Arma Hobby has released a new 1/48^th scale P-39N Airacobra. It is the new tooled 2024 version following the P-39Q, released earlier, and they share the same sprues, but the wing sink marks noted in the “Q” boxing looks to be fixed.

In The Box

The kit is enclosed in a side open box with all the contents sitting in a sturdier cardboard tray. The sprues are enclosed in a single plastic bag and within are more bags that hold three (3) steel ball bearings (for nose weight), the clear sprue, and another for a small 3D printed nose air louvers.

The injected plastic hardness is on the medium side. The recessed and raised molded details are good for this scale.

Instructions are well illustrated and easy to follow. To obtain a P-39N variant, special instructions are inlayed and noted at some steps to show you extra work that must be executed. See steps 11 (remove and install 3D louvers), 15 (fill access panels), and 16 (fill underwing lights). Adding bomb or auxiliary fuel tank is optional but holes will need to be drilled in step 12 to add the hardpoint mount.

For painting reference, several companies are listed in the painting guide and will be added help for those who have a large paint inventory.

A die cut masking set is provided for the wheels, canopy, doors (inside and out), and underwing light.

Decals are printed by Techmod. They are thin and in perfect registry. The markings represent the following aircraft:

• P-39N Airacobra 42-18354. 345th Fighter Squadron, Sardinia-Corsica, Spring 1944.
• P-39N Airacobra 42-18736. Cdt. Jean Machet de la Martinière, GC 1/4 Navarre commander. Reghaia airbase, Algeria, March 1944.
• P-39N Airacobra 42-9033 “White 01”, 100th Guards Fighter Regiment, pilots: Ivan Babak 1943-45, and Grigoriy Dol’nikov, 1945 (same plane but with different nose markings).

Review Process

Arma Hobby has the assembly starting with the cockpit. The instrument panel is very well molded and using the Techmod decals will add more detail. To help the decal to snuggle down into the recessed areas I used Solvaset. Seatbelts are also a decal and looks good once applied. To give it more “depth” I would recommend after-market seatbelts.

When installing the aft seat bulkhead (part A32) to the floor (B41) there was difficulty in getting it to set properly to the correct angle. Trimming will be needed at the base of A32 and B47 to allow some space to be created when trying to get the proper angle. Also, using the fuselage as a jig, I did a lot of check fitting to make sure this angle was correct before applying glue to A32 and B41. Note, there are semicircle tabs that mate into a semicircle recess in the fuselage. This will help you obtain the correct bulkhead angle.

Once you have the cockpit assembled (to step 10), DO NOT CEMENT it to a fuselage half. This is where I ran into some major fit problems.

When doing check fits with an individual “half” of a fuselage, everything seems fine. But when doing check fits with BOTH fuselage halves together, the nose would not come together and there were some major gaps.

After a few days of re-check fitting over and over again, I finally concluded the interior obstruction was in many areas. To remedy this, I did the following.

First, I cut off the circular alignment tabs on parts B42 and B63. Since this area of the interior will not be seen once installed, I proceeded to trim/sand away a lot of material to obtain more space inside the nose. I also trimmed the interior of the fuselage and remove some material of the recessed circular receptacles since they have a raised lip.

Second, I sanded the lower supporting tabs a little (not all) for B43 & B44. This will helped close the bottom gap just aft of the propeller.

Third, I cemented the fuselage halves together ONLY at the bottom aft of the propeller wall and forward of the nose landing gear opening. This is a small area that will be held together but will allow flexibility to slip the cockpit into place later. To reinforce this bond, I installed a strip of styrene on the interior side and used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Once cured, I added a small amount of baking soda and CA to make it a solid reinforced connection.

Fourth, I install the propeller shaft hub, A18. This can be done by trimming a little of the hole sides to make a “U” shape versus a “C” shape. The “U” shape will allow it to slip into the hole. This shaft will help align the cockpit assembly since it will mate to one of the forward holes in B43 & B44.

Fifth, I slipped the cockpit into place by spreading out the aft side of the fuselage halves and moving it forward. I tried to place the steel balls on the cockpit assembly prior to slipping it into place, but I found it easier to install the steel balls after the cockpit was in by shoving them from the front and pushing them aft since the top fuselage halves were not cemented and there was plenty of flexibility to do this. I also added black tissue paper to reduce the steel balls from moving.

The above narrative is how I resolved my nose gap issue. Hopefully other builders do not run into the same issue. But if they do, at least my resolution is recorded.

After this major hurdle, I proceeded to the wings and discovered another fit issue. At the forward wing roots, there are more interference issues. However, this is easier to fix. Some minor sanding will be needed to part B40 and the upper wing roots, C68, to remove any obstruction. Again, multiple check fits will be necessary to locate where extra plastic must be removed but this effort is not as intensive as the cockpit installation.

When installing the horizontal stabilizer (B56) more sanding will be needed to help it to fit correctly into the aft fuselage. Nothing major but an iterative process to make sure it aligns properly.

Arma Hobby does provide a great masking set and includes masks for the door’s exterior and interior. Stencil decals are also provided to the door interiors and creates more visual interest.

Exterior painting was done per the kit instructions. Tamiya Olive Drab (XF-62) and Neutral Grey (XF-53).

For the propeller assembly, some sanding will be needed on part C74’s center hub area to help it nest inside the spinner cone, B53.

Once all the paint was dry, I brush applied a coat of Future for decal prep. The Techmod decals were applied and settled down nicely with help from Solvaset. During this process I used a cotton bud to help roll out the decals. The nose shark teeth decal had some relief cuts performed to help it conform around the conical shape. Once dry, I airbrushed a protective coat of Vallejo Clear Satin.

Next, I subtly weathered using ground up charcoal applied with a soft brush. Lastly, I airbrushed AK Ultra Matt Clear to seal it all in. Any charcoal weathering that was lost from the last clear coat I lightly re-applied.

Lastly, I installed the pitot tube, landing gear, antenna post, prop, and side doors and called it good.

Conclusions

This P-39N Airacobra was a mixed bag of building emotions. A few months ago, I was able to build and review Arma Hobby’s Sea Hurricane. It is a wonderful kit and relatively easy. I was expecting a similar experience with the Airacobra. However, the build was not near as good or precise when compared to the Sea Hurricane.

Reviews of the 1/72^nd scale Airacobra have been very positive. So, the thought of “up-sizing” the CAD files should produce similar results. Being an Aerospace engineer who works with CAD designs there is the saying, “Everything fits together in CAD.” However, fabrication and assembly of real parts from CAD can have different results that may create tolerance problems and the question of “why” can be many. This might be the case for areas where I had issues.

Overall, as a model builder, I REALLY LIKE THIS KIT. Would I build another one? “YES, Yes I would!” This kit will require you to stretch your problem-solving skills, craftsmanship, and patience but having a great looking P-39N Airacobra on your shelf is very rewarding. It is quite evident Arma Hobby’s motivation is to help the hobbyist build models and the inclusion of steel nose weights, painting masks, and wonderful decals is a testament to their intentions. I applaud them for thinking of the model builder when producing this kit. No model is perfect and problems can arise during assembly. All the issues I came across were not impossible. Just needed some basic model builder “elbow grease” to make to work.

Because of the complexities I came across, I would recommend this kit to intermediate- to-experienced builders. Hopefully the issues will be noted by Arma Hobby and potentially fixed on future boxings like they did for the upper wing sink marks on the P-39Q.

I want to thank Arma Hobby for providing the P-39N Airacobra kit and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review.

Again, I really do like this kit and recommend it to intermediate-to-experienced builders.