New Arma Hobby 1/48 Airacobra!

Pre-orders for a new 1/48 scale kit have just started. It is no longer a secret that this is the P-39Q Airacobra. We revealed the model built from test injections at the Babaryba Warsaw Modeling Festival last week-end, where it met with great interest and good reception from hundreds of modellers from Poland and abroad. Many photos with enthusiastic comments also appeared on social media, and the iModeler portal has published the first review based on test injections from the Festival.

Wojtek Bułhak (in a hat) demonstrates the new model to Wojciech Łuczak (Polish aviation journalist) at Arma Hobby stand. Warsaw Model Festival Babaryba 2024

News, news!

As some at the Warsaw Festival noticed, the new 1/48 Airacobra is slightly different from the previous Arma Hobby kits. The sprues are different from those of earlier kits as the new technology allowed us to make the channels that connect the parts much finer than ever before. This enables the modeller to clean up the parts ready for use far more easily after they have been removed from the sprue.

As before, there are fine, delicate panel lines and other details on the surfaces and in the interior, as well as a modeller-friendly modular structure that facilitates the assembly of the cockpit and front wheel well, as well as weight – three steel balls. The kit, like the 1/48 Hurricane, was created as a result of the analysis of experience in designing an analogous model in 1/72 scale, we made some assembly even more straightforward, and we also corrected minor mistakes that occurred in the 1/72 Cobra (trimmer on the elevator, some small inspection panels).

Why is the model a little different? Because as designers and producers, we are constantly looking for new solutions that allow for development. With the 1/48 Hurricane, we kind of reached the limit – the kit is beautifully detailed and has a perfect fit, but the work on it was very long and tedious, and the costs of its development and production of moulds were also very high, which must have had an impact on the final price of the kit. Now we have taken up the challenge: how to produce a model kit with very good detail and fit, but more efficiently and cheaper, and simultaneously try slightly different machines – all in Poland, of course.

We decided to reproduce many fine details on the surfaces, such as panel lines, even the smallest inspection panels, fasteners, screws, hinges, etc. Thanks to this, we achieved a really high degree of surface saturation with detail. However, we opted not to add rivet detail because, unlike the Hurricane, the Cobra was a new generation, “smooth” aircraft, as its designers, out of concern for airflow, used only flush-head rivets. Their reproduction through rows of “holes” in the plastic does not satisfy everyone, but at the same time, it is easy for those who want to have a riveted model to do it on their own. We considered it for a long time and made the decision consciously.

The new Airacobra

The result is a brand new, factory-fresh Airacobra P-39Q in 1/48 scale, which we showed in a test version at Warsaw Model Festival last week-end. We are currently finishing the last corrections to the mould, milling additional details on the wing and in the landing gear compartment. This is the final stretch. Decals (Cartograf!), instructions, and boxes are already printed and assembled; we will soon start packing the first final production sprues into them!

Promotional pre-order

Order the 1/48 P-39Q Airacobra model kit today, at a promotional pre-order price, and we will send it to you in the second half of June! Single kits and bundles of several kits are available (the more, the greater the discount!) Airacobra alone and in combination with Hurricane Mk IIb. To each package we add free files for self-printing resin details in 3D. This is a great opportunity to buy kits for the summer holidays at a very good price!

Files with accessories for 3D printing

Similarly to Hurricane, we have prepared a rich variety of 3D files for the Airacobra 1/48 kit for self-printing. Some of them you will receive for free with promotional bundles, some can be purchased for a very good price. 3D printers are becoming cheaper and more common. Even if you don’t have your own, you can print the files from a friend, at a modelling club, or at a commercial service point. Download the free files and save them on your disk, even if you do not intend to print them yet. It is worth having them, the progress in this technology is very fast and the availability of printers is increasing rapidly.

Promotional bundles

For the pre-order of the new 1/48 Airacobra, we have prepared several attractive promotional bundles, the larger the bundle you order, the bigger the discount you will get. You can buy the Airacobras themselves in bundles, or you can also complete your Hurricane collection. Each promotional bundle also includes free files for printing resin details on a 3D printer. Download them even if you don’t have a printer, these devices are becoming more and more available and maybe soon you will be able to print them without any problems?

Examine and pre-order promotional bundles! We plan to ship the pre-ordered kits in the second half of June!