No 5 Sq RAF Mohawk IV Akyab Burma March 1942

Curtiss Mohawk IV (P36-A4) No 5 Sq RAF Akyab Burma March 1942

This is the 1/48 Hobby Craft kit. Not bad and the only game in town until Clear Prop releases the later version Hawks. This is the short nose Cyclone powered version. You get the fuselage of the Twin Wasp version, the narrow cord and larger diameter cowling and a plug to push the firewall forward. Unfortunately, the plug does not fit well and requires some old fashion fill and sanding. That and some shimming of the wing to fuselage interface were the only real fit issues.
Once I had it all together it just looked funny. It just didn’t look right. So, I started measuring and comparing to pictures and drawings. I found that the firewall plug hobby craft designed was about 4mm too long and the landing gear was about 4mm too short. Out came the razor saw to deal with the too long plug. To extend the landing gear I replaced the lower part of the landing gear leg with some from a very old Monogram P-40b from the spares box. I also used the wheels from the Monogram p-40. Those wheels have separate tires and wheel hubs that really are easy to paint. I remember building the P-40 when I was a kid and being very happy with how the wheels came out. So they got reused here some 50 years later!
The paint is all AK real colors. This is fantastic stuff. Sprays very well, dries quick and they offer a lot of colors. The decals came from generic RAF roundel, code and serial sheets that I have had for years. I use Mark Setter for the first time, and it worked great. It did leave some cloudy stains on the paint but those disappeared under the AK flat.
I wanted to depict an airplane not usually represented so I chose 5 Sq in Burma. I picked BS795 OQ-W only to find out later that there is a decal sheet on the market with these marking….oh well.
These airplanes were from a French order taken over by the RAF in 1940. They were shipped out to India in late 1941 wearing standard day fighter camo and at least initially had full squadron codes. 5 Sq converted to the Curtiss fighter in December 1941 from the Hawker Audax! In March 1942 survivors of No 67 who had flown Buffalos over Malaya joined No 5 to defend Calcutta and costal Bruma. Adventurous times.
The P-36/Hawk series really got a work out for a type that was produced in relatively small numbers. Serving on both sides across the globe; Finland, France, North Africa, East Africa, Syria, India, Burma and of course Pearl Harbor. Not many types were used in combat against all of the following: USN, USAAF, FAA, RAF, IJN, IJA, Luftwaffe, and the Soviet AF.
The model is probably a bit too clean for an airplane in 1942 Burma but all the picture I have seen indicates they were well cared for. I enjoyed it but my next one will be a easier kit. I have been eying a Tamiya P-51B in the pile.
I hope you like it!

7 additional images. Click to enlarge.