1/32 P39 Aircobra. What kit should i buy?

[MARCELO CAMPOS]

Hi guys.

 

Today i have  question here about P39 1/32 kit...

 

What kit should i buy? What brand?

 

Thanks a lot

 

Marcelo

[James Rademaker]

I built the Special Hobby Kit about five years ago and enjoyed the build. It comes with resin exhausts stacks and a pretty good cockpit. 
Regards,

Jim

[MARCELO CAMPOS]

2 minutes ago, James Rademaker said:

I built the Special Hobby Kit about five years ago and enjoyed the build. It comes with resin exhausts stacks and a pretty good cockpit. 
Regards,

Jim

Thanks a lot Jim for your help.

 

Marcelo

[LSP_Kevin]

There are only two injection-moulded kits of the P-39 available - one from Special Hobby, which is a short-run kit available in multiple boxings, and a more recent release from Kitty Hawk, which is, for want of a better term, a 'long-run' kit. Both have their issues and challenges, though I've only built the latter kit. It has some fit issues, and is way over-engineered, but turns out nicely enough with some work:

 

 

Depending on who you ask, the fuselage is around 5 or so mm short on both kits, but I've left mine unmodified.

 

Kev

[Rowen]

I built the Special Hobby P-39D that came out about 10 years ago - Nips Nemesis II/Doc McGee's plane. Turned out my dad knew him and the plane! They served together in New Guinea!

The kit is fairly decent but I remember the front landing gear bay assembly instructions being weird and something about the air intakes being reversed. Not a bad kit but it has a couple issues. Nothing someone with some experience building couldn't overcome.

 

-Ro

 

[MikeC]

I've built the Kitty Hawk kit, and I actually quite enjoyed it.  Some say it's a bit short: I left that as is.  You just need to know your Cobra variants.  The instructions do not specify which guns belong to the P-39N variant, and which to the Q, and illustrate both fitted: an impossibility since (a) the underwing guns on the Q cover the ejector ports for the N's wing guns; and (b) it was internal wing guns for the N, underwing guns for the Q.  The fairing for the under-fuselage DF loop is moulded on, and this was a Soviet fit, so it needs removing if you're doing a non-Soviet bird.  The exhaust parts all have the same part number, but are not the same, so take care here.  The N had an armoured glass panel behimnd the seat, rather than the headrest as in the kit.  The nose art for "Snooks II" was on the starboard side only, not both as the kit shows.  But in its favour, the removable panels actually fit if you want to show them closed, and there is plenty of scope for detailing if that's your thing.  And it captures the character of the P-39 well imo.

 

I did a full build in the June 2016 issue of Scale Aviation Modeller.  If you have, or can get hold of, a copy, that has full details.  Would I build another?  I would.

 

 

Edited May 29, 2020 by MikeC

[Dpgsbody55]

I built the Kitty Hawk kit and loved it.  The kit took me about two months to build and I did do some custom stuff to it, as well as added some Eduard etch enhancements.  If you check the parts fit every time, and see how it will fit with the next stage, you shouldn't run into any problems.  The only exception to that is the cannon shell feed which sits a little too high, for which I thinned out the top cowl.  Also, be careful of the position of the instrument panel.  It's very thick and can interfere with the fitment of the canopy.  Lastly, you'll need some lead weight to keep it from being a tail sitter.  Mine has quite a bit, but the stock plastic undercarriage legs are holding up well under the weight.

 

Regarding the guns, P-39N's had wing guns, which were not fitted to P-39Q's.  The Q model could have the underwing guns, but be aware that these were not often fitted on Russian planes.  If you want to see my build, you can find it here: P-39 Airacobra, by Kitty Hawk

 

 

 

I loved this kit, so much so, that I've bought another.  But I'd suggest doing some research and check other P-39 builds too.  Good luck and I look forward to seeing how yours turns out should you choose to present it here.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael