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1/48 P-38J Lightning


ghodges

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I have been getting some modeling done (in between posts! :smiley2: )....

 

This is the Hasagawa (HAI!) 1/48 P-38L, that I've backdated to a "J-10". All that means is that I've added the underwing landing lights in place of the later wing leading edge light, and deleted the rockets and the underwing compressability flaps.

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The cockpit is 95% kit, with a few extra pe levers and doo-dads, Eduard colored seat belts, as well as some left over Waldron placards. I'll probably shorten the instrument coaming and add a Quickboost gunsight to finish it up.

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I added some screening to the oil cooler intakes (and those football intake thingys too). The only other "modification" I plan to the kit is to lengthen and turn the nose strut to make it sit more nose high, ala most Lightnings!

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Made a lot of progress on gluing all assemblies. Next is the dreaded sanding phase, but I hope to have the main airframe assembled and primered by next weekend.

 

I'm doing "Stinger", which is an OD/Nuetral Gray ETO bird; the only Lightning scheme I don't have built at this time. Also, I am still working on the 1/32 T-28, albeit at a slower pace as it doesn't need to be done until the Warner Robins show in October! Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Uh, I dunno, Gil. I'm kinda partial to those compressability flap thingies. When you dive towards the floor with that plane after finishing it, they might come in handy ;)

 

Looks great so far. I love the cockpit...

Glenn

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Got her assembled...

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Paid close attention to alignment and not the fit of the wings to the nacelles Think it'll all be good! Letting the glue dry overnight before attempting the final sanding/scribing phase. Less worries than I expected so far! Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Guest Bun E. Carlos

Oh You Stud You!!!!!!!!!!

Looks Good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just about threw one of the "L's" into a wall........the Virginia Marie Issue..............your fit looks a lot better!!!!

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Hours?? 4, or 5 maybe. Perhaps 2 for the cockpit, 1 on doing the mods (wings lights, curtailed cockpit coaming, and adding screening), and 2 or so on sanding and scribing everywhere except the main wing/nacelle joints; which don't look too bad. It's a refreshing change from the T-28, where it takes 2 hours just to construct 5-6 gear doors! I started the model last Friday morning and got to work on it over the weekend.

 

Jack, I understand where you're coming from and had heard some horror stories about this kit (P-38's are tough anyway). I did have to "twist" the left vertical tail a bit. Something went CRACK (inside I guess as I don't SEE a crack) and since then it's been straight! Now if I can just avoid dropping the nose heavy beast....Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finished up all of the cockpit stuff in prep for adding the clear parts.

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The instrument panel coaming was cut back by 1/8in. which helps it to clear the control stick and make it possible to glimpse the main panel. I also added a Quickboost gunsight, which really makes for a nice touch!

 

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Masked off the windshield and rear canopy with Tamiya tape and glued them in place. They fit well! I primered them in Zinc Chromate so that it'll act as the inside color for the framing. Also, note the holes beside the prop bosses. I put those there so I could insert a couple of paintbrush handles to allow me to hold the model while painting. No need to fill them later as they'll be hidden by the prop spinners! Just about ready to start painting this one! Cheers! Questions, comments and critiques welcome!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Daniel: all P-38's are tougher because of the twin booms. The Hasagawa kit is good, but take your time and test fit two or thee times before glueing. Also, I recommend glueing with an eye on alignment first and THEN fit. You can always fill and sand the parts as long as the alignment is correct. Although the Academy kit has a better reputation for ease of assembly, I haven't found the Hasagawa kit any tougher. Best of luck!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Forgot to post this yesterday...

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I lengthened the nose gear strut to give the model a bit of nose up stance, which is seen in a lot of P-38 pics. I also opted to turn it for that "more candid appearance". You lose the kit oleo when doing this. The new oleo strut is a piece of floral wire and the oleo scissors came from the spares box.

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Every non-model builder that sees my man cave or a model I work on keeps saying they don't have the patience to try it. You aircraft builders are the patience masters! Gil, that is looking completely beautiful! Keep the pictures coming. How you have the patience to do the re-scribing work is beyond me. To willingly and knowing fill and sand joins that you have to re-scribe completely boggles my mind.

 

 

Mark

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Got the P-38 painted.

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If you look closely you can see post-shading on the top and bottom. It's more evident in person than in the pics. All that's left to paint is the red on the nose and the spinners. I'll post more when I get the markings on. Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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I used Model Master enamels. The top sides are 34086 DRAB Green, post shaded with the slightly lighter 34087 Olive Drab. The bottom is 36020 Neutral gray, postshaded with the same paint, slightly lightened with Camouflage gray. All paints were thinned with Model Master thinner. I used my Badger Talon airbrush (now with even more BS! :smiley2: ), applying the paint at @20lbs of pressure. The post-shading paints were thinned much more than the first coats to allow for finer control.

 

I opted for the darker OD color because this will be an ETO bird. They didn't fade like the south Pacific Lightnings did, and this darker version will stand out next to my OD/gray P-38F, which is faded for Pacific use. By the way, those BRIGHT chromate green gear wells will be toned down with some washes! Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Got the gloss coat on....

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Yea, I know, mundane....BUT I'm posting this because I had what seems to be a common problem that some guys at our local meeting helped me solve the other night.

 

The first gloss coat seemed to be absorbed by the OD/Gray paint.......I put on a whole bottle of MM laquer gloss (thinned @70/30) without much sheen to the model. When I brought this up at the meeting I was given a several tips to help avoid this problem in the future:

1) Be sure to not airbrush TOO far from the modeling surface. It causes the paint to be too dry to plate out properly, making it a bit rough. I know I avoided orange peel, but evidently there's a small margin where you can get an even but rough finish.

2) Add a little gloss to the flat paint before spraying. It acts as a retarder and helps the flat paint plate out properly.

3) If you get that rough finish, rub it out with a paper towel or a USED dryer sheet. It will smooth the surface just enough to help your gloss coat cover better.

 

Anyway, I'm ready to put the markings on tomorrow and hope to have her done within the next week or so. Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Guest Bun E. Carlos

Gil that's looking really good! I did another several years ago for Shari's Father, called, "My Dad." If I remember , it had an Ace of Spades on the Right side. It was his favorite plane and was a bit fiddly as you say. DO A TANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Decals, another MM gloss coat, wash, and flat coat have been applied....

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Wash was a water-soluable oil paint (Raw Umber), thinned with water and about 10 drops of dishwashing detergent added to the mix. The "rough" texture of my overall finish worked to my favor as it made it difficult to remove all of the wash, which in turn added some nice weathering! The decals are from Superscale #1179, P-38H/J Lightning Aces. The flat coat is Testros Dullcoat, thinned with laquer thinner. I love that stuff, as it dries in about 5minutes! Next pics will be when she's done. Questions and comments welcome! Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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She is Fini!

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Overall scheme for "Stinger". Note the replacement prop blade on the left, w/o stenciling. Ok, so I loused up the 6th decal......in which case I had to use a replacement prop! :smiley2: I also failed to get as much nose-up attitude as I wanted, but I didn't want to chop and lower the main gear also, so I'll live with it.

 

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Of note in this pic is that the side windows are "down". Not the kit glass (of course), but simple strips of sheet plastic with the No Step applied and painted chromate green on the inside frames. You can also see the canopy locks added to the windshield.

 

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"Chipping" was done with a sharpened silver Prismacolor pencil. You can see the blue formation light on the vertical fin. It, and the wingtip formation lights were first painted silver, and then coated with Tamiya acrylic Clear colors.

 

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The bottom view shows the weathering best. Besides the wash applied earlier, I also applied some Warpigs weathering powders. The IFF lights are colored MV lenses. The #200 (red), #201 (green), and #202 (amber) fit perfectly in the Hasagawa depressions!

 

Glad to have this one done! I got what I wanted, an ETO OD/Gray P-38, so it strikes another off the to-do list! But take my word for it, this thing is rough when you get closer than 6"! :smiley13: I really envy people who can apply smooth layers of paint! Comments and critiques welcome! Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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