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Tom Bebout
142 articles

Hasegawa 1/48 P-39Q 100th Fighter Squadron

October 22, 2017 · in Aviation · · 19 · 1.9K

I'm been wanting to do the various planes flown by the Tuskegee Airman and this is the second one I've completed. The first was a P-40L "Ace of Pearls" which I posted here several years ago. Like most Tuskegee aircraft this one was a hand me down and was flown by 1LT Samuel Curtis out of Capodichino, Italy in 1944. The 100th mainly flew harbor patrol in their 's. The 301st would receive P-47D's, which I'm doing now, and were the first to have red tails.

The kit is wonderful in it's detail but also has some mighty tiny parts which always seem to go ping and disappear into some black hole never to be seen again. The only real issue I experienced was the canopy fit and that was most likely self inflicted. Have to give a big thank to John, another modeler on another site, for providing the AeroMaster sheet for this model, couldn't have done it with out them. Likewise, the yellow stripes are from fundekals, which have no carrier film and lay down very well for a painted on look.

Only addition was a Untracast seat and nylon thread for an antenna. Paint was rattle cans with Model Master acrylics and enamels brushed on for the cockpit. Took it to the Cincinnati Model Show where it took a Gold in Single Engine Prop category. To be transparent, there were so many single props, they did a split between radial and inline engines for judging. Therefore, the competition got a little smaller but was just as intense. Was going to really dirty her up,as she was a hand me down, but I just couldn't do it after she was done.

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

11 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Good work, Tom...congrats on the medal.

  2. Very nice work Tom.
    N.

  3. Other than the atrocious Spanish grammar, the plane is a real work of art! 🙂 Thanks, Tom!

  4. You have built up another amazing P-39 my friend ! I like it ...

  5. Lovely build, Tom; she's got a lovely posture. Congratulations on the medal, it's well deserved.

  6. Great work, Tom. One of my favorite kits, and you did it justice. P-39s don’t get enough love!

  7. Well deserved medal, Tom, you've caught the look with how she sits.

  8. Tom, I personally consider the P-39 to be a beautifully designed, good looking airplane, and you've done some fine modeling work here. I've built a couple of these kits and agree they are very nice with a little struggle to get the canopy right, but with a little wrestling this can be taken care of, as you've done here. Well done !

  9. Tom, I had a bad experience with a P-39 kit as a kid. You are redeeming the plane for me with your craftsmanship.

  10. Well done, Tom.

  11. Lovely build, Tom!

  12. "Quanto costa" means "How much does it cost" in perfect Italian lenguage.

    Cheers from Italy!

    Roberto

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