Steve Arnold tell’s us about a great Christmas present he received- Eduard’s 1/48 scale P-39L/N Airacobra in the MTO Dual Combo. Two great models in one box- I’d call that a very Merry Christmas!
The Bell P-39 Airacobra represents perhaps the first application of “weapons system” thinking to aircraft design. The P-39 was only the second design to emerge from the new Bell Aircraft Corp. Rogers J. Woods, Bell’s chief designer, saw a demonstration of a 37mm Oldsmobile cannon in 1935. Impressed by the power that this weapon represented, he decided to design an interceptor around the new cannon, the essence of a “weapon system”.
Being much heavier than the normally mounted machine guns, and generating much heavier recoil forces, Woods decided to mount the weapon on the center-line. Since synchronizing such a weapon to fire through the propeller arc was considered too dangerous, Woods decided to mount the bulky cannon to fire through the propeller hub. This decision in turn led to idea of mounting the engine midships. The mid-engine drove the propeller by means of a drive shaft connected by a crankshaft under the pilots seat.
That and the “car doors” make this one interesting aircraft. 😀
I received the 1/48 Eduard’s P-39 Airacobra dual combo set for a Christmas present. I was floored just seeing the box when I took the wrapping paper off! I build aircraft models from a number of companies, and to me Eduard means high quality and high detail. This kit is jammed pack with everything you would need to build the highest quality models. This kit gives new meaning to OOB!
First thing that gets you with this kit when you open the box is the two bags with one plane in each. That’s when you really realize you have two of these gems in the same box! Opening one of the bags I notice the nice crisp engraved panel lines. Eduard gives you a choice between regular tires or “weighted” tires. The clear sprues are very transparent, not too thick and also includes the “car” doors.
The second thing you notice is that there is still a lot of stuff in the box! There are two sets of photoeched frames. One is in color, and contains parts for each plane. The second unpainted and contains various screens, air scoops, and wires that will need to be painted.
The third thing you notice some very nice extras. Nose weights are provided for each plane, as well as masking sheets for each kit.
The decal sheets are first rate- clearly numbered and in perfect register. There are decals for 3 USAAF, 2 French, and 1 Italian aircraft. There is also a sheet of stencils for each model also.
Last but not least there is a two sided full color glossy that shows six different paint and camo schemes. I told you it was packed! If you love the detailed model this is the kit for you.
And when you get all the compliments about the detail, just tell them it’s just OOB! Out of the box!
Steve Arnold has been modeling mainly WWII aircraft for almost 45 years now. If he’s not actually building them, he says he’s “researching them, or adding to my stash.”
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