That turned out pretty dang good as far as I can see. I was surprised to hear about the fit issues you're having as well. From all the reading I've done about this kit it seemed like it was a dream to put together as most Tamiya kits are. Outstanding finish up and I don't blame you in being on the safe side and not risking a catastrophic mistake. Well done.

Tojo72

Looks good,is this the F/G or the H 

its the H, which I think is no longer available. 

The decals where pretty good, easy to work with and mostly forgiving. 
I noticed the us star on the upper left wing split a little, perhaps from the mr hobby setter/softener. 

I find the little stencils such a pain to deal with...I gave up trying to do them all...I guess I'm not alone. 

Nice finish dazz! The colors and finish look great. How were the Tamiya decals? 

dazzjazz

I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab - I found it too dark, so I lightened it with a little white.

I did do a pretty good colour modulation, but the Vallejo Gloss varnish from a sprat can has hidden it unfortunately.

 Thanks Dazz.

dazzjazz

I should try that again, the only time I've tried it, it wasn't successful. Thanks for the reminder though!

 

for me i spray it thru a straw into a 1oz paint jar that i cleaned out with lacquer thinner. I let it sit for 10-15 minutes to come up to room temp and let the gas bubbles release. I stir it some more and then add 25 percent mr color leveling thinner, stir some more and spray.

I should try that again, the only time I've tried it, it wasn't successful. Thanks for the reminder though!

dazzjazz

I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab - I found it too dark, so I lightened it with a little white.

I did do a pretty good colour modulation, but the Vallejo Gloss varnish from a sprat can has hidden it unfortunately.

 

have you tried decanting the clear froma spray can through a straw into a bottle so you can soray it thru your air brush? 

Great job. I liked the color choice. Great detailing . 

I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab - I found it too dark, so I lightened it with a little white.

I did do a pretty good colour modulation, but the Vallejo Gloss varnish from a sprat can has hidden it unfortunately.

Lovely job here, great paint color.

What paint did you use for the O.D.

Yeah, I noticed that WIPs don't get really that much love and went back to just posted completed builds.

But thanks for posting the finished photos. Your work here is fantastic!!! Beautiful work!!!

Nice finish!  If you hadn't mentioned the issues you ran into, I wouldn't have noticed them.  Well done!

Ditto using a toothpick to remove paint from the canopy.

That turned out great!  An olive drab P-38 Lightning is my favorite!

TJS

Looks good,is this the F/G or the H

I've only heard good stuff about the F/G and I'm getting ready to start it soon.

Turned out nice.  I like the outdoor pics

Ditto on the chisel edged toothpick. I've used that tool for years. Works fine.

Very nice work on the build!

Jim 

Stay Safe

Oh super nice! It does look sharp for sure. I'm disappointed though, I was scrolling through those pictures desperately looking for your best cockpit ever! You're gonna have to post some more pics for us.

many times you can take a toothpick to the paint on the edges of the canopy where you didn't want it and scrape it off. i usually make a chisel edge on the toothpick on my sanding block. That minimizes the chance that you'll put any light scratches into the clear plastic. This is the least aggressive way to do it and I would try that first. If it doesn't work stop back in and will offer more advice

Well, I'm done with this nice kit. I was going to do some heavier weathering on it, but I don't want to mess it up, seeing as it's a limited edition kit etc. I had some issues as described above, and they are probably my fault, being fairly inexperienced (I've built about 20 kits so far).

I've left the canopy off as I didn't do a great job of masking it, ending up with paint where it didn't belong (can i get it off?) and besides, it would obscure viewing the best cockpit I've ever done!

That is looking so good!  Sure looks good in olive drab.  A guy in our local model club brought one to our first in-person meeting on Tuesday and he just couldn't stop raving about the quality of this kit.  Definitely puttting this one on my list for Santa.

TJS

My nose cone experience sounds similar. Fit great dry. I painted it seperate so i could avoid breaking the guns...then it didn't fit right when i went to glue. tolerances are WnW's tight on this thing so any amount of paint or liquid tape affect the fit.

 I read a couple builds that talked about the little alignment mistakes that stack up because of the way the assembly is. One guy had trouble getting the engine covers to fit, another had a gap that sounded similar to yours when joining the booms to the center fuselage.

love your olive drap color. Sure looks great in the pics so far. Post a few more for us as you finish up.

keavdog

Did you have another thread on this build?   Coming along nicely.  Surprised to hear about the fit issues, I've only heard praise about this kit.   Looks like you're at the finish line.  

 

I must have something slightly out of alignment in the cockpit area, as I had to use a very small amount of putty on the left hand side, rearward of the nose cone. I spotted it too late to really do anything about it. Those nose cone issue must be a flow-on effect of this.   what everyone says about this kit in terms of fit is basically true. 

dazzjazz

...*tumbleweeds*...

 

Yeah, its unfortunate. One of the reasons I stopped the working progress threads and only post finished pics now. 

I'm digging Perry Dahl's machine. Nice work!

Did you have another thread on this build?   Coming along nicely.  Surprised to hear about the fit issues, I've only heard praise about this kit.   Looks like you're at the finish line.  

...*tumbleweeds*...