TheMongoose

Man you've got some serious talent in the natural metal finish category!

Super cool. Sounds like a year of growth for you as the awards kept getting bigger and bigger! Congrats and thanks for sharing your builds 🙂

super looking cockpit. i especially like the map half off the table. adds realism.

looking good stik! Does he hang them from the ceiling by chance?

you're welcome Gil. thanks as well for stopping in 🙂

Welcome ole buddy! It's a small but interactive crew over here 🙂 Chris

Thanks man! can you believe that Quinta studio IP is near invisible! And…In what is probably a classic experience for all of us...once i took final wip pics I saw something I missed lol spent all that effort to drill a hole in the glass and then forgot to put the wire thru

Excuse the semi-double post. I'm learning to use the forum tools and get the pictures to go with the text 😅

Finito! The Akron Canton IPMS club has a nose-art theme coming up this winter and I was psyched to find something to use! I've had this P-38 in my stash since the Chattanooga Nats and this was the perfect reason to pull it out. I found the Exito decals for Beautiful Lass and it was all the extra graphics they provide that sold me on purchasing them. 5 coats of gloss clear, then rolled some 4000 grit paper on a dowel to sand down the edge of the decal all around to make sure it was perfectly smooth and you couldn't feel the lip from the decal (they are just a tad thick). Then I applied 2 coats of flat clear. By the time it dried the decal edge had totally disappeared. Super happy with this because it was so obvious to start with. I preshaded in a lightened olive drab (used yellow zinc chromate) and then edged it all in black mist to get the varnish effect from the taped seams to show clearly. I modified a brush so it had just a few bristles and did the panel lines in aluminium. Tamiya leaves this center section smooth but the pics show lots of wear so this seemed to create the right affect. I did the exhaust staining with rendered oils. I used ochra, burnt sienna, and raw umber added some oil stains down under as well And a final closing shot. I'm pretty darn happy with this [t$t] I still have some work to do on my assembly methods. Fortunately a little chipping goes a long way to hiding that haha

Finito! The Akron Canton IPMS club has a nose-art theme coming up this winter and I was psyched to find something to use! I've had this P-38 in my stash since the Chattanooga Nats and this was the perfect reason to pull it out. I found the Exito decals for Beautiful Lass and it was all the extra graphics they provide that sold me on purchasing them. Here's a little background on the aircraft as well. The plane was built by Lockheed in Burbank and shipped overseas disassembled and then reassembled. Lt. John O'Neill piloted Beautiful Lass from March to November 1943 on missions over Rabaul and New Guinea, claiming eight aerial victories during this period. The aircraft was lost on December 28 1943 when pilot Lt. Ormond Powell encountered foul weather and was declared MIA when he failed to return to base. 5 coats of gloss clear, then rolled some 4000 grit paper on a dowel to sand down the edge of the decal all around to make sure it was perfectly smooth and you couldn't feel the lip from the decal (they are just a tad thick). Then I applied 2 coats of flat clear. By the time it dried the decal edge had totally disappeared. Super happy with this because it was so obvious to start with. I preshaded in a lightened olive drab (used yellow zinc chromate) and then edged it all in black mist to get the varnish effect from the taped seams to show clearly. I modified a brush so it had just a few bristles and did the panel lines in aluminium. Tamiya leaves this center section smooth but the pics show lots of wear so this seemed to create the right affect. And that final closing shot…I'm pretty darn happy with this 🍺 I still have some work to do on my assembly methods. Fortunately a little chipping goes a long way to hiding that haha

“Most excellent “ comments guys ! working on closing the cockpit tonight you know are used Elmers glue on that thread but the macro lens really detracts from it don’t you think ha ha

My buddy Bradley25mm likes how this is coming along so I thought I’d post it up. Really really taking my time with this one. working tonight on lots of weathering. This 1st set is all about a new technique. I read a 3 part article by john miller on model paint solutions for the P-38. Before I left on my last trip I squeezed out a dollup of oil onto cardboard and left it for 10 days. Came back to "rendered" oil pigment. Blend some with odorless turpenoid, put a drop in the center of a panel and let it spread. use your hair dryer and then repeat till the color is as dark as you want. i finished off tonight using a dark brown flory wash on top. The underside went so well and it drys right away compared to when i use the straight oils that i tried it on top. Then rendered oils for the exhaust staining. I wanted one darker than the other. Not sure tho if it's toooo different. Let me know. btw it's not this bright or coppery in person.

Here you go, Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland Ohio!

I’ve got you covered. Will send you a text

Cool idea on the mixing balls! Glad you’re up and running again. Hope everything works out for the best. chris