The recent release of the P-39 Airacobra in 1/48 by Eduard has brought a flurry of interest in the type. It is not unusual for a number of decal sheets to be released for this kit and Superscale has partially reissued an older sheet to help meet the demand. I say partially reissued because one of the schemes on this sheet was done on a previous release that is long out of production and probably very difficult to find.

That scheme is for the most popular P-39 of all time, 'Airacutie'. This aircraft was attached to the 36FS and flew from bases in New Guinea in late 1942/early 1943. During that time, the extremely large nose art changed. Originally there was art work on both sides of the aircraft. Later the port side artwork was slightly modified because of the need to replace a panel. It is still a very popular scheme and if there are multiple P-39s to be found at a model contest, the odds are pretty good that at least one of them will be Airacutie.

The second scheme is new to this sheet and is from the sister squadron of Airacutie, the 35th FS. This one has nose art of a skeleton riding a bomb. This particular aircraft still has 'US ARMY' painted on the underside of the wings.

Both aircraft are in OD upper with Neutral Grey undersides. There are sufficient markings and insignia to do both aircraft on the sheet. Printing is quite good and there is no registration problems on the review sheet.

Either one of these markings would look good on your next P-39.

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