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P-39Q, Arma Hobby 1/48

Started by Dmitry Stropalov · 15 ≡ · ↻ 1 month ago · . 1/48, armahobby, P-39

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Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:

The P-39Q in 1/48 is currently the latest kit released by ArmaHobby. I pre-ordered it and received it in July, but it's only now that it's ready to paint. At least I have something meaningful to share with you now that the model is assembled and primed.

I thought about writing a whole rant about the build, the model and what I think about it, but then I thought that we all have different expectations, own standards and tolerance for difficulties, so it would be better if I just share some facts and point out the problems I've had. And maybe some thoughts afterwards.

I've already built some of ArmaHobby's kits - PZL 11, Wildcat, Yak, P-39 in 1/72 scale, Hurricane in 1/48 scale (this one was destroyed by my own mistake). So when I compare this kit, I will compare it to the previous Arma kits I worked on. Let's go.
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:

ArmaHobby sells 3D files for their models, so you can buy them and print parts with an SLA printer (resin 3D printing). At the moment there was no way to buy printed parts, only files. Ok, let's try this method.

I've ordered ailerons, cockpit parts (seat + small other stuff), gun barrels and exhaust. And then I was looking for a local 3D shop to print the parts, since I don't own such a printer, nor do my friends or colleagues. After a few days I found one, another two days I spent communicating with them regarding 3D models, answering questions about rebuilding supports, and then I had to go and pick up printed parts on my own because they didn't know how to package such small parts properly. People don't usually print things like that.

Bad luck, wrong 3D shop? Yeah, maybe there are better ones. The quality is ok, could probably be better, but I'm not an expert in this, so I can't argue with a shop about adding some extra parameters or enabling some extra features. I just don't know anything about SLA printing. Was it cheaper than buying such aftermarket parts from e.g. Eduard? Comparable, but no. Would I use this method again? I will think twice. I'm a modeler, I want my parts printed by professionals.

Anyway, you can see the difference in the ailerons and how the seat looks. There were no problems fitting the ailerons into the plastic parts. Also, separated ailerons look better on the model in my opinion.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
George R Blair Jr said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:

Sorry the 3D parts didn't come out very well, Dmitry (@starfar). I can tell you that printing your own parts can be a very frustrating and time-consuming situation. Looking forward to your build.
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:
The next thing that gave me some WTF moments were the main wheel bays. Should they have these gaps or not? The kit says yes, but in this situation both wing parts couldn't connect from behind (pic 3). Also, I can't see this gap on the photos of real planes. What should I do?
1. A gap?
1. Should be like this?
1. Should the parts connect here or no?
Well, I've decided to sand down plastic imitations of ribs and make two wing parts to connect both inside the bays and from behind.

Maybe this was a mistake, but I will talk about that later.

Also, to be honest, the wheel wells should be replaced with some aftermarket ones. Also the fact that the ribs were moulded as a whole with the upper part of the wing resulted in big sink marks on it.
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:
@gblair At least I've got some new experience 🙂

The cockpit and the front wheel well. No problems here, but check everything before gluing, maybe you have to sand here and there, so that both fuselage parts fit well.
1. check this

2. check well walls
Also check the fit of the canopy, especially right behind the doors.
1. Dry fit and check this. There should be no such step between the fuselage and canopy.
The 3D printed seat with the seat belts looks much better than the plastic one, so I would recommend this option if you plan to make the doors open. And the decals from the kit were enough in my case to make the dash look like it should.
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:
Connecting it all together was a bit of a mess. Again, I have to mention that I'm not really good at assembly, as I mostly enjoy the painting phase. So a more skilled modeler will probably have no problems here. But not me.

The most problematic areas for me were the air intakes in the wing root and the tail. You can see where the black putty is on the photo. The tail section needs a lot of sanding to fit properly. It looks like there is a problem with the molding, not with the design itself. A few extra tenths of a millimeter here and there and it all goes south. Easy to fix, no problem, but it kills the fun.
1. check fit here

2. check fit here
1. air intakes were problematic
Also, maybe because I did the unnecessary manipulation with the main wheel wells, I was used to sanding fuselage parts from the inside to make them fit with the wing. But no putty after gluing the parts together.
1. That's the sink marks because of the ribs in the wheel wells.
The model is primed. All the little problems found and fixed, and it's ready for the final coat of black primer.
John vd Biggelaar said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:

Despite the struggles you had, all is looking good now, Dmitry @starfar
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month, 3 weeks ago:

Great entry and excellent job so far, overcoming the build challenges, my friend @starfar!
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

After the final primer application, most things came out quickly. And I'm close to finishing the model.

The painted model:

Despite the fact that I used a black primer, I didn't marble afterwards. I just applied the base colors, using the black base as a pre-shading, and then applied darker and lighter shades of those colors. I find it more controllable than marbling, so I'm exploring that technique now.

The next steps are obvious - decals and washes. One interesting thing about decals for this particular paint scheme. You can see, especially on the upper surfaces, that the stencils look like thick black lines, while today's printing technologies can print very tiny but still readable stencils. In fact, they are printed with the olive drab background because on most of the "Coral Cobras" the stencils were masked before painting. More on this with photos here - https://armahobbynews.pl/en/blog/2022/10/19/the-coral-aircobras-70055/ And kudos to the kit manufacturer for providing such detailed information and reproducing this effect on the kit.
John vd Biggelaar said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

Beautiful paintwork, Dmitry @starfar
Also the decals look great on it.
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

@johnb Thanks John! Decals are printed by Cartograf, so they are best in class. No issues with them.
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

Excellent painting and decaling, my friend @starfar!
Dmitry Stropalov said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

The model is done. Final photos are here – https://imodeler.com/2024/11/p-39q-1-devastating-devil-arma-hobby-1-48/

A brief summary. The kit requires some patience and checking of fit. I would recommend to get aftermarket parts for ailerons, seat, exhaust, main wheel well and (if it will appear) a resin/3D propeller. The propeller blades on the Cobras were very thin and an aftermarket part can greatly improve the look.
John vd Biggelaar said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

A well deserved headline article, Dmitry @starfar
It was a pleasure to follow this thread.
Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month, 2 weeks ago:

Congratulations, my friend @starfar!
Looks awesome at the headlines!

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