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  #11  
Old 07-01-2010, 03:51 PM
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DrLaser DrLaser is offline
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Thanks for your kind words, and on we go.

Here is a bottom view showing the wheel wells:
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build14.jpg

The interior was a challenge to design and fit. I built the plane with the right side door open to reveal the interior, which includes a joystick, rudder pedals, seat, sides, floor, instruments. Here are some more views of the interior:
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build7.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build4.jpgFGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build5.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build10.jpg

The canopy was formed from a mold made from the paper canopy. The inside of the paper canopy was sealed with gloss polyurethane. I use Durham's Putty for the mold material. The mold was sanded and imperfections fixed with Squadron Green Putty, sanded, and dipped in gloss polyurethane many times to create a very smooth mold. Any surface imperfections are imprinted to the canopy so the smoother the better. I use 10 mil PETG sheet plastic from K&S Engineering (ksmetals dot com). It is held in a frame, heated over a skillet, and pressed over the mold. This stuff works great, is very thin, and crystal clear. Framing is regular paper, inside and out:
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build8.jpgFGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build11.jpgFGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build17.jpgFGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build12.jpg
In the future I plan to improve quality control and ease of manufacture of these canopies by making a Vac-U-Form like the one I had as a kid. Should be a fun project.

The flaps were actually attached as an afterthought. I designed the flap exterior and interior, and wing interior as one piece of paper that is folded, then the flap exterior and interior were glued together. The unprinted side of the flap is glued to the wing bottom where the flat goes.
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build6.jpgFGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build16.jpg

The exhaust stacks were made such that I could wrap a tube section together. These were very tiny:
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build13.jpg
That is, the exhaust stacks were very tiny.

The landing gear was actually fun to design and build. You can see the nose gear detail here, as well as the nose art detail.
FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39build15.jpg
Got to love those WWII pilots.
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  #12  
Old 07-01-2010, 04:31 PM
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Great build - the canopy looks fantastic.
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  #13  
Old 07-01-2010, 07:17 PM
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Wow she has great...texture. The plane I mean. So on this plane the engine was behind the pilot? Forward contained the nose gear and gun?

CT
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  #14  
Old 07-01-2010, 07:33 PM
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willygoat willygoat is offline
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You got it CT! The prop shaft ran between the pilots legs. Yikes!

That is a stellar P-39 John. I love it :p
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  #15  
Old 07-01-2010, 08:14 PM
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Swampfox Swampfox is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by willygoat View Post
You got it CT! The prop shaft ran between the pilots legs. Yikes!
Wasn't the cannon barrel also part of the prop shaft? The cannon fired through the middle of the prop hub didn't it? I'm not sure of this and I don't have much info on the P-39 so I may be off base here.

SFX
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  #16  
Old 07-01-2010, 09:24 PM
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Yes, the 37mm cannon fired through the prop hub. The Russians put the P-39 into good service via Lend Lease - we gave them thousands.

Well, I have a few little odds and ends to do, but here are some "finished" photos of the Air-A-Cutie.

FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-1.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-1a.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-1b.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-2.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-3.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-4.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-6.jpg FGMM P-39 Air-A-Cutie-p39-7.jpg
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  #17  
Old 07-02-2010, 06:29 AM
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Don Boose Don Boose is offline
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Another superb model, John. I hope to see this one in person in October.

I believe Air-A-Cutie was a P-39D-1-BE (Serial 41-28267) of the 36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group, which flew P-39s out of New Guinea from September 1942 to February 1943, when they returned to Australia to re-equip with P-38s. (8th Fighter Group - USAAF)

When I was in high school, there was a story going around that Russian pilots flying the P-39 could, because of the engine-behind-the-pilot configuration, do a quick nose-down maneuver that would cause the airplane to tumble end-over-end. I presume that story has since been debunked.

Don
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  #18  
Old 07-02-2010, 08:35 AM
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Barry Barry is offline
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Very realistic
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  #19  
Old 07-02-2010, 12:23 PM
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Great job!
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  #20  
Old 07-02-2010, 07:01 PM
rmks2000 rmks2000 is offline
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John

Beautiful job. Can't wait to see this at the Virginia convention! I just wish Chip would allow such detail as add-ons to his kits. It would give builders their choice of realism. Still, one of the charms of FG kits is adding your own level of detail. FG models are surprisingly adaptable.

Bob
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