Presented
here is my 1/48 Eduard P-39Q finished to represent an aircraft flown by a
Russian ace. I took some small liberties with final markings, so it is not 100%
true to the real thing. I don’t have any “Wings of the Red Star” in my
collection, so I decided to go with this version.
Overall
this was a very enjoyable kit to build, with a few exceptions. The fit of the
wings and fuselage was dead on, and I used a dab of filler at the top of the air
intake. The quality of the molding, decals, spare parts, and instructions make
this a really good buy (IMO). Speaking of decals, you get the option to build a
Russian, American, or French version of this plane. This kit also includes
Eduard’s “Express Masks” for the canopy, wheels, and landing light.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
cockpit doors gave me some problems, though. They just would not fit flush, even
after several rounds of sanding and filing. I ended up gluing them in place, and
hoping for the best. You can see some small gaps. Just shoot me!
I
used the standard OD green with neutral grey color scheme. I lightened the
interior green with some chromate yellow to attempt to match the
Bell
colors at that time. I used some pastel chalk to simulate exhaust, fuel, and
fluid stains. Paint chipping was done with chrome silver paint and a cropped,
small brush.
The
landing gear has a lot of small pieces, but they all fit properly, and worked
out great. It’s neat having a tricycle gear aircraft next to all my
tail-draggers.
I
found much useful info here on this site (as usual), and I thank everyone else
who has taken the time to post their pics and helpful hints!
Brett
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