1/48 Eduard P-400 Airacobra 35th FG "Wahleye/Pat II" (Finished with progress pictures)
I took little break from the forum for awhile, but I figured I'd share what I've been up to lately. I was perusing my stash and came across this one, the Eduard P-39Q, which was supposed to be a commission build years ago, but the guy backed out which remanded it back to the shelf. I've always liked the look of this plane eventhough it wasn't particularly successful. The Russians put it to good use though. The box had some color Eduard PE and Ultracast P-400 exhausts. It also had decals for probably the most built Airacobra of all time, Eugene Wahl's sharkmouthed Wahleye/Pat II of the 35th FG. Since I could do a P-400 with the kit parts, I figured I'd give this subject a whirl.
Truthfully, I understand why it's done often as it's quite gorgeous.
The pit is quite good for this vintage. I painted it XF-58 Olive Green to simulate "Bell Green", which was darker than interior green. The Eduard PE instrument panel was quite nice too.
There were no fit issues. For an early Eduard mold, it is exceptional.
The glass fit pretty well too. I decided to mask it with the included vinyl masks (before Eduard used Kabuki) and attach it before painting. I would regret this later.
I used some sponges to mask the door openings. I needed a touch of putty at the wing roots but thats about it. I did add some brass tubing for the nose guns as well.
According to my brief research, P-400's were the export version of the P-39 and were originally destined for the RAF. They were painted like Spitfires. I went with AK real colors Dark Earth and Dark Green, over XF-19 Sky Grey. I did some heavy fading and painted on the stars with spare montex masks. The prop and tail top were painted XF-8 Blue cut with a touch of XF-2 White.
I added some exhaust stains with heavily diluted XF-69 NATO Black and XF-17 Sky Grey. I'm pleased with it.
I finished it off with MIG and AK panel line washes and some AK Streaking. It got some Quickboost resin wing gun barrels which I kept breaking off. For the life of me I can't figure out why this company cannot make these more durable. You touch them they break.....ridiculous. Next time Master metal barrels. In other news, I did somehow end up having some overspray seepage on the inside of the back window which I couldn't get to with a Q-tip. It seems the sponge masks failed me. Oh well I guess I'll just pretend they're dirty. next time I'll use tape masks here.
That's about it. A surprisingly simple and stress free build. My only real gripe would be that the trailing edges were a bit thick and need thinning and the car doors don't close very well and need to be posed open. Not a biggie to me as I like my pits open. I have the Accurate miniatures boxing in the stash too, perhaps Russian markings next.
