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91

Aircraft Modeling / Re: Oldie but Goodie - Monogram's P-39 Airacobra - 1/48

« on: July 10, 2012, 03:05:50 AM »

Thanks mates for your comments!!

Well, I have a little more photos to show you what I will do on the model.

First, my P-39 is from previous release of Promodeler version. Original Monogram's kit was modified ("upgraded") with a new sprue with figures, nose landing gear struts and -Q version wing external guns to re-release on the market. Today is possible getting this, and appears in gray injected sprue (in my WIP photos), and green ones comes from '70s - '80s released version. I bought current Revell kit as it is possible to get it on hobby shops or webstores, in order to have a model-reference to compare them when I finished this project.

As you can see, it is a model with old panel lines (not engraved). So, I will scribe all of them following walkaround photo as reference.
New sprue, provided in Revell kit.

My old kit main wheels vs. new main wheels (flattened). Checking photos, I decided to copy Hasegawa's kit to replace them.


Nose landing gear was modified, and you can see extra arm landing gear vs. one piece from old kit




Fuselaje and wings parts showed as it.............

....fabric texture on aileron will be remove it........

Interior details will be sanded off, too.......

Left door will be cut it to leave two doors opened to show interior details.........

Central pylon, wheel wells and air intakes, will be upgraded and detailed...

Wing panel lines will be scribed correctly, there are some incorrect hatches and panel lines.....Ailerons will be cut off to be detailed and move them


About wing air intakes and radiators (cooling and oil sytems) will be modified, based on photos.....here, there is a good oportunity to correct these sections.


Flaps will be cut off and replace them with Eduard's Big Ed set.


Well, I hope to post more this week...........

92

Aircraft Modeling / Oldie but Goodie - Monogram's P-39 Airacobra - 1/48

« on: July 03, 2012, 08:40:28 PM »

Hello,

I am a mexican modeller and this is my first WIP here, and I'm want to share my current project on Monogram's P-39 Airacobra kit. Why I am doing that one and not Eduard's nor Hasegawa's? Well, because it is an old model from 60's but mostly in "good" shape into 1/48th scale.

By other hand, my favorite Disney's cartoon is Donald Duck, and I am working in a collection of WWII aircrafts that carried him as nose art.
Well, one of these aircrafts was flown by 1/Lt. William McDonough in New Guinea in 1943 (near Port Moresby). P-39K-1 BE (Serial Number 42-4358), it belonged Bell's P-39s mid-production series. So, it helps me to find further information about K-production series, because you can find more about Q-series than early and mid production. I have found in several references, pictures, articles, books and websites, so it has been a hard work to cross references to get what I want to do in my model. One important point is that there are two different references about scale plans, they don't match and there is no better than other :eek: You can find in Mushroom's P-39 book a large scale plans sheet in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32. But if you compare it with Osprey's Ace combat series (P-39 Airacobra aces), you can find important differences in wing and fuselage shapes (comparing model kit vs. scale plans). If somebody has more details about it and want to share them. I'll thank you.

Here is the subject to do!!



Cutting Edge decal sheet has (ok, had) the most accurate artwork done for this version (on my opinion), and includes two Donald views (for port and starboard sides), but he was painted only in starboard side. In Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #36 - P-39 Airacobras Aces of the WWII, pages 23 (profile #11) and 36, is possible to find what I say and find. There is one colored photo in Pacific Wrecks website (pacificwrecks.com) where shows radio equipment arrangement (there were several of them in P-39 production).
.

My book references are:
Osprey Aircraft Aces #36 - P-39 Airacobras Aces in WWII
AJ Press Monographie #058 - P-39 Airacobra
Mushroom Publications - Bell P-39 Airacobra - New edition
Crowood Aviation series - Bell P-39 Airacobra
Warbird Tech 17 - Bell P-39 Airacobra & P-63 Kingcobra
In Detail & Scale (Squadron Signal Books) - P-39 Airacobra
P-39 Technical manuals
and several walkaround photos from the web!!

I will use Eduard's Big ED set for Hasegawa's kit (for Monogram's doesn't have many etched parts on "shape", sized and accurate), Cutting Edge resin set will be adjusted and I will get copies of some useful parts from Hasegawa kit (it hurts in wallet doing kit bashing with this kind of projects), and Squadron's clear canopy.

Starting up!!

Coming soon..........