[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by leeG

I like this model and think Pokryshkin's plane is a perfect choice for the first P-39 release. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

Below is a picture of the Air Force Museum's P-39, and it shows bumps on the nose for the gun barrels. I guess we all missed that detail from the pre-production photos. No big deal for me.


Just a side note from some of the latest research on this particular livery. The Osprey book "Soviet Lend-Lease Fighter Aces of World War 2" notes that contrary to popular belief, Pokryshkin didn't have kill marks on "White 100." Why let the opposition know what caliber of pilot they were facing? The pictures of Pokryshkin in front of a P-39 with a galaxy of stars was actually taken in front of Grigori A. Rechkalov's Cobra with each picture carefully framed so the tactical number wasn't visible. The color profile Osprey includes for "White 100" has no kill marks.

Rechkalov's livery would be a good candidate for a future issue.

True about Porkyshkin. Plain Jane as much as possible. Worked for him, though. Between April and June of 1943 flying his "Lucky 13" P-39K-1, Pokryshkin shot down 17 Luftwaffe fighters suffering NO combat or accidental DAMAGE whatsoever. The plane was then passed to Sr. Lt. Samsonov who changed the number to 130. In October of 1943 the plane was withdrawn from front-line service for complete mechanical overhaul and passed on to training units.

Regards,

Sergey

[Cruver Collecter]

After finally getting my hands on the HM RAF Airacobra, think I might just have to pickup the Soviet one too. Fortunately the P-39 models are pretty small, could be just enouth justification to pickup a few more.