Old (1964)vintage Monogram 1/48 P-38

This should be interesting. I have thought about picking one of these up, but all the horror stories I've heard keeps me from doing it. I'll decide after I've watched you work through it.

BK

I like your workbench, philo. It looks lived in.

I know but when I clean it up I can't find anything!I built this kit in the seventies and it will require extensive body work.

I have built that model twice. All I can say is "good luck". I could never get the booms to be in correct alaignment. Plus the model has hundreds of out of scale, raised rivets. It's just a poorly engineered model. The HobbyBoss P-38 resolves all of the Monogram problems. It will be interesting to see how you deal with that model's problems.

EDIT: I have nothing against the older Monogram/Revell kits. I think that the B-17, B-29 and B-24 are really nice models. They require a little work, but the final results are really nice. The P-38 is just a really frustrating build. I just do not understand why the booms are seperate from the front wing/fusalage. Good luck. Maybe you will be able to solve that model's problems.

Yep expect difficulties.

 The venerable kit can produce a very nice, accurate result but be prepared to exercise all your fit-and-finish skills, on a minute to minute basis. I have built three and all were exercises in frustration. I made the last one an in-flight display, to avoid having to deal with the horrible fit of the gun bay fiddly bits and the cavernous empty main gear bays. The seperate canopy parts were so ill-fitting that I resorted to a single-piece Squadron vacformed canopy. Best of luck to you, amigo.

Yes I have heard that the canopy is problematic.

Took Off the clamps putty .  

Seam checker paint indicates the putty did it's job.

You got me, what is that white stuff?

Just some random paint I use to confirm the seams were filled .When completed I will shoot a coat of gray primer and paint the Olive Drab.

I built this kit when I was a teenager, 40+ years ago and yeah I remember it being difficult. Back in those days, a sucessful build was not having any finger prints in the paint and having the decals stick!  Good luck. Can't wait to see how she turns out. 

This kit was built three years ago and I gave it as a gift to my Therapist.  It was challenging but I persevered.  Good luck and your P38  looks really great!

Your Friend, Toshi

Thanks Tosh!

philo426

Yes I have heard that the canopy is problematic.

Yup.  Horrendous fit.  Do yourself a favour.  Get an aftermarket replacement.  I got one from Squadron and it fit like a charm.  I see you've found the seam devil.  In my build, there wasn't one seam that didn't need work.  I used a lot of shims to fill 1/16" gaps (booms to underside of wing) and Testor's Clear Pastic Cement as fillers.  Worked not too badly.  The nose gun doors...well good luck with them.

I jumped right into the Revell Monogram models when I got back into models last year, since it was what I remembered from my youth. The P-38 was my 4th and final model of that brand which I never intend to purchase again. It had me seriously rethinking my decision to get back into the hobby. Thank God for Tamiya and have fun with that frustrating model. 

Yes I expect problems but if I have added styrene shims to builds un the past .

Getting the booms together.  what gas stations are open 24 7

Yikes! That really brings back some not so fond memories. That kit was engineered in a very strange way. This is interesting so far. I'll bet that it will get more interseting as time goes on. Don't forget to put weight in the nose to prevent a  tail sitter.

Yes that is on the agenda.dont like tail sitting on a plane with trike landing gear.

You will need a lot of weight in the nose. When I built my P-38 I filled the nose with weights. That was not enough. I also had to add weights inside the engine cowlings.

Yep that is the plan.Applied the putty.  

Yeah, I've built a couple of these kits over the years. They can really cause you to yank your hair out. Sanded off a lot of rivet detail during the builds. Left the stick on the tail so the kit would sit right on the gear. Gonna be a tough build but press on regardless. It'll look nice when it's done.

Already cut off the tail stand ,will add weight to the nose and engine nacelles.

What kind of putty is that? It looks like Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty.

Yes sir my fave!I like to immerse the tube into some warm water to allow the putty to smooth out a bit .