Reviews : Hasegawa P40E Warhawk US Fighter

The Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E Warhawk, #09086 is an excellent kit with a reasonable price point. This kit provides the builder with two colorful marking options for either Major Edward F. Rector, 76th FS, 23 FG, China, July 1942 or Lt. Robert H. Vaught, 9th FS, 49th FG, Australia, Summer 1942. I opted to build the aircraft flown by Major Rector as it had the iconic Flying Tigers markings with the famous Shark Mouth. I also preferred the camouflage pattern of this version as opposed to the two-tone version for Lt. Vaught's Warhawk. Decals in the kit are thick in contour and are best applied using Micro Set and Micro Sol decal solutions, especially for the shark mouth decals. Fortunately, the stencil marking decals are minimal compared to other warbird kits I have built. As the kit included decals for the yellow propeller tips, I decided to try them out and they worked great with Micro Sol. The builder also can choose to install either a 500 pound bomb or an auxiliary fuel tank. I opted to use the bomb as the yellow stripe decals for it looked challenging to apply. For the camouflage pattern on the upper surfaces of this aircraft I used Mission Models MMP-060, Dark Tan FS 30219 and Mr. Hobby, Mr. Color 361, Dark Green BS (i.e. British Standard) 641. For the under surfaces of the aircraft, I used Vallejo Model Color 70.990 Light Grey. For the interior surfaces, I used Vallejo Game Air, 72.732 Escorpena Green which in retrospect may be too bright. As the canopy required complex masking, I used Eduard Mask Set EX058 designed for this kit. All paints were applied with an Iwata HPC Plus Airbrush at 18-20 PSI using a 3.5 mm needle. I also used seatbelts from the Eduard USAF and USN WWII 49001 set. As I built the model with the canopy in the closed position, the instrument panel and gauge decals were adequate for my build. After painting and applying an acrylic clear matte coat, a pin wash was completed using Tamiya Brown Panel liner and exhaust/wing gun port stains were added using Tamiya Weathermaster pigments. Rigging of the aircraft was completed using EZ line and superglue. As this model kit requires precision masking of its greenhouse type canopy and challenging shark mouth decal installation, it is recommended for intermediate to advanced fine scale modelers with airbrush skills.

Strange design with the tail section being separate from the rest of the fuselage and the two pieces did not fit together well which causes panel lines to not be lined up. Also the assembly of the tail section to the fuselage creates a vertical seam that is near to impossible to cover up without destroying panel lines. Not a pleasure to build, more like a task.

All in all this is a decent kit. it has some oddities but fits pretty good. you will need some filler in the wing root area and some sanding and blending on the nose and tail section but nothing major. Even for a beginner it should make a pretty nice display

The fit was absolutely fantastic! Every piece went where it was supposed to without any trimming necessary. The only negative about this kit is that the decals did tear relatively easily. Overall, a real pleasure to build though!

I liked the detail in the cockpit. I did have to use some gorilla glue on the tail section to get it to stay. Overall, the kits fit together perfectly. I would definitely purchase another one.

This is a really well designed kit. Assembly was straightforward and all of the pieces fit well. Good cockpit details too. This is a nice addition to my collection.