[Gort]

Boy, I must have really missed the boat on this one; but is the P-36 all that desirable? In the pantheon of outstanding warbirds, this one rates somewhere south of great, great being a world beater.

Forgive me for speaking through my hat (or metal visor), but this particular warbird never seems to rise above footnote status in context with other meritorious WWII aircraft. Please understand, I’m not putting anybody down who likes the P-36; it’s more that I don’t understand all this enthusiasm for a plane that didn’t contribute all that much to the war effort.

I’ve read the short histories here about this plane, and I’m impressed—especially with its Pearl Harbor contribution. And I admire the prowess Allied forces exhibited flying the P-36. But really, what’s with all the hubbub?

[tater7]

This might be a clever way of extending an exisiting mold. Being that the P-40 was an outgrowth of the P-36, is C1 going the reverse direction? I'm not a Hawk expert but isn't the firewall back identical on both planes?

[1250ships]

Originally Posted by Gort

Boy, I must have really missed the boat on this one; but is the P-36 all that desirable? In the pantheon of outstanding warbirds, this one rates somewhere south of great, great being a world beater.

Not to pick on old Gort but on the one hand we have members who want rarer or obscure machines produced and then when a company takes the leap and does it they get pounded for not doing something more interesting or significant.

The manufacturers have a tough job. The big warbirds have all been done so unless you are putting out a mould that is far superior to what came before you really have to move into more obscure aircraft with the risk of not moving product. In the ship model business this the the Bismarck/Titanic syndrome. Everyone releases one of those ships because everyone recognizes them. In planes I'd call it the Mustang/Spitfire syndrome. Without releasing yet another P-51D how to do ensure you are going to move enough product to recover your costs and make a profit?

Personally the Cleveland air race scheme has no interest for me. But obviously it does resonate with some collectors who remember it from their childhood kit building days. That probably translates into decent sales for that livery though unless I fall in love with the model itself I'll probably never buy one. My guess is that C1 figures the three versions they are producing will recover their costs. After that they will look at the sales and see if other versions make sense.

[jim]

Hi Gort,
I can understand your puzzlement on this one, allow me to give you my view.

First off I have an interest in the Curtiss company, fascinating history .
Secondly, the P36 was quite a revolution in US aviation, imho it was the first "modern " fighter the US produced.
Third, it was a darn good aeroplane and in the hands of a good pilot it could hold its own against the early BF109s, now that tells you how good it was.
Fourth is of course the Pearl Harbour connection.
Fifth, its interesting because of its very mixed WW2 history, having fought on both sides.

The Hawk at Duxford in the UK is reputed to have fought against the Germans in the battle for France and was then used in the Mid East against the Allies.
The P36 should have evolved into the P47 but, yes there is always a but, some one put a spanner in the works and Curtis went down the Liquid cooled engine road.

There you go, a quick rundown as to why I am busting to get this bird in my hanger.

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by jim

Hi Gort,
I can understand your puzzlement on this one, allow me to give you my view.

First off I have an interest in the Curtiss company, fascinating history .
Secondly, the P36 was quite a revolution in US aviation, imho it was the first "modern " fighter the US produced.
Third, it was a darn good aeroplane and in the hands of a good pilot it could hold its own against the early BF109s, now that tells you how good it was.
Fourth is of course the Pearl Harbour connection.
Fifth, its interesting because of its very mixed WW2 history, having fought on both sides.

The Hawk at Duxford in the UK is reputed to have fought against the Germans in the battle for France and was then used in the Mid East against the Allies.
The P36 should have evolved into the P47 but, yes there is always a but, some one put a spanner in the works and Curtis went down the Liquid cooled engine road.

There you go, a quick rundown as to why I am busting to get this bird in my hanger.

Nicely put, jim! Gort... I can't explain my "hubbub" any more than this: I love inter-war USAAC and USN birds. They fascinate me.

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by Gort

Boy, I must have really missed the boat on this one; but is the P-36 all that desirable? In the pantheon of outstanding warbirds, this one rates somewhere south of great, great being a world beater.

Forgive me for speaking through my hat (or metal visor), but this particular warbird never seems to rise above footnote status in context with other meritorious WWII aircraft. Please understand, I’m not putting anybody down who likes the P-36; it’s more that I don’t understand all this enthusiasm for a plane that didn’t contribute all that much to the war effort.

I’ve read the short histories here about this plane, and I’m impressed—especially with its Pearl Harbor contribution. And I admire the prowess Allied forces exhibited flying the P-36. But really, what’s with all the hubbub?

Yep, a bit of an obscure aircraft, but it did serve with some distiction. It saw some very limited use with the United States, but was one of the better aircraft that France had at it's disposal at the opening stages of WWII. The Hawk 75 also was used, shortly (very shortly), by the Dutch Air Force in the Pacific during the opening stages of the war. Finally it was used with some success by Finland during it's war with Russia. There was one Finnish pilot who scored fifteen victories in a Curtiss Hawk. I think there was a total of 16 Finnish pilots who had five or more victories while flying this aircraft. So for me this aircraft fills a bit of a void aviation history in what is corrently avialable in diecast. I like it that companies are starting to produce some of the lesser know aircraft that were used during WWII.

[Saeta]

Originally Posted by roowalker

Just received a nice reply from Frank @ Carousel1 per our livery dicussions. His decision on future liveries will be based upon sales of the initial 3 offerings. C1's primary market is in the U.S.,and marketing must appeal to many buyers who obviously are not as sophisticated as many of our membership posting on this forum,thus the concentration on appeal to "Joe Average" when a scheme is selected. Frank demonstrated a broad knowledge of possible interesting P36-Hawk 75 schemes,but I think it might be a while before any of our ideas see production.

Yep, I was fearing this.
This is the difference between a good brand ( C1 ) and a trully excellent one ( HM ).
The frst one aims low, cares only for its traditional market. The second one gets out there and conquers the world.

A P-36 / H75 release that does not have a Finnish and a French H75 is not worth much.

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by Saeta

Yep, I was fearing this.
This is the difference between a good brand ( C1 ) and a trully excellent one ( HM ).
The frst one aims low, cares only for its traditional market. The second one gets out there and conquers the world.

A P-36 / H75 release that does not have a Finnish and a French H75 is not worth much.

It would be a shame not to make a Finnish or French Hawk 75. Playing it safe might just keep the planes on the store shelf and not on the collecters shelf. I have ordered all three, but would really prefer the export versions. Also tried using the email address given (Frank @ Carousel1) but it did not go through for some reason. It would be nice to be able to voice our opinions directly to the folks at Carousel. Fortunately the folks at HM are willing to listen, shame there is not something similar for the Carousel folks.

[roowalker]

Hey! Franks address is frdalton@carouselone.com if you would like to drop him a note. Although I want a Hawk 75 variant as much as anyone,esp. a Finnish livery,our economic climate at this time would make anything other than a sure hit a bit of a gamble IMO.HM and their customer rapport is a benchmark ALL manufacturers would do well to imitate,however.

[roowalker]

The release date for the first P36 variant,(Pearl Harbor scheme) is now noted as 1 August on the Apollo site.