Academy 1/72 P-39 Airacobra

[papatika]

The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. The P-39 was used with great success by the Soviet Air Force, which scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type.[N 2] Other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force.

Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work. As such it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe and passed over to the USSR where performance at high altitude was less important.

Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.

-- Wikipedia

If you would like to see it "in action", and hear details from somebody who is much more competent than me, go and watch the video of The Mighty Jigles.

I chose this kit because I didn't saw similar in this GB.
The kit itself was created back in 1998 (Scalemates). Yes, it is older than some of you...

First of all: boxart. Isn't it beautiful?


In the box we have an instruction, with only 8 steps:

painting scheme for US and Russian aircrafts, part layout, and the cover:


There are 3 gray sprues, and a clear one.


Sprue A:


Check the details! Note, it is 1/72, and molded 20 yrs ago! Some companies still cannot produce this quality!



Sprue B:



Sprue C:



Clear parts:


And finally the decals:


I think it is an amazing little kit. There are several upgrades on the market, but I think it deserves to get built out of the box.

[NorthernModeller]

Academy do really nice 1/72 aircraft. probably my favourite manufacturer for the scale

[Les]

How is this one coming along PapaTika? I love the sleek look of this plane, and the kit looks pretty good from this side of the monitor.

[papatika]

Hi Les!

Nothing too much is going on here, I was working on my Shelby GT 500.

The body is basically ready, cockpit painted, some filling done. I think it is ready for the primer.

Here are some pictures taken a few minutes ago:

[SkyPainter303]

I built the Russian P-39 that Academy released. It's the one with the snake graphic. The decals were horrible and wouldn't settle down even with much setting solution. Other than that, it's a great kit.

[papatika]

I built the Russian P-39 that Academy released. It's the one with the snake graphic. The decals were horrible and wouldn't settle down even with much setting solution. Other than that, it's a great kit.

Yep, decals are always problematic, especially after sitting 20 yrs in a box. These ones look promising, not discolored, not cracked, not too thick. We'll see it.

[Les]

How goes the build on this bird? Have you reached the point to try out those decals yet?

[papatika]

Project was "on hold". I felt this is not my scale or genre. But I was not sure about my feelings. I like WW2 airplanes, and 1:72 is not a bad scale at all. But you know, if you feel stressed when looking on a build, don't continue.
After a while this bad feeling decreased enough to continue with the painting of the body.

First of all I put the canopy in place, and masked. I have a bad feeling with the glue. The canopy is masked, so I don't see what's underneath...
Additionally I painted the inside of the door. The door is made of clear plastic, it is funny to see the paint of the inside from the outside...


Primed with AMMO grey primer. I can be seen now, that the rear part or the canopy is not inline. This was the best I could achieve with sending. I think putty couldn't help me either...


Preshade:


White color (Revell white) applied to the edges of the wings and to the tail. (picture a bit overexposed, details of white are nice... )


Grey (Revell Grey) applied on the bottom.


And Olive green (AK Olive green base) for the top:


Here it is with the base colors (again sorry for the over exposure):



Plans for tonight: clear coat and decals.

[papatika]

Well... decals on... It wasn't a flawless victory...

First the gloss coat. I applied 2 layers (Revell gloss clear). The first was ok, and before it fully cured, I added a second layer. I almost ruined the tip of the right wing. Maybe I pulled the trigger way too much back, or I haven't mixed the thinner evenly leaving thicker bubbles in the paint. The lacquer accumulated in smaller spots.
I didn't want to wipe the excess off, because the underlying coat was still wet a bit. Wet enough to leave scratch marks and dump the panel lines. So I was waiting maybe it will level itself. It didn't. At least not enough. If I could turn back time, maybe I would increase the pressure of the airbrush, and just blast the excess away.
Finally I let it cure, and using a 1500 grid sand paper I lightly sanded it down with circular motions, cleaning the surface and the paper after every 3-4 turns. Now it is much better, probably I'll give it some more sanding. I hope the next clear coat will hide it.

About the decals. They are not broken, and they are really thin! It took over 5 minutes to reactivate the glue though, but that's ok. My bigger problem was that it seems to be almost resilient to Mr.Hobby's Mr. Mark Softer. I cut the decals along the panel lines at the end.



Next up: painting and adding remaining details.

[OliveDrab]

I've always liked the unique look of the P-39. Very nice build, hope the clear coat issue works out for you

[papatika]

Thanks Curt!
Yep, it has a pretty unique look, especially with the gears on.

I have to mention here, that the gears - compared to the level of details on the fuselage - are rubbish imho. They are just dead simple. No bolts, wires, pipes, profiles... Like a 1:144 scale noname kit...

Before the next coat of varnish I painted and added all the remaining pieces, except for the exhausts. It's almost ready!




next up: painting exhausts and gun barrels, adding scratches here and there, prepare for washes and weathering

[papatika]

I think I am ready. Added some weathering and a wash, And sealed it with satin varnish.
Here are some pictures (better ones will come later to the final reveal.











As this was my first airplane in the last 20 years or so, and I was struggling to continue and finish this kit, I would really like to hear your opinion. You can do it in the Final reveal, too...

As always, thank you all for dropping in, stopping by, leaving comment!