There is a long story behind this build.
Back about 8 years ago my son's boss saw my models and asked if I would build one for his 85 year old father. His father had always loved the P-38 since he had worked on them in WW2 and had a kit that he bought "a while" ago but was no longer able to build. I said "sure I 'd love too"
About a week later he showed up at my door step on a Monday evening and hands me a well battered and worn model box. It is a 1/48 Monogram P-38J in the white box. This means it is at best a run from between 1973 and 1975 and a 1966 mould. He also hands me a much newer decal sheet and says he wants the Bong aircraft but with the black triangles on the tail. OK his call.
Then he drops the real bomb!
"Dad's birthday is on Sunday can you have it done by then?"
Since I am a sucker for a vet I said sure no problem.
Went in and went straight to work. Opening the box I found all the parts off the sprue mixed with original decal flakes, dead spiders and the earthly remains of once had been instructions (we have all seen this before I am sure). Undaunted I took all the parts, placed them in a mesh bag and threw them into the dish washer (no heat cycle of course). Once clean I laid them all out and to my surprise everything seemed to be accounted for. To my even greater surprise the detail was not bad at all for the age of the kit. It was designed just at the strat of the era where models were transitioning from toys to accurate representations of the subject. Yes it had loads of raised panel lines and rivets but they were more subdued and at least basically in the right places.
For nostalgia reasons he wanted built out of box and did not care about accuracy or massive amounts of added detail. Considering the time limit I was also fine with that.
In the end I finished it the Friday for him to present it on Sunday. Dad was very, very, very surprised and happy.
Unfortunately I have lost the build pictures and all I have are the handful of shots that the guy sent me.
Assembly, base painting and panel line/rivet reduction (not removal) were all done in an evening. Five different tone of Bare Metal Foil covered the exterior in a random pattern the next evening.
The only extra I added was a tape and wire seatbelt. You can sort of see the top of it sticking up if you hold your tongue just right and squint at a 33.26 degree angle. The cockpit was actually pretty nice for the age
Don't want to open the whole "how much weathering is too much" can of worms but most of the non posed for the press pictures of Marge clearly showed she was a dirty, dirty girl (Marge the airplane not Marge the lady in the picture) so she got a nice scummy wash of black and brown tinted Pledge.
Whipped up a basic base with info and a semblance of a South Pacific airfield with some wall plaster, kitty litter and model railroad foliage.
Grabbed a random figure in a nice casual pose out of a Revell bomber kit and painted him up. Take a good look at that guys face even in 1/48!
If that figure wasn't sculpted based on Major Bong I will eat my hat!
