Bell P-39 Airacobra

by Brett Green

 

 

Description

Eduard from the Czech Republic has produced some beautiful kits in the last few years. Their recent Airacobra family feature crisp surface features, plenty of detail, an accurate outline and straightforward construction.

I built Eduard's 1/48 scale P-39 straight from the box except for a replacement resin seat with a harness cast in place.

The model is finished as an Airacobra attached to 23 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force in late 1943. Decals are from Red Roo Models.

Although the decal instructions describe the upper surfaces as overall Olive Drab, I thought I could discern a very low-contrast camouflage demarcation. I therefore chose to paint the model in faded Olive Drab with a locally-applied disruptive coat of RAAF Foliage Green. The lower surfaces are finished in RAAF Sky Blue.

The hard-edged camouflage pattern was painted with the assistance of a Black Magic mask from Cutting Edge Modelworks.

My Airacobra was sprayed exclusively with the Testor Aztek A470 double-action airbrush, using the tan-colored "Fine" tip.

 

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