P-39N Airacobra

Eduard ProfiPACK, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard released their original 1/48 scale P-400 Airacobra kit in the year 2000.

This was a milestone kit for Eduard, featuring fine detail, crisply recessed panel lines and narrow sprue attachments. In his review on HyperScale upon the kit's release, Caz Dalton suggested that this was the kit of the year.

There are a few minor differences between the 2000 release and Eduard's latest version in 2024. The moulds have been slightly altered to remove the seated pilot figure (no great loss if I recall him correctly) and the other major sprue has had a set of under wing machine gun pods added some time in the last decade. The original kit also included a shaped white metal nose weight, but it is not included in this release.

Eduard's 1/48 scale P-39N Airacobra comprises 126 parts in grey plastic (32 marked not for use), six clear plastic parts, one colour photo-eched fret, self-adhesive masks for canopy, doors and wheels, and markings for six aircraft.

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Thumbnail panels:

Labelling this kit a P-39N sells it short, as you are offered parts to build either a P-39C, P-39D, P-39F, P-39N, P-39Q, P-400 or an Airacobra I - just bring your own decals.

Optional parts include different arrangements for armament, alternate wheels, propeller assemblies, centreline bomb and a drop tank. Three styles of exhaust are also provided - straight-through six stack, fishtail six stack and twelve stack.

Surface textures are nicely rendered, with crisply recessed panel lines and selected recessed rivets.

Fabric texture is subtle and convincing.

Detail is very good too. The cockpit is well equipped.

The plastic instrument is a bit clunky but the lovely colour photo-etched replacement will fix that.

The mouldings have stood up well to the test of time. I can't see any imperfections at all.

Note that this kit does not have locating pins for the major parts so you should spend a little extra time ensuring correct alignment.

The colour photo-etched fret supplies alternative instrument panels, harness straps, a couple of extra fuselage panels for the Soviet option and more.

Transparencies are thin and clear. Separate doors are supplied for both sides of the fuselage.

I built Eduard's kit shortly after it was released, and found it to to be a trouble-free project with logical construction and very good fit. Some care is required when aligning the main parts due to the absence of locating pins though.

Markings are supplied for six varied aircraft:

1. P-39N-1, 42-9385, Lt. Kirby F. Smith, 346th FS, 350th FG, Reghaia, Algeria, September 1943

2. P-39N-5, 42-18810, 40th FS, 35th FG, Nazdab, New Guinea, fall 1943

3. P-39N-5, 42-18815, Lt. Walter A. Hymovitch, 41st FS, 35th FG, New Guinea, Nadzab, fall 1943

4. P-39N, 42-8747, Guard Capt. Grigoryi Andreevich Rechkalov, 16 GIAP, the Soviet Union, August 1944 

5. P-39N-1, 42-18354, Maj. Charles F. Hoover, 345th FS, 350 FG, Ghisonaccia, Corsica, December 1943 

6. COL F P-39N-1, 42-18378, 10é° Gruppo, 4é° Stormo, ACI, Lecce-Galatina, Italy, 1944

Stencil markings are supplied on a separate decal sheet.

Self-adhesive masks are also provided for the canopy, car-door windows and wheels.

It is amazing to think that this model was released in the year 2000.

It looks as good now as it did on its initial release - better perhaps thanks to the big photo-etched fret and grey plastic.

Eduard's 1/48 scale P-39N Airocobra can still sit proudly under the ProfiPACK label in 2024.

Recommended..

Thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

Review and Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 7 February, 2024
Last updated 8 February, 2024

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