Eduard Profi-Pack 1/48 Curtiss P-40N Warhawk

EDUARD [PROFI-PACK] 1:48 CURTISS P-40N WARHAWK

Reviewer: Wayne Peterson (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 18 January 2003

The Kit:

The origins of this kit are not Eduard but a Japanese firm called Mauve, but Eduard have revised the kit under their Profi Pack label with some resin and etched parts and a new set of decals. Inside the box are a series of dark green sprues with quality injection moulded parts that contain lovely engraved panel lines and detail. Additionally there are 42 etched parts, 9 resin and 11 transparencies. The box top features a pair of USAF Warhawks in dark green with white skull markings on the forward fuselage apparently bombing a jungle area. The rear aircraft is letting off a bomb but the one in the foreground still has the bomb attached…. But it is back to front!

Construction:

Essentially this starts in the cockpit which is mainly supplied in resin although some parts are in plastic. The sidewalls are separately catered for in resin and some etched parts are also used here. While the kit is not limited run, you do have to treat it a little like one because the resin parts don’t fit too well without some trimming in areas first, particularly the sidewalls and floor. There’s a choice of three instrument panels that had me a little confused at first but the instructions do tell you which one to put in which version. The acetate film makes the panel look more realistic and drybrushing can bring out the real depth of all the lovely detail. Once you have mastered the fit you can move onto the next stage. It should be noted that the interior is superbly detailed, and a lot more work was undertaken here than probably this paragraph conveys.

The fuselage halves can then be brought together after a couple of other items are taken care of, and is up to the modeller whether they want to trap part of the propeller assembly at this stage or install it later on. The dozen individual exhaust stacks can be painted and installed now or later, but you do need to do the nose intake and filters at this point, all of which need to be painted. The join of the fuselage halves is excellent and only a minor amount of cleaning up is required to blend the lines all together.

Assembly of the main wings is undertaken next but the wheel wells need to be boxed in which are also nicely detailed, along with clear parts for navigation and landing lights, which I immediately masked off for painting. The wing components can then be affixed together and joined onto the fuselage and these fit very well with no filler really needed at the roots. The tailplanes and rudder can be added next with similar results.

Under the wings radiator flaps can be added from the etched set which need to bent to the contours matching the wings. This is an extremely fiddly and delicate process which requires one to use their best etched part manipulation skills, especially when added to the fact they need to be affixed with super glue. However, like some of the cockpit and other parts, the flaps are duplicated in plastic, so are not overly accurate to scale but at least provides the modeller with an option. There are an abundance of etched parts to this set which not only help in the cockpit but do make up a lot of other external detail bits as these flaps suggest.

To add further emphasis to this there are some fuselage stores which include a fuel tank or bomb, the latter being in resin and containing etched fins which also require bending to shape. The tailwheel is best handled at this point, which is a bit of a fiddly fit but certainly looks the part when done correctly. The canopy comes in three parts with main and rear glazing along with the windscreen, allowing one to depict an open cockpit. Considering the level of detail this kit has to offer, I cannot see why anyone would have it any other way! The parts fit nice and the middle canopy section fits nicely over the rear glazing.

From here you can then undertake the undercarriage assembly. The wheels come in both plastic and resin, they are weighted and contain tread in the latter which is what us modellers would rather use! Again the detail is very nice and spending some time assembling these and fitting them into the bays is well worth the effort.

In the final stages apart from the external detail bits, you can add on the propeller. This is again very nicely done although the blades are supplied as separate parts so care is needed in putting these together on the hub and joined to the shaft which is later covered by the spinner.

Colour Schemes:

There are four markings to choose from, that are effectively two Warhawks (under USAF) and two Kittyhawks (under RCAF & RNZAF). The first two are in overall dark green or olive drab over neutural grey with mainly white markings, one having sharksmouth, the other a white skull marking as seen on the boxart. The skull version has a red spinner, but the boxart foreground shows a blue spinner (the rear has a red one). The RCAF option is from Boundary Bay, British Columbia 1945 in overall natural metal. The RNZAF option, which is the one I decided to depict, and the main reason I bought this model, is from 18 Sqn in typical Olive Drab over Neutral grey. Additionally it carries a fair bit of white, with diagonal stripes on the wings and tailplanes, plus thin stripes over the fuselage, a white spinner and a white rudder/tailfin. The name Gloria appears in yellow script writing on the nose and some kill markings under the nose.

Decals:

The decal sheet is from Aeromaster and is as you would expect excellent. The pale bluish background ensures all the white decals can be seen without any problems. The decals have a semi gloss look to them and carry only the required amount of carrier film. The roundels and small amount of stencils as appropriate are supplied for all versions. On my example the white looks really good on the olive background and having spotted another reviewer stating the white fuselage stripe can be seen underneath the white bar of the RNZAF insignia, I decided to carefully trim where it meets the insignia and thus had no problems. Another option would be to carefully paint over the white bar also which will block out any sign of another decal underneath.

Accuracy:

I suspect that this very aircraft example is probably one featured somewhere in some reference book, with photos etc that you can compare too. I therefore suggest having a good look through your own material to find “Gloria” if you choose this option. However, most of my reference is mainly jets and although I have quite a bit of material on the P-40 there was nothing in my collection that was good enough to give me lots of info on the N version, nor on this particular aircraft example I chose. From the one set of dimensions I have in print, the Eduard kit was at worst a millimetre out, or in otherwords spot on. It looks like a P-40 and captures the lines beautifully, so I could not really fault the kit in any way.

Overall Recommendation:

The revised reissue of this kit by Eduard with the addition of etched and resin parts makes an already very good kit into a definite winner. It is also good value because of this and makes into an accurate and very nicely detailed model. Intermediate and above skills are needed to complete the project but otherwise I can highly recommend this kit for Warhawk buffs.

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