Friday, 9 March 2012

P-39Q Aircobra

Hot on the heels of the F-Toys 1/144 scale P-40s are these P-39 Aircobras in a variety of marking schemes.  As with the Hawks, these kits arrived pre-painted and in need only of assembly and markings.  The stripey example above is particularly fetching, but as the accompanying leaflet is in Japanese I'm not sure which unit it represents.  Any help would be welcomed.
While everyone else seems to have hated the P-39, Soviet pilots really took to the 'Kobra' and the USSR received them in considerable numbers.  Just as well really, as my Russians already have one.
A rather less well known user was the RAF.  This example wears the markings of 601 Squadron.
The kit before assembly.  Not a big job.
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8 comments:

  1. Don M9 March 2012 at 18:20

    Very nice, and I did not know that the British even used the P39! I know the Soviets loved the plane, more than the US did!

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  2. Paul9 March 2012 at 22:29

    While they are nice I must admit I find the P39 to be a ugly bird in all the wrong ways.

    Just as well the reds liked them!

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  3. Giano9 March 2012 at 22:51

    Great kits! I also have a couple of 1/144 P-39s, but those old ones from revell. not really up to this standard.

    The brits too used the P-39, but not for long. they didn't like its low performance at high altitude. The soviets received a lot of P-39s of the later series, and loved them because of their great performance at low altitude (high altitude combats weren't much common on the eastern front).
    Also some second-hand P-39s were sent to the co-belligerent italian air force. They weren't of much use because they were too worn out.

    Have good modelling time! ;)

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  4. Tim Gow10 March 2012 at 08:54

    Don M
    The RAF only used them very briefly. Somehow the nature of the P39 seems very Russian!

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  5. Tim Gow10 March 2012 at 08:54

    Paul
    The ugliness just adds to its appeal!

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  6. Tim Gow10 March 2012 at 08:55

    Giano
    I have the old Revell kit too : http://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2010/11/red-sky-at-night.html
    One of the F-toys kits did include Italian markings but I'm afraid I didn't use them.

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  7. Giano10 March 2012 at 17:40

    Tim, the italians used the P-39 so little that your omission is perfectly justifiable.
    They received 150 in 1944, but they were second-hand and in quite bad shape so they used them on the less dangerous Balcan air space.

    I did paint one of mine as an italian version, but just because I otherwise had no other 1/144 italian aircraft (in fact the 1/144 revell range was quite odd, no soviet or italian plane, but a lot of japanese ones, even minor types...)

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  8. Tim Gow11 March 2012 at 11:05

    Giano
    My first three Italian aircraft were all (badly) converted from japanese types. I shall dig them out for photos.

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