P-39 Airacobra in Detail and Scale
Burt Kinzy
81 pages
Appx $13.00 (U.S.)
Reviewed by Mike Gawell
Well what can I say. Detail and scale has become part and parcel to the building process if at all possible. I suppose it is part of the onset of AMS (Advanced Modeler Syndrome). The “Kinzey method of building is in many ways for myself much more than just a matter of what color is the throttle knob, or did the seat adjustment lever have a Black, Silver, or Chromate Green shaft…
This is a review of the book on the P-39, and the P-63 also covered in the volume, and not meant to be a rehash of the history of the aircraft. If you are reading this review, I would bet you already know a bit about your modeling subject, and do not need me to tell you what you already most likely know.
So what exactly makes these books so attractive? Burt Kinzy has carved out a niche in the modeling world that permits him to take the reader on a grand tour of each and every part of an aircraft. Through superior photography and a variety of interesting subjects, the reader gets to see portions of aircraft, from museums, or during rebuilds in closed off hangars, often not open to the general public that they would otherwise never get to see.
This volume goes into a history of the P-39, and each of its variants, and what made them variants, and I found that to be both very interesting as well as very helpful. Also included in the volume are color plates of various P-39s and P-63s that were in service.
Also included are fourteen full color pages of cockpit interiors, and other deals that the modeler are going to find very useful. The only detail I would have liked to have seen would be callouts of the colors in Federal Standards. Normally on a US aircraft this would not be a problem, but it appears that Bell used a color that was somewhat different on it’s interiors, and is plainly so in the photos. While I am still building the P-400 kit from Eduard at this time, I can say with certainty this information would have been nice to have.
The format of the book is similar to others in the series, and I personally have found the five view drawings in 72nd scale to be of assistance. This book is doubly useful since it also covers the P-63 Kingcobra, and does an excellent job of covering Frank Borman’s award winning restoration of a P-63A.
The bottom line to this review is that the photo essay is well worth the price of admission, and the series is incredibly valuable to the modeler who wants to go the extra mile. The information is concise, easy to read, and quite informative with some of the minutia that fuller and more expensive volumes on similar subjects seem to lack.
Highly recommended.
Review copy courtesy of my car making it to both work and my local hobby store on a regular basis.
If you would like to review a book, magazine, model, or anything else relating to United States Military history, please email your reviews to library@us-aircraft.com, or mgawell@us-aircraft.com