Totally awsome Pixi, can it get much better?
You can never get too many pictures of your birds mate.
What’s the next project in the Pixi factory?
Keep up the excellent work!
[bow][bow][bow][bow][bow][bow]
[tup][tup][tup][tup][tup][tup]
[wow][wow][wow][wow][wow][wow]
Thank you saltydog, bdelov, Jeeves, maddafinga, sharkskin, Mark, johnpo, wolverstone8, Mike, harbormaster, Filibert, pingtang, Karl, Butz, cirikili, reggie, obiwan, jay, Brian, & Janswede !
saltydog - the “Door Art” was one of the reasons I chose this scheme. It still looks cartoon-like, but at least it doesn’t have the Measles, like so many decal Vixens !
bdelov - it’s a GREAT little kit. As long as you’re used to working with PE, it’s pretty much trouble-free.
Jeeves - Eduard seems to have done a good job in capturing this aircraft’s stance. I’ve seen pics of some actual AC that almost sat on their tail, but I decided not to shorten the main gear.
maddafinga - I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. The parts in the kit are beautifully molded. A nose weight is included in both the all-plastic and ProfiPack versions of the kit. It also comes with masks, but I only used the ones to paint the wing walks.
sharkskin - I also used Color of Eagles for the Tire Black. Their RLM 04 covers like no other yellow I’ve ever used. I’ve also built MPM’s P-63C Kingcobra, but it looks crude parked next to this one.
Filibert - it’s far from perfect. While applying the Dullcoat, some of it spilled from my color cup onto the top of the left wing. Trying to blot it ruined the star & bar decal, and some of the paint on the wing outboard from it. I repainted the decal & wingtip with a brush.
Butz - the wash is enamel, applied over Future. I mix the base color with black until I reach a shade that matches the shadows on the model under a light. This was done for the O.D., Neutral Gray, White, Yellow, and interior Bronze Green. Although it’s more involved to do it this way, I feel it looks more realistic than the same generic wash over different-colored areas.
The window frames on the doors aren’t angled in enough to meet the canopy, so I left them open to make the detail in the cockpit more visible. I just figure the pilot had a second helping of beans the night before, and is airing out the cockpit after a long mission. [(-D] That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it !
Brian - after my heart attack, I’m trying to leave nothing unfinished. Nothing focuses your attention quite like getting an email from The Reaper. [(-D] You never know . . .
Janswede - my next builds, in the order of finish are:
Trimaster Me 262
Hasegawa P-51D
Hasegawa Hawker Typhoon
Almost time to start another !
Thanks again, everyone, for the kind words. This is really a great kit to build, especially the ProfiPack version with PE. It’s a little pricey at about $40, but I think you get your money’s worth. I know I WILL build another !
Hey Pix,
Beans you say… Now I know why the doors were left open[:p][;)] I may try your method of the wash.
Funny how the fit of the doors were not up to par w/ the rest of the kit. Thanks for the info and thanks again for sharing your build.
Flaps up, Mike
excellent build ya got there[bow]
Always a pleasure seeing your work, Pix. Beautiful job!
Thanks gunney & Paul !
Butz - if you try an enamel wash (use a scrap kit, it can be DANGEROUS !), experiment with the amount of thinner needed to remove the excess. I use Future as a barrier glosscoat. When I remove it from large areas like wings & fuselages, I touch a paper towel to the end of an eyedropper filled with thinner. I then blot it a couple times against another part of the paper towel. I then wipe the surface (in the direction of the airflow) using light pressure. For tighter spots and removal of the wash in a specific shape, I dip a #000 brush in thinner and touch it to a paper towel. You then have a lot of control of where the wash remains. I’ve done this for years, and I’ve never gone through the Future to the paint below. The key is knowing how much thinner to use that will remove only the wash.
The solid part of the cardoors fit fine on my kit. You could remove the frame & window from the door to get that part to match the canopy. It would be easy enough to do, but I didn’t want to close off any of the PE detail in the cockpit.
Thanks again !
pix excellent work my friend. thanks for sharing it.
joe
Nice work Pix
Thad
Great looking Airacobra Pix. Thanx for sharing. Bryan
Thanks fightnjoe, Thad, & falcon !
This was such a fun little kit to build. If you’ve considered getting one, you won’t be disappointed !
Thanks again ![:I]
How did you handle the nose wieght?
I did the Monegram kit a few weeks ago…
with the open gun compartment, adding wieght became tricky.
Yours is closed so you prob didn’t have the space problem I did.
What I did was, since the barrel of the cannon goes all the way forward.
I slid washers down the barrel, then packed clay in the rest of the space to keep them stationary.
Another great build Pix. I really like the lines of the P-39. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Rick
lroc…
I can answer this one for Pix-- the Eduard kits comes with a specially molded weight that fits in the nose perfectly and is just the right heft to keep it on the nose wheel.
Thanks Rick !
Iroc - as Jeeves said, a nose weight is included. Eduard provides the parts to build almost every version of the P-39. If it had an open gun bay, they’d also have to provide all the different armaments. At about $40 for the kit, the inclusion of those parts would probably raise the price.
Jeevs - thanks for fielding the question. I never know when I’ll make it back here (got a couple projects keeping me pretty buisy !)