1/72 P-36H Bubbletop from the Heller Curtiss H75

[Brian da Basher]

Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre of the Air's 1938 War of the Worlds radio play is legendary.



Lost in the mists of time is that this wasn't the only alien invasion in the late 1930s. In fact, many strange sightings and oddball occurrences happened all across the U.S. for months after the famous Devil's Night broadcast that panicked a nation.



Perhaps the most notable incidents were over Detroit due to that city's proximity to the U.S. Air Corps' 1st Pursuit Group based at nearby Selfridge Field. This tense period would test the readiness and ability of the Air Corps to the utmost.





Initial failure to intercept the reported space invaders was not due to any lack of courage by the pilots, but was caused by obsolescent aircraft unable to reach altitude quickly or hit with a heavy enough punch to do any good.





Fortunately, the good folks at Curtiss would come to the rescue. They'd been working to improve the performance of their P-36 pursuit. The engine was upgraded and two 20 m.m. cannons were added to the wings, bringing total armament up to six guns. The rear decking was cut down and a plexiglass bubble canopy added which greatly improved visibility. The new pursuit would be known as the P-36H (H for Heavy).



The single-seat heavy fighter concept was new to the Air Corps, but the pilots adapted quickly to the enhanced capabilities of their new aircraft. Even though the Air Corps ordered just two service test squadrons of the P-36H, the aircraft briefly became a regular sight streaking to altitude over many U.S. cities as small flights were deployed on detached duty around the country.



With a second world war looming ever larger overseas, sightings of interplanetary invaders dropped to nil and the Air Corps placed no more orders for the new heavy pursuit, balking at the aircraft's high cost and complexity. This spelled doom for the P-36H and the type was quietly withdrawn from service in late 1940. All that exists today is this Curtiss marketing model found in an abandoned house near Buffalo, NY.



Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

This all started with the venerable 1/72 Heller Curtiss H75 export variant of the P-36. The box art is quite iconic, isn't it?



I've got a huge soft-spot for the Curtiss P-36. It's got a tough, fast look and you don't see them very often. As I'd never built the Heller version, I was happy to get my mitts on this kit. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone. Modifications had to be made which meant getting out the razor saw.



Next, a slice of card was cut to fit over the gap and half of a P-80 drop tank was drafted to do duty as the new bubble top canopy.





Of course, a little filler was needed and I had a few mishaps along the way. You see, I lost one of the kit's cowl guns and had to make a replacement from sprue. Sprue also makes up the big honkin' cannons and the .50s next to them. The kit ammo casing collectors made nice under-wing fairings for the 20 m.m. guns. The guns were added last so I wouldn't break them off while applying decals.







Once all this was done, it was off to the paint shop. Initially, I was going to go with a North African scheme as I had some idea for a P-36 vs. P-36 battle that ended in a draw, but this baby wanted to wear classic Olive Drab. Decals weren't a problem as I had sheets from the Monogram P-36 kit. One thing I noticed is that even though they're for the same kit, decals printed 7 years apart are actually slightly different sizes.





The Heller P-36 rudder is a little smaller than the Monogram version. The 1974 vintage Monogram decals fit nicely considering they weren't made for the Heller kit.



The model was brush painted by hand in acrylics, Model Masters Olive drab uppers and Light Sea Gray underneath. Testor's Gold was used on the canopy.





Kit decals were used except for the numbers which were from spares and the big red fuselage stripe which is actually from a 1/144 B-47. Funny, it fits like it was made just for this project.





Those shots will give you an idea of flash vs. no flash. For some reason, the best side profile shots were the darker ones.





I still can't get over how nicely those 41 year old Monogram decals worked. Any time anything almost as old as I am does the job it's like a minor miracle.



I had a lot of fun on this project which took about a week to put together.



I hope you enjoyed the P-36H bubbletop and reading about another forgotten bit of history.



Brian da Basher

[elmayerle]

What can I say?  It's another gorgeous piece of work from you with an equally enjoyable backstory.  Bravo, Sir!

[Volkodav]

Sweet, but where are the spats?

[The Big Gimper]

That's one "Heller" of a build Brian. Keep those Selfridge boys flying.

[Tophe]

Good transformation :)

[finsrin]

Captures all the splendor of P-36H. :)
Recall my uncle's army buddy saying the low profile canopy reduced drag.  Said that combined with more HP made "H" fast in P-36 parlance.

[apophenia]

Very nice! The bubble canopy gives it a slight La-5 look  :)