I bought this upgrade set at the Orlando Nationals to upgrade the Monogram P-36 which I was going to do with the Yellow Wings decals, which I have also reviewed.

The Monogram P-36 has been around for a long time, first released in 1967. While it’s not a new kit, it has decent shape and fit. But the interior is just a seat and an instrument panel. Starfighter Decals, part of Mark’s Models and Toys, comes to the rescue with resin parts.

You get wheel wells, a seat, cockpit sides, a floor, an instrument panel, and a stick.

Mark Tutton made the masters for the resin parts, and he’s done a good job. Everything in the cockpit went together well, and I’m happy with how it looks.

The instructions call for an aluminum interior, or possibly interior green. Since the 77th Pursuit was at Moffett Field when they had this aircraft, and they were there in late 1939 to mid 1940, I chose the green.

The wheel wells require a little more craftsmanship. You need to remove part of the wing root, as Monogram made the wing a closed part, and there’s no room for the complete well part. Additionally, the resin part needs to be thinned to allow the wing top and bottom halves to meet. The instructions call for thinning the top of the resin wheel wells “as thin as you dare”. Yep, that worked for me when the parts were so thin you could see through them.

Overall Evaluation

Highly Recommended. I am very satisfied with the way the interior looks, and it went together really well. I’ve had some issues with resin interiors which didn’t take into consideration the thickness of the fuselage plastic, and this one is designed for and fits the Monogram kit with no issues.

A word of explanation. I bought this kit at the IPMS Nationals. The person who sold me the set didn’t have any change. I didn’t have any change. He gave me a 50 cent discount, selling the set for $12.

Thanks to Steve Collins and IPMS who gave me permission to do this review of an item which was purchased, not donated. Also a tip of the hat to Starfighter Decals for upgrading my Monogram P-36.