Completed Review – Academy P-39N/Q Airacobra (2177) – Part 4

Scale: 1:72, RRP - £6.99

So 7 months have passed since I last looked at Academy's P-39N/Q Airacobra and finally, half-heartedly, decided to finish this project off.

I previously stated that I like Academy kits, they might be cheap but they tend to pack in a reasonable amount of detail for the price. However at the budget end of the market the new Airfix range seem to be surpassing them and after completing Airfix's A6M2b Zero I somewhat lost my enthusiasm for the Academy kits in my stash.

With this particular kit it was the fit issues which almost killed it off. The cockpit was difficult to fit and the two halves had a particularly ugly join which spoilt the whole model. I was also going to attempt to remodel the front wheel to be the correct size but in the end decided to leave it as it is. On the plus side I did like the option of modelling the cockpit door open, however to do so meant you really need to purchase a third detail kit (in my case one from Eduard which was to the usual high standard).

So here it is. I'm not really proud of this one, I just wanted it finished so I could move on to something else.


I combined this kit with the decals from the ancient and awful Airfix kit but really I find hard to recommend either kit. Here's hoping to Airfix issue a newly tooled P-39 to match the standard of their most recent releases!

Overall Build Score: 2 out of 5, too many fit issues and a lack of attention to detail spoil what had the potential to be a very nice budget kit.

Build Review – Academy P-39N/Q Airacobra (2177) – Part 3

So the clamps came off (see part 2) and as expected some filling was needed along the join between the two halves. So after filling, respraying I was ready to add decals.

As mentioned before I was going to use the decals from the Airfix P-39Q Airacobra (A01039).

Comparing the two they looked similar. A nice touch on the Airfix decals is the green backgrounds, a slightly different shade to the green of the actual aircraft. This reflects how the US insignia was often painted over with whatever green paint the VVS had to hand at the time.

However here I learnt an important lesson. Just because the scale is the same don't assume the decals are the same size... The Airfix ones seem slightly too big for this scale, or at least the Academy P-39. But as I'd started with this scheme it was too late to go back.

Despite the size issue they went on well, a bit of decal softener helped them settle into place and ensured the panel lines showed through where they should.

Next up was more construction, time to add the tricycle landing gear.

The instructions tell you to add the nose wheel when joining the two halves of fuselage. This to me seems impractical and far too early in the construction process. So I'd cut a small hole in the side where the gear attached to allow me to add it at this later stage. Using a slower setting glue I attached the nose wheel, positioned it and let it set in place

So with the rear wheels added it was time for the moment of truth, was this one going to be a tail sitter?

 Looks good to me and I still have some backup weight to attach (in the drop tank)!

Build Review – Academy P-39N/Q Airacobra (2177) – Part 2

It's been a while since I last posted about Academy's P-39N/Q. I have to confess this is partly due to dry fitting indicating that there was likely to be trouble ahead.

As seen in the previous post the cockpit went together nicely and I continued adding photo etch to the the exhaust vents, I'm not sure how visible little details will be on the fished model but it's all good practice at working with photo etch.

I'd decided to paint the larger parts before assembly and so was hoping for a good fit. As much extra weight as I could manage was pushed into the nose as anyone who's built a P-39 knows, they're notorious tail-sitters.

However after this I began to see that the two halves of the fuselage weren't going to go together easily, especially around the cockpit. This would mean lots of filling and repainting. I'm not sure if the fit issues are due to the kit, my assembly of the cockpit, or the weight. Whatever it is, no amount of filling and trimming seemed to make it fit.

However I'm not prepared to write this project off just yet so out came a large set of clamps and the hope that a bit brute force would persuade it all to got together.

So until part 3, lets hope that it does go together!

Vintage Kit Build #1 - The Worst Kit You'll Ever Build?

I’m going to start by saying I have fond memories of Airfix kits, I grew up making them. So imagine my surprise when I found out that this kit was exactly one of those kits I built as a child, it hadn’t changed! By today’s standards it’s a really bad kit, much as I like a bit of nostalgia I have to wonder why kits like this aren’t retired.

I would imagine that given its pric of £5.99 (I actually got mine for £1.99 a few months ago) it would be picked up by novices and I have to wonder how many would continue with the hobby after trying to build something like this. Airfix are producing wonderful kits with their recent releases (some of which we’ll be looking at soon) and I feel it’s such a shame for the brand if someone chooses this one and misses out on one of the others.

So what is it like? It’s basic, really basic. The cockpit consists of just a seat, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue given the thickness of the clear parts, you’ll never see inside this one.

The fit is deplorable, the base of the tail just doesn’t exist and so you’ll be sculpting it yourself. The wheel wells seem to contain plastic wedges which are presumably there to support the ill-fitting wheel covers should you choose to do an in-flight version. Add to this an instruction sheet that fails to mention adding weights to the nose to prevent it becoming a tail-sitter and the landing gear down  option is an equal recipe for disaster.

Next up, the marking options. The box clearly shows a P-39N (with guns mounted in the wing, not below as they were in the P-39Q). The marking diagrams also clearly show two options for a P-39N but the parts are for a P-39Q. I think this lack of attention to detail is just unforgivable.

 

Now despite this I’m not going to completely right off this kit, the decals look to be good quality and the colour schemes are interesting if you want to attempt a P-39N conversion. If you want a basic but inaccurate build straight out of the box then it can be done.

 

Mine will be pressed into service in my "Experimental"s, a special unit whose duties will include being painted and stripped, over and over. A task this one will perform admirably, I’m sure.