Monogram P-39 Airacobra Review - First Released in 1969, Is It Still Worth Building?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
- In this classic model kit review, I'm looking at the Monogram Bell P-39 Airacobra in 1/48 scale (kit no. 5213). We'll be looking at the built up kit, the kit instructions, the surface detailing, the transparencies, the decals, potential problem areas to watch out for, and finally, I'll be giving my conclusions. With the newer P-39 kits from Eduard and Hasegawa currently available, is this classic Monogram P-39 still worth building? Let's find out together!
I’ve built this kit, LOVE IT
I put in all kinds aftermarket products…
Resin cockpit, photo etch
it already had details, but I wanted more…
Used a SQUADRON Vacuum Formed Canopy…
AIR a CUTIE decals….
Put it in a diorama with MONOGRAM issue ground crew…
It turned out great, one of my best works…
MISTER, this is a great kit, it was top shelf of DETAILED models in the day…
And your BUILD LOOKS GREAT…
Thank you for doing this review
GREAT WAY TO START MY SATURDAY…. CHRIS 🇺🇸
Thanks, Chris! Wow, it sounds like you went all-out on your build! I'm sure it looked cool in the diorama. Cheers!
Great review Jon! This is one of my first builds from waaaay back. Something about early monogram kits that made my introduction into the hobby as a 10/11 year old so much fun. Tube glue, hand brushing…good times! Had this one on my bedroom shelf for a very long time! Would Love to pick this one up and give it an adult build! Great memories! Thanks!
Thank you! I remember building these Monogram kits at that age as well. I loved the kits that came in colored plastic (so I didn't have to paint them). I just decaled them and adorned them with glued-on fingerprints, lol. Cheers!
After all these years it is still a great looking kit. And it brings back many fond memories.
Right on!
I was 5 years old when this kit was released. Saw it first the 1st time in 1973 but never bought it. Thanks to your review I’ll include it in my Santa’s wish list 😉
Right on!
I built this back in the day. The Hell's Bells markings were a great choice.
Right on! Most of the P-39s were the boring OD Green over Neutral Gray. I've got the Eduard P-39 on the shelf, and I'm looking for another fun color scheme. Cheers!
What I love about your reviews is that you review the kit but also build it! Too many channels can review a bagged set of sprues and say it's an excellent kit. But IMO, that's only part of the story. Individual parts could look good but if they don't fit together well, is it really such a great kit?
Don't get me wrong having to use a little bit of filler here and there isn't a deal breaker for me by any means but it's nice to know of any existing issues in advance.
I've only ever built two Monogram kits but the standout for me was their Skyraider. Considered one of the best Skyraiders when it was tooled in the 80s, I would love to revisit that kit now.
Absolutely nothing wrong with building old toolings, especially those that were great quality when they were originally released!
Once again a very enjoyable video and a pleasure to view the finished kit!👍👍
Thank you! I completely understand your point about a kit looking good in the box but not being great to build. The worst kit I ever built was given a positive in-box review by a respected reviewer. I had some choice words for him during construction 🫢. Cheers!
I love this old Monogram kit!
Right on!
This kit, at its release, was a great kit, and today remains a very good kit.
If you weren't there, back in the day, you would now have to try to use your imagination to visualize how exciting it was to have these Monogram kits appear on the scene. They were quantum leaps in the molders' art, and revolutionized the hobby, easily acquiring "kit of the year" status. And the effect on modelers was to greatly excite our interest in the hobby.
In the particular P-39 case, there actually was one other contender: an earlier "1/48" Revell release that was really pretty nice in ouline, and decently detailed for its time, but wasn't in the same league as the Monogram offering.
Right on! I've never heard of the Revell P-39. This kit is one of the few I didn't build as a kid. I was surprised by the good fit of the parts. Cheers!
I loved tge old monogram kits. Id build them all again....if they dont poke our eyes out with the price
Most can be found cheap enough if you're patient. But I've seen some outrageous prices as well. Cheers!
Great kit. Built it in the 1980’s!
Very cool 😎!
Monogram invented real scale modelling, and led the way from the 1960's into the 1980's.
The P-39 was a fantastic kit for its' time and is WELL worth building.
It is a shame Monogram no longer exists...😢
I agree. At least there are still lots of monogram kits still available. Cheers!
Is it worth building? Normally, I'd say no for the simple fact that this kit's been comfortably superseded by the Hasegawa and Eduard offerings. However, you have built this kit so beautifully and to such a high standard that it comfortably shows that it still is definitely worthy of building and just as importantly, illustrates the great potential Monogram kits have today. It is also a perfect example why the marque should be brought back again.
Very well done.
Thanks, Mark, for the kind remarks! It's a fun challenge to try and build an older kit well. I was actually surprised by the good fit of this kit. Cheers!
@@jonsmodelkitreview4624 You're most welcome. I absolutely adore Monogram kits. The P-39 and P-51B are, as you're probably already aware, from that time in the company's history where they decided to abandon the toy like working features that had characterised their earlier releases and concentrate soley on what they would rightly be renowned for; that is, their quest in attaining great detail by way of their exquisitely engraved components.
Brilliant model company. Sadly missed. (Thank heavens for e-Bay, eh?)🙂
All the best.👍
@@markfranks1329 Right on, Mark!
Hi Jon! The Monogram kits from the late 60’s onward are really very nice (as your beautifully crafted build proves!)… ‘state of the art’ at the time; a few of the 1:72 kits are still unsurpassed. A story about the P400’s used by the Cactus Airforce on Guadalcanal is funny: the aircrews said they were P40’s with a Zero on it’s tail 😅🫡🫣
Yep, 😆. Not so funny to the guys flying them 😐. The zeros and the pilots who flew them in the early days were a hard combination to beat. Cheers!
Excellent build, my favorite aircraft next to Spitfires. I liked it because of the mechanical design of engine and Canon configuration, and that " car door" entry to cockpit. Russians did indeed love this aircraft for tank busters.It's cousin the P63 was not accepted by USA, and Russians accepted but still preferred the P39. Ironic aspect of Lend Lease, the countries in the program that participated were not responsible for paying for equipment lost in battle, so Stalin ordered that some flyable aircraft be broken up and buried and the Soviets falsified loss reports.. As I recall the supercharger would have generated too much heat and added weight and space. Once again great build . I do love Tamyia and Eduard but have to save a lot more beer money when you can get a favorite model for less .Cheers till the next video.
Right on! That Stalin was a crafty devil. The Soviet pilots also liked the P-39 for air-to-air combat. It worked well in that theater due to the low-level, tactical nature of the air combat. Cheers!
Wish I could say this kit is older than me… But seriously, when I was a kid these Monogram models were the best combination of price and quality. I thought this was a very nice model.
Right on! Many Monogram kits still present a great value. I picked this one up for $5. I was surprised by the good fit of this older kit. Cheers!
Hola Jon, disculpa por escribir en español, pero no me aguanté jajajaja.
Primero que nada muy buen video, es una gran maqueta que he observado hace tiempo, por mi parte no la he armado, sin embargo la quiero conseguir, tiene detalles que la hacen mejor que algunos Kits actuales, de hecho armé un Eduard edición fin de semana del P39, sin embargo, me decepcionó mucho, la zona donde se aloja el tren delantero fué un dolor de cabeza, además de no tener espacio para colocar contrapeso, mi avión alza el vuelo eternamente jajajaja, detalles de interior de cabina son muy buenos, pero creo que el Kit que has presentado da la sensación de ir algo más allá que el Eduard, en fin, cuando tenga la posibilidad de armarlo tendré una opinión más certera y podré comparar mejor, pero en base a mis observaciones le doy cierto favoritismo a éste kit, son de aquellos de a pesar de tener líneas de paneles alzadas, son moldes con detalles que ahora se han perdido en favor de las resinas o los fotograbados, saludos y hasta el próximo video
¡Gracias Francisco! También tengo el Eduard P-39, aunque el mío aún no está construido. Disfruto el desafío de construir bien los kits más antiguos. Me sorprendió el excelente ajuste general de este kit, sin duda mejor que algunos kits Monogram. Hasta la próxima, ¡Salud!
A friend got me this kit recently but it's the Atlantis release, not a lot of parts to it, and doesn't have that interior backing under the window as yours does. The pilot is molded in seat. Plus an extra figure. I can't find any videos on my version tho
Interesting. Are you sure it's a rebox of the Monogram? Usually, a rebox just consists of the same plastic parts with new instructions and decals. I haven't looked inside the box of the Atlantis P-39 yet. Cheers!
@@jonsmodelkitreview4624 I don't know if it's a rebox but same airplane, wings are one piece each. Has an optional stand for inflight
@@williamkidney6031 Nice! I hope to check out some of the Atlantis kits when I get the chance! Cheers!
He got the '50's Revell kit.
A lotta nostalgia glasses being worn in the comment section.
It's why people drive classic cars and motorcycles. If something as inexpensive as a Monogram kit can instantly take you back to your childhood and the excitement of those days, and bring hours of fun in the build process - it has become a time machine, not just a collection of plastic bits in a box. Cheers!
@@jonsmodelkitreview4624 Yeah but I thought they sucked when I was kid in the 70's, too lol
@@deathpallie You certainly don't have to like them. There are so many kits on the market that we're spoiled for choice these days. Cheers!