram followed by a seven stage assembly process that includes some additional diagrams and notes for overcoming fiddly sub assemblies or suggesting scratchbuilding additional detail. The final page consists of the decal placement and painting guide for the one aircraft example.

Versions/Decals: The box says that there are two decal options but the instructions and decal sheet clearly state otherwise. The kit provides the parts and decals for only completing the second prototype near the end of its testing stage after being upgraded with various modifications. This is the standard olive drab over neutral grey scheme and yellow serial numbers of the time. The decal sheet only contains serial and USAF insignia, which are in perfect register. The decals appear very thin and are probably easily torn with too much pressure exerted, and if they are like my previous Yak 15 review on this site, will be very thin and need some Micro Sol to help settle them in.

On the Sprue Impressions: The breakdown of parts is fairly typical for a limited run kit with the fuselage halves including nose area to rear fuselage, minus the nose cone and rear prop assembly. The wings are broken down into a single underwing piece and two large upper halves which will need thinning at the trailing and leading edges. The wheel wells are not boxed in but this is catered for in the resin set, along with some other components such as the cockpit and wheels, which are only provided for in resin. The gear doors are molded in one piece, so will need to be separated for a wheels-down model along the lines denoted in the instructions and on the plastic itself.

The resin parts look truly excellent and include additional detailing for areas such as the wheel wells and cockpit. Included are everything you need in the cockpit from the unit itself to the seat, instrument panel and sidewall instrumentation. Optional 'weighted' wheels are included along with replacement exhaust stubs and boxed in wheel wells. A razor saw will be needed to remove these parts from their large casting blocks and super glue to affix them together.

The kit provides a vacform canopy plus a spare in case you don't get it right the first time round. I've always been of the opinion, that because these are so cheap for the manufacturer, that a spare should be a standard inclusion in these kits. The canopy is very clear and the framework subtle but reasonably easy to work out for painting and cutting. Since the canopy is one-piece, those with good vacform surgery skills will only be able to have an open cockpit.

As with most short run kits you will need to butt join everything together, the mating surfaces will better adhere if properly prepared with some cleaning and sanding beforehand. You will need to also conduct dry runs on each sub assembly, particularly resin to plastic assemblies, to identify any shortcomings in the fit and deal with them appropriately.

Conclusion: This is another "different" aircraft type to be brought into Czech Models Quarter Scale range and they should be congratulated for bringing modellers an alternative choice when modelling in the era of WW2, as this is about the only time you will probably see an injection run kit of this particular subject. Having built their Yak 15 previously I would expect that for a limited run kit this should be a reasonably straight forward build, with the art of test fitting and appropriate adjustments needing to be mastered. It will most likely be the type of kit that one could also start in the multimedia arena, providing they have a few limited run kits under their belt.

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