Kit: No. JT92
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hasegawa, from Dragon Models USA, 626-968-0322, www.dragonmodelsusa.com
Price: $30.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 124 parts (4 vinyl), decals
Pros: Excellent detail, excellent fit
Cons: No seat harness, thick decals

The P-400 version of Bell Aircraft’s P- 39 Airacobra differed only in its armament (.303 caliber machine guns in the nose and wings plus a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller shaft) and engine (the unsupercharged 1150-horsepower AllisonV-1710-35).
Hasegawa’s “new tool” kit is impressive. The moldings are exceptionally clean with minimal seam lines. Panel lines are light, crisp, and consistent. Some of the 17 high-quality clear parts are small and difficult to handle. The kit has molded-in navagation-light blisters which can be removed and replaced with the provided clear blisters.
The instruction sheet is folded into eight pages and has a brief history of the aircraft, a parts map, a paint-color list for Gunze Sangyo paints with the colors named in English, four-view color and marking profiles, decal application instructions, and the usual warnings. Colors are indicated for all parts except the canopy gun sight and the belly rack.
The on-register five-color water-slide decal sheet has markings for two aircraft. I chose the markings for White 13, the P-400 of Lt. Eugene Wahl at Twelve Mile Aerodrome in New Guinea, 1942. Both black and white instrument-panel images are provided. An unusual feature, Hasegawa has placed groups of stencils together on one decal. Only the excessive thickness and clear edging of these decals mars a neat idea.
Assembly is straightforward. The parts fit wonderfully, except I had trouble getting the center of the lower wing panel’s leading edge to match the contours of the fuselage.
I airbrushed the model with out-of-production AeroMaster and Floquil colors. The decals went on over a Testors Model Master clear gloss finish, and were sealed with a final coat of semigloss clear. Some decal silvering was cured with MicroSol. The canopy looked great after a dip in Future.
I spent just over 25 hours on this model, a little more time than usual for a single-engine fighter. This kit will produce a great model for anyone equipped with and skilled with an airbrush. I wonder what aftermarket decal sheets are out there for other P-400s.
– Al Jones