Bell P-39 Airacobra "Cobra I" racer - Academy 1/72nd kit conversion

Here is the ill-fated Cobra I that crashed on a test flight, finally completed. The base is the Academy kit, in contrast with the Cobra II build in this same blog that used an Arma Hobby kit.

There is no doubt that the much newer Arma kit is far superior to the Academy rendition, and yet the latter can still be made into a fair model.

To convert the kit to a racer all military equipment and detail has to be deleted, a new 4-blade prop built or acquired, a set of the correct aftermarket exhaust stacks provided, the prominent oil cooler fairing under the belly scratch-built, the carb. intake trunk extended, an additional trim tab that goes above and outwards of the normal one supplemented, and some details added, suppressed or modified. Optionally, aftermarket sets of landing gear and photo-etched parts can be used to elevate if wanted the standards of the build.

I encountered no major difficulties building this Academy kit, but some solutions and details are a bit outdated.

This type of conversion may redeem kits languishing in the stash and provide for them a very colorful and exciting destiny, not the mention more peaceful. This was a fun project, and enthusiasm run all along the build.

The Draw decals set was a good choice to dress up this racer and gave no problems whatsoever. The printing is sharp, the carrier virtually invisible, and the decals adapt very well to the surfaces.

The step-by-step build can be found here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/06/bell-p-39-airacobra-cobra-i-racer.html

(The yellow "Cobra II", the 1946 Thompson Winner, can be found here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/07/bell-p-39-airacobra-cobra-ii-racer-arma.html