An Auk-ward MRC Curtiss P-36/Hawk75

[The Great Auk]

I've got so many contenders for this GB it's almost silly.

Will be starting off with this marvel of model-molding engineering, the Model Rectifier Corp.'s venerable 1/72 Curtiss P-36, (a re-boxing of the ancient Aoshima version) probably the worst kit of this aircraft available in any scale. Isn't that antique box art stunning?



I just love how they missed on the rudder stripes and made the vertical one red instead of blue. Adds credibility.

Not to worry, what's inside the box is even worse.

The initial plan is to finish it in Belgian colors. I know they never flew them which seems a shame as all the allied powers bordering them did. The (now unusable) decals provided won't let you build it to match the picture on the box anyway.

I imagine my "cuss jar" will be full up by the time I get this built.

The Great Auk

[PropWash]

Is this the same company, MRC, that now manufactures the pre-built plastic die cast models? I look forward to seeing your work with this kit.

May I suggest you create a Go Fund Me page to help with your "cuss jar?"

[DazDaMan]

"Model Rectifier Corporation"??

[general rocket]

Well, at least its an attractive looking plane.

[The Great Auk]

The Audubon Society has been incredibly busy and I've been stuck at the office, but I stole some time to get this sorted out and ready to start.

Here's what you get when you open the box.



The box is large enough to hold four kits, but apparently not large enough to save the decals. Ink started flaking off as soon as I took them out. I guess that's to be expected from a kit of this age. However the plastic seems in reasonable shape.



The instructions don't seem too complicated to figure out, even if there is a lot of Japanese.



And here's the replacement decals I was able to cobble together shown on the back of the box which has a bit of history.



I like how it says the P-36 was mainly used by a trainer for "our men" yet the box clearly states Precision Molded In Japan so are we to assume from this that the P-36 trained enemy pilots? History is more mysterious than often given credit for.

Hoping to get a start by the weekend,

The Great Auk

[The Great Auk]

Now that New Year's weekend is here, I finally got some time to work on this little wonder.



The old rubber band trick was used to try to give this Hawk 75 some of the wing dihedral the type is known for.



Only the Buzzco/Heller P-36 is worse in this regard and can end up with negative dihedral if one is incautious. Besides counting all those rivets I should probably count my blessings too for getting off so easy.



At first I was dismayed at having to putty sink marks, but actually for a kit of this vintage, it's not too bad. I'm going to build this one gear-up so I've got a little more klugding to do. I haven't decided what to do about the big gun holes in the wing leading edge. The easy answer is to use red decal bits like the famous RAF tape seen on Hurricanes and Spitfires. The other option is to make wing guns out of sprue.

Hope to be ready for paint before too long...

The Great Auk

[TimJ]

Off to a good start.

[The Great Auk]

Earlier this morning while fitting the landing gear (along with some sprue and knuckle bits from an Academy P-40), I realized that the struts I cut off could be used as wing guns.



I applied an undercoat of Model Masters acrylic RAF Sky with the old hairy stick.



I just finished putting some Field Drab on the uppers and it's drying. I'm using this scheme for inspiration:



The Great Auk

[The Great Auk]

The uppers have been given a couple of coats of Model Masters Field Drab acrylic and I got the cowling painted too.



Afterwards, I dry-brushed some cheap, no-name craft store metallic on the engine cylinders.



On to the second camo color next.

The Great Auk

[The Great Auk]

The canopy, which was tinted on the inside with Polly Scale RLM something Lichtblau has been attached and the second camo color (a custom mix) is on.



This kit is so wonderful in its krappiness that I'd forgotten the lines on the side window panels are engraved on the wrong side.



I put them in flipped because I'd tinted them incorrectly using the engraved lines as a guide. I had to resort to a touch of CA on the back ends and clamp it down while drying to get them to fit and keep from splaying out due to pressure from the center section.



Decals are next. Hopefully this will be done before the end of this nice, long New Year's weekend.

The Great Auk

[TimJ]

You're making quick work of it. Nice paintwork.

[The Great Auk]

As war loomed on the horizon, the small nation of Belgium was working furiously to upgrade their air defense.





Lacking their own aircraft manufacturing capability, the Belgians were forced to seek help from abroad.



They invited representatives from the British Air Ministry and Hawker's hoping to purchase Hurricanes.

Unfortunately, a certain, unpalatable dish was served at the welcoming state dinner...



... with disastrous results.



Sickened and disgusted, the British mission fled Belgium as soon as they were physically able.



Eventually the Belgians were able to bulk up their fighter force with American Curtiss Hawk 75s that had been passed on from France.





The first ones were assigned to the storied 3rd squadron.




While not enough to stop the German onslaught, they nevertheless bloodied the Luftwaffe to an extent that those 1940 air actions were occasionally mentioned by Jagdstaffeln veterans after a few beers at post-war reunions.



Utterly forgotten in the rush of events in the intervening decades, for one brief moment this stalwart aircraft fought to hold the line against the enemy.



The Great Auk

[iggie]

Very nicely done Great Auk

[The Great Auk]

The decals were very old and a bunch of them shattered when I applied them, so I had to find replacements for the codes and that lovely squadron badge (sob). Still, it finished up better than I had a right to expect from a kit that came out about when From Russia with Love did.





Painting was done with the old hairy stick and acrylics.



I had a blast playing along and I'd like to thank Daz for his bravery in taking on the job of leading us and the rest of you who are joining in the fun or even just stopped by to take a look.



The Great Auk

[general rocket]

And first across the line...............
turned out nice again.