Starfighter Decals 1/72 Curtiss P-36A
By Matt Bittner
The set of releases from Starfighter Decals is for the venerable Monogram 1/72 P-36. While the decals are specifically for P-36As, and the kit is more along the lines of a P-36C, Starfighter thankfully includes directions for converting the kit back into a P-36A.
The first sheet, #72-110 is for the 20th Pursuit Group, are finished all-over NMF and covers the following schemes:
- P-36A, 77th Pursuit Sqdn, 1940 with the dice insignia and a red banded cowl
- P-36A, 55th Pursuit Sqdn, 1940 with what looks like a bullseye insignia and a black banded cowl
- P-36A, 38-149, 20th Pursuit Group, Command Plane, Moffett Field, California 1940, piloted by Capt. Ross G. Hoyt. This is the most colorful with the cowl band being both black and red, three stripes on the fuselage and a shield insignia
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The second sheet, #72-111, is for the 16th and 35th Pursuit Groups again being all over NMF:
- P-36A, 38-3, 24th Pursuit Sqdn, 16th Pursuit Group, Albrook Field, Panama Canal Zone 1940, with a white cowl and a tiger insignia
- P-36A, 21st Pursuit Sqdn, 35th Pursuit Group, Moffett Field, California 1940 with a yellow cowl and a pair of cards as its insignia
- P-36A, 16th Pursuit Group C.O. Plane, Albrook Field, Canal Zone 1939 with a tri-color cowl, three stripes on the side of the fuselage and a shield for the insignia
These sheets - as are all new 1/72 sheets by Starfighter - are printed by Cartograf and look excellent and in registration. Both sheets come with extra decals for the sides of the fuselage which contain instructional type data. While designed for the Monogram kit I bet they would work on the Azur and AML kit (if you actually want to tackle the AML kit).
My thanks to Starfighter Decals for the review samples.