P-40N Warhawk

Hasegawa kits are generally easy to build and accurate, making them some of the most dependable kits on the market. As a slightly older mold -- perhaps three decades by now -- the detail is not impressive and the engraved panel lines are a little too shallow, but otherwise this is a superb kit, nearly as good as Academy's very similar version. The spare cockpit (instrument panel, control column, seat) is livened up by a decent pilot figure. The undercarriage doors come in one piece and need to be cut in half to be posed open, but I found this surprisingly easy, and the result looks very good. The most niggling shortcoming is the shallowness of the panel lines, which will simply vanish under a coat of paint. I prefer the Academy kit, but this was a fun build all the same.