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MONOGRAM P-39Q 1/48 (PROMODELER)


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Happy New Year everyone...

 

To start out a new year I visit memory lane of building the classic P-39Q that STILL stands the test of time for half of a century!  A 50 year old kit that is still standing proud with big boys like Hasegawa and Eduard's. I remembered building this kit, painting and all in one sitting after school in the early 80's. Now 41 years later I am giving it the glory now that I wasn't back then. A 50 year old kit that has the fit, details better than some of today's offerings. Think about it. Dai 

 

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  • dai phan changed the title to MONOGRAM P-39Q 1/48 (PROMODELER)

Hello modelers,

 

The plane is coming along nicely just as I remembered back then in 1982. It is amazing what Monogram could do in the days of pre CAD-CAM. Hell some of today's manufacturers could not even match of what Monogram accomplished over 50 years ago. Dai 

 

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Greetings...

 

US Army planes during WW2 were pretty boring of the grey and olive drab so I ordered some decals that offer some colors to my build. That means likely of international colors. Dai

 

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Howdy modelers...

 

All primed and ready for the main colors. Waiting for decals to arrive from Ukraine and UK ... The hardest part was to rescribe the gun bay panel. I hate scribing ! 

 

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Howdy everyone...

 

Just got one of Ebay of the 1969 release so I can see what Monogram did in their updated ProModeler version. The upgrades were two long spar raised panel lines on the top and bottom were converted to recessed. Other than that no other tooling modifications. Of course the PM version has PE parts and also two maintenance crew members are included. One note is the PM version has the gun pods for the Q version. One interesting thing is that on the 1969 version, the right gun bay panel fits like Tamiya while on my PM version, there was large gaps that I had to do some serious filling and rescribing. Age of tooling? I am going to do the Russian scheme because it is so colorful. Dai 

 

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Hello everyone...

 

Applied the decals today. The main decals are excellent, thin and strong but the stencil sheet is a big let down. The red decals when applied on the model took a pink hue which is not usable. Will need to look for a sheet on Ebay. The spinner blue color is custom matched to the light blue decals. Dai

 

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Hello my dear fellow modelers...

 

The plane is 90% done waiting for the stencil sheet to arrive and final weathering. At first I was planning to apply a satin coat but research indicated VVS planes were painted in semi gloss finish. After all the weathering and washes, the plane took the right sheen so no satin coat is needed. As usual here are my takes:

 

PROS: 

1. Very nice model of the P39 even it is 45 years old tooling.

2. Detailed cockpit and open engine / gun bay.

3. Excellent fit and engineering.

 

CONS:

1. Main landing gears do not have the correct backward tilt. 

2. Nose gear doors are not accurate. There are 4 protruding mounting pegs that need to be removed.

3. Poor wheels. They look like flattened rather than being bulged.

4. Missing nose vents. The PE offerings do not work well in my hands. 

 

If you are into some nostalgic builds, then this P39 is an excellent choice that is somewhat on par with today's offerings. If you want the best P39, then look into Eduard or Hasegawa as surface and interior details are superior. Dai 

 

PS: Excellent site for VVS Lend-Lease planes:

 

P-39 Airacobras in VVS (massimotessitori.altervista.org)

 

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