Valom 1/72 Fisher XP-75/P-75A Eagle By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

The Fisher P-75 design originated from a requirement for a fighter-interceptor with long range and fast climbing ability. Designed by Donovan Berlin from the Fisher Body Division of General Motors, the P-75 was a mid-engine low-wing aircraft with contra-rotating propellers. To speed testing, the prototype aircraft made extensive use of off-the-shelf items, including a Dauntless rudder, Mustang wings, and Corsair landing gear. The initial testing of the XP-75A failed due to center of gravity issues and overall low power. This led to a complete redesign and the production version P-75 had a different fin, cooling arrangement, and canopy. The P-75 never entered service, though, as the USAAF decided to maintain production of the P-51 and P-47, rather than introduce another fighter type.

The Kits

Valom has come out with two kits of the Fisher Eagle, the XP-75 and the P-75A. As the two kits share a majority of parts, this review will examine both and highlight the differences where appropriate. Inside the box of each kit is a single large sprue of medium gray pieces, with beautifully done recessed panel lines and extremely petite riveting. Accompanying this is additional sprues of light gray parts containing the ventral radiator scoop and, in the case of the XP-75, the different tailplanes and wingtips. The canopy in each kit is injection molded, and rounding out the parts is a small fret of photoetch and a small bag of resin parts. The small decal sheet is common between the two kits, which is understandable considering that there is not much to the markings on these aircraft.

Construction is very straightforward, with no real surprises considering the complexity of the plane itself. The cockpit is fairly basic, with a floor, two-piece seat, control stick, and photoetch instrument panel, rudder pedals, and seat belts. There is no side wall detail to speak of, but really not much would be seen anyway, due to the curvature of the fuselage and closeness of the canopy. Other than the cockpit, the only other item needed to fit between the fuselage halves is the propeller hub assembly. This is made up of two resin pieces and two plastic pieces and is designed to have the blades rotate. Speaking of which, all of the propeller blades are separate, so be ready for a bit of a challenge in getting those lined up right.

With the fuselage together, the next step is to add all of the details to it, and for this step there are quite a few small pieces to add. All of the exhaust stubs are separate (and these are in a very unique arrangement), so be ready for a bunch of careful alignment of tiny resin and plastic pieces here. Also separate are several scoops on the nose, and there is a large opening on the underside for the radiator fairing. This is made up of two pieces, with photoetch screens for inside. The one-piece fin and stabilizers finish up the fuselage assembly.

For the wings, you get the standard three-piece assembly, with the one-piece lower wing incorporating a good chunk of the lower fuselage. Some of the resultant seam will be covered by the radiator scoop, so don’t worry too much about making that trailing edge seam absolutely flawless. For the underside of the wings, there is a photoetch insert for the gun vents on the P-75. For the XP-75, which did not have guns, simply flip this photoetch piece over and you are set. The landing gear is fairly simple, and about the only addition here would be some card stock on the inside of the wheel well opening, to close off the edges.

For painting, your choices are rather limited, unless you decide to go with a “What-If” scheme (pick your favorite P-51 scheme and apply it to the P-75: that would open up some really colorful P-75s!). For the XP-75, these were camouflaged in olive drab over neutral gray. The P-75A was overall natural metal. National insignia and serial numbers make up just about all the markings on these aircraft. The decals are nicely printed and should have no problem in usage.

Conclusion

These are great kits of some rather unique aircraft. The engineering of the kit is quite good, and the tooling excellent, so these could make for a great weekend project. For those who are into what-if, these open up some great possibilities as well, both for World War Two and after. Imagine a P-82 type based on the Fisher Eagle, painted black with some big artwork and some Korean War kill markings. My thanks to Valom for the review samples.