Seversky P-35 by MPM

1/72 scale
Kit No. 72138
Cost: $29.99
Decals: Two versions – U.S. Army Air Corps, and Royal Swedish Air Force
Comments: Short run kit with engraved panel lines; resin engine and cockpit details; photo-etch fret; one-piece canopy

History

The P-35 was the first aircraft from the design team of Russian immigrants Alexander P. de Seversky and Alexander Kartveli. When the U.S. Army Air Corps ordered 77 of these aircraft in June 1936, the P-35 had the distinction of being the first American single-seat fighter with a fully enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear. It was also the first all-metal fighter (save for its fabric-covered control surfaces). Sleek and modern-looking with elliptical wings, it caused a brief sensation and was the inspiration for Italian aircraft designer Roberto Longhi’s Reggiane Re 2000. But despite its flair and dash, the coming of war would bring home with cruel reality the P-35’s deficiencies as a combat aircraft.

But the P-35’s flaws in combat lay in the future. In the Summer of 1936, it was a coup for the Seversky Aircraft Corporation, which began as a private venture in 1931 and landed an Army contract for the fighter just five years later. The P-35 was derived from the three-place Seversky SEV-3 amphibian, which had set a record for piston-engined amphibious aircraft, reaching 230 mph (370 km/h). Like the Re 2000 it inspired, it would enjoy a degree of success in the export market. Sweden bought significant numbers of both aircraft, 60 examples of the Re 2000 and 120 of the P-35.

The construction of the P-35 was of a all-metal low-wing cantilever monoplane with fabric covered flight controls. It had an enclosed cockpit and the wings were elliptical, similar to the Supermarine Spitfire, with ailerons and flaps on the trailing edge. The main landing gear retracted aft and was partially faired, while the tail wheel was fully enclosed. The partially faired landing gear of the P-35 was a major flaw in an era where landing gear able to fully enclose within the wing were becoming commonplace on new, contemporary fighter designs such as the Hawker Hurricane, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Curtiss Model 75 and the Dewoitine D.520. In comparison the P-35 appeared awkward and outdated.

Delivery of P-35s took place between July 1937 and August 1938, but production delays prompted the USAAC to purchase 210 Curtiss P-36 Hawks, which had come in second in the 1936 competition as the Model 75. The final P-35 on this contract was completed in 1938, with a revised wing and a supercharged 1,200 hp (895 kW) Twin Wasp engine. This was the 77th aircraft produced and had a modified landing gear. This aircraft became the single Seversky XP-41 prototype and was developed in parallel with the P-43 Lancer.

The Twin Wasp radial engine initially generated 850 hp but was later upgraded to an improved version generating 1050 hp. It had a wide cowling, which enclosed one .50 caliber machine gun and one .30 caliber machine gun. This armament was completely inadequate compared to the contemporary European fighters of the time (the Hawker Hurricane had the equivalent of eight .30 caliber machine guns), but would later be upgraded in the P-35A to two .30 caliber Browning machine guns and two .50 caliber Browning machine guns. The P-35 also lacked armor protection for the pilot and self-sealing fuel tanks, which would make it dangerously vulnerable to enemy fighters once war broke out.

These features were not yet deemed essential to American fighter design at the time of the P-35’s service debut (July 1937), but in the early stages of World War II, particularly in the skies over the Phillipines, their absence would prove fatal to American pilots going up against more modern Japanese fighters. Only 76 P-35’s were built, delivery being completed in August 1938, with the 77th aircraft finished as the prototype XP-41. In a major blow to Seversky Aircraft, the Air Corps, when it wanted more fighters in 1937, unhappy with both the slow delivery of the P-35, and Seversky’s sale of a two-seat version, the 2PA, to the Japanese Navy, ordered 210 P-36 fighters from Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

Seversky AP-7A, NX1384, at the Union Air Terminal, 1940. (San Diego Air & Space Museum, Public Domain)

The P-35 was sleek, aerodynamic and relatively fast, but its overall performance turned out to be a disappointment. By December 12, 1941, five days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, of the forty P-35’s that had been sent to reinforce the Philippines, only eight were airworthy — the remainder having been shot down or destroyed on the ground. While the P-35 was a beautiful aircraft to look at, in combat it was not much more than that.

Although not a success as a fighter, the lessons learned from the P-35’s service would propel its co-designer Alexander Kartveli to develop the XP-41, the P-43 Lancer, and the largest of the series, a prototype called the XP-47. Inadequate though it was, the P-35 would spawn a lineage of aircraft that would ultimately culminate in one of the outstanding fighters of World War II, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

The Kit

MPM’s P-35 is a short run kit, injection molded in grey plastic, and consists of 34 plastic parts including the one-piece clear canopy. The surface of the airframe features meticulous yet delicate engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail. The resin parts for the cockpit, seat, cockpit sidewalls, radial engine, control yoke, and the P-35’s distinctive landing gear fairings are what make this an Upgraded Kit according to the box art, and in some cases improve upon their plastic injection molded counterparts, which feature softer detail.

The actual box art for the upgraded 2001 kit that is the subject of this review. The original 1998 box art was substituted for the banner photo of this article, for one simple reason: It looks better in color. – Ed.

The key differences between MPM’s original 1998 P-35A release, and this P-35 Upgraded version which followed in 2001, are the resin details and a photo-etch fret, neither of which featured in the original kit. The PE fret further augments the cockpit detail with an instrument panel (including film), rudder pedals, seat straps, and various sidewall mounted controls.

This is quite a detailed kit for the scale, and careful attention will have to be paid to the instructions. For example, the legs of the main landing gear must be cemented into the lower wing halves before they are in turn cemented to the upper wings. In addition, minor scratch-building will be required to fashion machine gun barrels, one for each wing, as these parts are not provided — although aftermarket barrels are also an option. The greenhouse canopy is relatively clear and features good framing detail, which will assist painting.

Markings

The kit decals are by Propagteam, feature excellent color and are completely in register. Markings are provided for three versions: The first is a U.S. Army Air Corps P-35A of the 34th Pursuit Squadron, based in the Philippines in December 1941, featuring a paint scheme of olive drab over neutral grey with a chrome yellow cowling. Second is a P-35A of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, Nichols Field (no more detail provided on the location) in early 1941, with an overall natural metal or aluminum scheme and a white cowling. Third is a machine of the Royal Swedish Air Force, which dubbed the P-35 the J-9, circa 1943. According to the instructions it has a paint scheme involving a mix of Green and Sand upper surfaces, over Light Blue or Hellblau undersides. The instructions call out Gunze Sangyo paint numbers only.

A Seversky two-seater converted to be an advanced trainer, the AT-12 Guardsman ‘NX55539’ – Photo by Alan Wilson of Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK .

Conclusion

This is a very detailed kit for this scale and with patience, should build up into an excellent representation of the original P-35. As with all short run kits, it will not fall together (there are no locator pins for the fuselage, nor are there slats to help with positioning the wings or elevators as they are cemented to the fuselage), so care will have to be taken at each stage. But the resin and photo-etch details can be expected to help achieve a very realistic result.  This kit is a smaller, but no less detailed alternative to the 1/48 scale versions marketed by Hobbycraft.  Highly recommended.

References

• www.aviation-history.com
• ww2-weapons.com
• wikipedia.org