1/48 Eduard P-39Q-5-BE 

"The trump Cobra" - of A. Filatov 

by Michael Neradkov

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P-39Q-5-BE Airacobra of the commander's assistant of 3 air squadron of 30 GvIAP (273 IAD 6 IAK 16 VA) - senior lieutenant A.P.Filatov, Poland, autumn 1944 (Eduard 1/48)

Filatov Aleksandr Pavlovich (1 April 1922 -??)

Unlike other combat pilots on the earth, he loved Russian literature and especially poetry, modest, that was being tried not to manifest on the people happiness from its victories, his outwardly little changed sitting down into the cockpit. So quietly assumed report of mechanics, put on parachute, already on the earth without the emotions, but it attentively inspected rear hemisphere and departed to air.

Here his modesty disappeared - after completing 175 combat missions, in 35 air battles his brought down 21 aircraft personally even 4 in the group... Twice he was shot down and was taken prisoner, but both times he escaped.

The Airacobra of Filatova is very interesting with the uncommon nose-art for USSR VVS - three playing cards near the cab.

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Model

It is possible to say that this model is built almost out of the box... but Profipacked box :-)

Eduard's Airacobra’s are widely known to modelers - there are no real competitors in 48 scale, but thinking that is not necessary - this model is very remarkable. The kit includes not only the plastic, but it also includes a sheet of photo-etch with the fine details, painting  masks and small weight for the nose section.

My model was assembled in what is called "on the flick", only 2 problems arose in me exclusively on my own inaccuracy and inattention.

  • a small weight was glued into the nose section with the displacement forward; then the nose was slightly warmed and the formed slot was puttied - the small distortion of geometry led to the fact that did not approach in the place the cockpit enclosure, doors and spinner. The spinner it passed a little to finish, but here doors to competently plant on the place did not come out, it was necessary to open both not one, as on the real aircraft.
  • in the process of the painting the cockpit, the canopy mask lifted and paint got on the clear part. It was necessary to cut off and to polish it, but in the process of polishing...the plastic was cracked... the attempts to lick it and flood small cracks by Glanzer (Future analog) were not successful, and my attempts to find a new one were unsuccessful. It was necessary to use it - I have no experience with vacuforming.

The "Equipage" wheels & colored light by "Hobby- plus" were added.

Regarding some finished details - the jacket of the main gun, machine guns were from hypodermic needles, the bored branch exhaust pipes, "ears" on wing-guns from the thin tin, changed the location of the lights to fit the drawings.

Debatable

1) Regarding the wing panel lines. After studying several drawings, I came across one large problem. On the Eduard kit, the lines on the upper part of the wings are partially similar to the drawings from D&S, but not completely. "War in Air" (used ML pictures), on them also is very similar the Yellow Series drawing, they do not coincide. Drawings from "In action" are generally similar. Because of this, the upper part of the wing was rescribed according to drawings from ML/"War in Air".

2) the presence on this machine of suspension wing machine guns. Only in the Eduard's instruction these guns were found for this aircraft, on all other drawings of Filatov's Cobra they are absent, such as 2 archive photos. However, I took a chance and hung them, since they could be removed and hung at the will of pilot - this version is completely real.

Painting

Personally known to me are 3 profiles of the machine Of A.P.Filatova even its two archive photographs.

Profiles can be found in

  • War in Air #45 - "Combat employment of P -39 Airacobra"

  • Article "30 guard fighters squadron" by Vasiliy Vakhlamov. The author of this profile - Mr. Svinkov

  • coloring instruction to Eduard's model

In the process of preparing the model for painting it was finely sanded and painted with AKAN metalizers and ABRO automobile's paint.

Then my attempt to do preshading - first I painted the panel lines with thin strips of black color. Then the spaces between them were accurately painted by the necessary color - as a result the heterogeneity of painting is obtained (along the pointing darker tone).

All paints used in this model - are AKAN enamels. After painting, the model was wet sanded with 1500-2000 grit sandpaper to smooth the paint.

Ending, decals, aging and the weathering

After paining the model - a layer of Glanzer for a glossy surface and decals from the kit. Eduard uses Cartograph decals (Italy) - excellent quality, they lay practically without the problems, with a little help from MicroSol.  After a day of drying - one additional layer of Glanzer was applied.

The wash was done by artistic acryl manufactured in St. Petersburg - brown on the underside and black-brown on the top of plane.

Then a last layer was aplied - semi-matt coating from the AKAN. By the way - this is the simply light-grey paint of the certain degree of dullness.

Last primes - smokiness and "pant chip" to the metal layer, dry brushing some elements. For the antenna the "Hobby-plus" special thread  proved to be sufficiently interesting material. Easily painted and glued, it possesses grow prettier by tensibility, also possible to select the necessary thickness.

Technician from the Alanger's kit, painted with St. Petersburg artistic acryl.

Pedestal - basis Plexiglas, then the earth made from the soda & superglue, concrete runway from the cardboard and grass from dill. 

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Used literature

  • A detail & scale #63 - P-39 airacobra in detail

  • Mushroom Yellow Series #6106  - Bell P-39 airacobra

  • War in the Air #27, 28 - P-39 Airacobra (part 1, 2)

  • War in the Air # 45 - combat employment P -39 Airacobra

  • Monografie Lotnicze - Bell P-39 Airacobra

  • Squadron #043 - P -39 Airacobra in action

  • Vasiliy Vakhlamov’s article "30 guard fighters squadron"

A question;

Were the white strips on the left upper wing applied only to the Airacobra’s sent to USSR by the lend-lease program? They cannot found on American/British planes.

P.S. Special thanks to Alex Ruchkovskiy (AR) and all comrades helped councils and by the photographs.

Michael 

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Photos and text © by Michael Neradkov