1/48 Arii P-40E Warhawk

by Rafi Ben-Shahar

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Since I presume that most model builders are price conscientious to some extent, I chose to present these Warhawks. It seems that there is little dispute about the choice of best kit for the kind in the market. Yet, for the price of one Hasegawa kit, you could get two Arii kits and have some change left. This can be a problem particularly, if you happen to favor one of the most versatile aircraft in Allied service both in terms of camouflage schemes and marks. My solution, was to buy one Hasegawa kit and several other kits like AMT, (but not the expensive Eduard) and use the Hasegawa kit as a bench mark and a source for replacement parts to the others.

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The Arii kit is not a bad kit and certainly looks like a Warhawk when completed. Problem areas include the simplified cockpit, wrong wheels, bad bomb and drop tank carriers, wrong wheel bay and over engineering of rivet lines. There may be other mistakes that I forgot about or I overlooked. Nonetheless, it includes a partially exposed engine albeit a very crude representation. 

 

So, after comparing between the good and the bad kits, I improved upon the components that were visible, covered the others, like the closed canopy cockpit and did not bother with the wheel bay. I also chose color schemes  dominated by monotonous OD that tones down the rivet lines. The result was a pair of good looking models that adorn my display area for a little building effort and a very low cost.

Rafi

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Photos and text © by Rafi Ben-Shahar