H-750 Hawk & H-75N Hawk

Clear Prop!, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Graham Carter

I will deal with these two kits together as they are essentially the same apart from underwing guns and the decals.

Clear Prop is a kit manufacturer from the Ukraine and it is great to learn that production is continuing from this resiliant nation. They are called ‘Starter kits’ , despite their complexity and I think this refers to their absence of resin and photo-etch. They lack nothing despite these omissions.

Originally named the P-36, the fixed-undercarriage and pants gave it a certain art-deco appearance but severely curtailed its performance as a fighter and it saw very little action with the U.S. Army Air Force, but was a pretty successfully exported aircraft, and even produced under license in China.

The export variants were designated H-75 and was simplified by the e exclusion of the retractable undercarriage. Argentina bought a number of the simplified, fixed landing gear Hawk 75Os, (intended for rough-field operations and ease of maintenance) and purchased a manufacturing license for the type; 30 were built and delivered by Curtiss, and 20 produced locally.

The H-75N was another of the simplified export variants, with fixed landing gear and wheel metal pants, provided to the Siamese (Thailand)  Air Force.

During the conflict with Vichy France (Franco-Thai War of 1940–41) P-36 or H-75 were flown by both sides.

As such this is pretty significant aeroplane and it is great to see kit of it.

This is the first 1/72 kit (to my knowledge) of this fixed-undercarriage progenitor of the more successful, and famous, later Hawk model 75, Mohawk, and P-40 series of Kittihawks and Warhawks.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Thumbnail panels:

Each kit comprises 72 mid-grey plastic parts on six sprues and a five-part clear sprue.

The parts are identical in each kit and come in a flimsy glossy card end-opening box with nice illustrations on the top by Eugeny Knupfer.

The sprues are separated into clear backs within a resealable outer bag.

The parts themselves are superb. No sign of seams or flash, with some seriously fine parts that will require care separating from the sprue.

Surface details are exceptionally fine and will look amazing under a coat of paint, the variations of rivets and plain panels look fabulous.

The engine, seat frames and separate side walls are just amazing - who needs resin when the mouldings are of this quality? ( Note that we have received from Clear Prop two accessory packs for these kits which will be reviewed in due course - a Kabuki masks set and a photo-etched fret of finer details).

The sidewalls fit into cleverly designed recesses in the fuselage halves - brilliant. 

Ailerons and rudder are separate to add interest. Seat belts come as decals, as does the instrument panel. This is one gob-smackingly well-moulded kit!

The excellent instruction booklet of folded A4 pages with a parts map, nineteen construction stages, a paint guide for Mr Color and A-Mig and two pages of colour schemes and decal placement. The parts map indicates the parts not to be used for each variant, eleven in each case, and they indicate that other variants will follow. The instruction booklets are too big for the boxes and come curled around the parts bags. The box could be 10mm longer and wider for them to fit in perfectly.

The decal sheets are nicely printed with good density and register with four sets of markings for each kit:

• Curtiss Hawk ?-75O, Grupo 1 de Caza, Argentina Air Regiment 2, Army Aviation Command, 1944 in overall natural metal,

• Curtiss Hawk ?-75O, Air Regiment 2, Army Aviation Command, 1946 in olive drab over light blue

• Curtiss Hawk H-75O, Grupo 1 de Caza, Argentina Air Regiment 2, Army Aviation Command, 1944, natural metal, and

• Curtiss Hawk H-75O, Air Regiment 2, Army Aviation Command, 1946, again in olive drab over light blue

The other kit features:

• Curtiss Hawk H-75N, 60 Squadron, 66th Wing Nakhon Phanom, Thailand 1940 in tan/green/brown over pale grey with the early rectangular red-white-blue-white-red national symbols

• Curtiss Hawk H-75N, 5th Air Wing RTAF in tan and green over pale grey with red-white-blue-white-red roundels

• Curtiss Hawk H-75N, 16 Squadron, Lampang, Thailand 1944 with white elephants on red rectangles  in tan and brown over pale grey, and

• Curtiss Hawk H-75N, unknown unit, 1941in natural metal with red-white-blue-white-red roundels.
  Some very attractive schemes here.

These are two very impressive kits and I heartily recommended them to any 1/72 modeller with an interest in this era or aeroplane. I can see many award-winning replicas being produced from these components. Well done Clear Prop.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Clear Prop! for the review sample.

Review Text Copyright © 2022 by Graham Carter
Images Copyright © 2022 by Brett Green
Page Created 3 October, 2022
Last updated 3 October, 2022

Back to HyperScale Main Page

Back to Reviews Page