alt-92 Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Contestant numero 2: The 1977 P-39 Airacobra kit. This one has suffered a bit. The cockpit bits are missing, so a seat & floor will be scratched and modified instead. The four blade prop is missing one blade. A secondhand PE set may help here Accuracy-wise, it's not going to matter too much because this one will not exactly end up as a P-39Q/N as boxed. I've chosen some oddball markings. Some 19 USAAF Operation Torch P-39s from the 81th and 350th FGs didn't quite make the ferry distance, and were interned in Portugal and pressed into service with the Portuguese AAF. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 Magic! I've been waiting for the P-39 to appear. Nice colour scheme choice too. Another build to follow and it's going to be fun trying to keep up with it all! Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Everyone knows my favorite plane is the Corsair, but the P-39 has always been number 2. I was hoping to see one of these so I could follow the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I like the Heller Airacobra, it was a big improvement upon what went before. A great choice and I like your choice of markings too. Good luck with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Another Allied Heller classic kit and one that looks good when built. Now I didn’t know that this came with a Four blade prop, what version would that be for? Cheers and welcome to this GB.. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 9 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: Another Allied Heller classic kit and one that looks good when built. Now I didn’t know that this came with a Four blade prop, what version would that be for? Cheers and welcome to this GB.. Dave P-39Q 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 While waiting for stuff to dry on the three other builds on the go, made a start with having a look what needs to be done for the P-39. As said, all the cockpit bits apart from the instrument panel are missing. Looking at the instructions, it's clear that the floor extends up to the nose and also forms the attachment point for the nose wheel. So: Floor cut & sanded to size, wheel well sideboards made. Also need to build the back firewall up. The scraps were used to fashion a basic seat - which still needs a bit of cleanup & mods. Found some PE meant for the Hase kit, and will use some of that to dress up the internals. Fun ensued. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 Update: Added the cockpit flooring bits and primed with black. IP blanked and PE stuck on, light drybrush and dots of klear to be added. Oil and Radiator bits stuck on the bottom wing: Added around 10gr of lead pellets, interior splashed with bronze green and closed up the fuselage: The seat scratchbuild is almost ready to be put in, just the belts to be added (upper right) and the control column. A look inside: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Looks good, but I know nothing about the P-39. A chance to learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 It's quite interesting to read about the number of permutations and changes, and how many of these changes were based on Soviet feedback - even the P-63 ended up what it became with their input. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share Posted December 12, 2020 Cockpit complete (apart from the gunsight that needs to be scratched). All the wingsy bits have been added, she's looking like a proper aircraft now initial Olive Drab laid down.. Oh, look. A stray fiber. For USAAF OD 41, I tend to start off with a base layer of Vallejo US Loam, then pick multiple shades of Olive greens to break up the monotone colours somewhat. I'm leaning towards a more bleached, tattered look with this one. Masking the canopy and windscreen at the moment, to be continued. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hi @alt-92 You were making great progress when we last heard from you, have you had a chance to do any more since we last heard from you ? Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 @JOCKNEY : Slowly picking up the pace again, I'm one of those lucky sods who have had to keep working over the holiday season. Due to lockdowns, the schools and nurseries were all closed down which means colleagues with kids can work less and us folks without spawn have to take up the slack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Hi mate Great to hear from you, ditto on the working during the holidays. Mrs Jockney is a Parkinson's specialist but gets called up for covid duties at the local hospital. I'm on call for the electric company, keeping the lights on, so alcohol free ! Its enough to give a Scotsman nightmares Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 Managed to do some fading & blotch template use, which gives a nice degraded effect to the OD. And as usual, when you cover it with a clear coat to prepare for decals, it comes out way darker it''ll be fine with a final matt coat... The underside is bog-standard Neutral Grey. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 Great to see this one making progress Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tucker Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 This looks really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 Because the original cockpit & nosegear bay parts were missing, the positioning on the nosegear is slightly off to what it's supposed to have in the box. In order to camouflage that a bit, it's slightly offset in a turn. The main gear struts have been shortened half a mm, drilled out and some albion alloy .5 rod inserted. That lower sit compensates a bit for the angle on the nose gear. The LF model decals are printed a bit like the newer Eduard decals. So: inks on top of the carrier film layer, without top coating. That also means you have cut them off the sheet individually. Despite that, they are thin enough and handle fine. The P-39 models used by the Portuguese are different from the P-39Q kit in that they don't use the underwing gun pods, but instead use the 4x wing mounted guns. So, drilled out the offset holes and added the barrels - again AA tube. The LF decals were sealed in with a thin coat of HG floor coating (a product similar to Future) So now, a bit of detailing, satin coat and light weathering to do. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Congratulation @alt-92 Looks really smart especially now with the decals on. I can't remember the last time I saw a Portuguese aircraft so this is even better for it. I wonder if my old mate Jaime @jrlx has been watching this ? Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Very smart, and nice to see some different markings. It looks a good kit in the box, and seeing it built up like this confirms it. Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Great job and nice to see a historic Portuguese Air Force aircraft being built! 10 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: I wonder if my old mate Jaime @jrlx has been watching this ? Pat, thanks for calling my attention to this build. I haven't been very active in Britmodeller recently and didn't notice it. By the way, I built this kit as a kid. At the time it was very refined compared to most kits available. I still have the remains somewhere. Cheers Jaime 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Calling this done, I'm happy with it 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Very well done! Congrats! Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Very nice. It's good to see a lesser spotted scheme as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) Great work and love the Markings on this, would love to do a few types in Portugese markings someday. Edited February 7, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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