1:48 P-39N Airacobra - national insignias & markings Arma Hobby

Insignia and markings for the P-39N in 1:48 scale

The stencils define the shape of the national insignia and of the additional lettering, which are then laid on with an airbrush directly onto the Airacobra model. The paint goes straight into the finish, so no sticker with a gloss of its own appears on the flat side of the fuselage. On an aircraft that is often built heavily worn, that shows immediately.

The Airacobra under two flags

The type carried two kinds of markings during the war. American machines had a star in a circle, later supplemented with white bars, and Soviet ones a red star with a white and red outline. The finishes differed just as markedly: an olive green upper surface with a gray underside against the Soviet green and black schemes and the winter ones whitened over. Soviet examples often carried large tactical numbers on the fin and the nose as well. The flat areas of the fuselage behind the doors offer an ideal base for insignia, with no rivets and no obstacles.

Spraying insignia on large flat areas

A large insignia needs an even and above all a thin application, otherwise a step forms at its edge. Spray from a distance and let the surface air out between coats. Where the shape reaches across an engraved line, run a fingernail along the edge of the stencil so that it seats into the groove. Remove the stencil at the moment the finish loses the gloss of fresh paint, and do so by pulling to the side, not upwards.

The set is intended for

• builds in period wartime finishes
• models with a markedly worn finish
• modelers who make a point of never using decals
• builds based on period photographs
• the Bell P-39N aircraft in 1:48 scale