P-38 Lightning group build - Are we there yet???

That's great!!! I hadn't seen this thread in so long I missed the connection - congratulations daddy1!!!

Way to go Daddy1 saw that in the mag,congrats!

Very nice! I still dont have the courage to build my favorite airplane. Yours is a lot better than what I can do right now.

  My P-38 made the Jan.2013 readers gallery.  

 I was browsing through the current issue upon it's arrival in the mail. Came across this pic of a P-38 , thought to myself " nice Lightning, looks familiar" . Started checking out the markings and the caption. It's mine. Way cool. 

So , to anyone out there thinking your pics wont make the print. Try anyway and submit those pics. 

I'm new to this forum so "Hello"!  I was a corporate pilot in Lafayette, LA a few years ago and my Chief Pilot was one of the pilots that flew the Scatterbrain Kid  when it was part of the CAF.  Now the P-38 is my absolute favorite airplane,and the Scatterbain Kid was based at the airport there.  I saw this beautiful airplane fly may times..even on the day of its crash.  Anyway, I  also did graphic design work  for a number of years prior to, and during my aviation career. My cheif pilot had a pic of the plane that was in need of restoration and there were no really good photos left of this airplane around.  I began a restoration project of this photo in Photoshop ...approximately 40 hours of computer time later, (this was truly a labor of love), the fruits of my labor can be viewed here:

http://www.adoramapix.com/scatterbrain-kid/gallery/scatterbrain-kid/OKId65oJFTjoAl8

The  pics are available for purchase ( I make no money off the purchase) and come in 3 different sizes, 11X14 is probably the sharpest image.  The last pic is a scan of the origional photograph.  I would be happy to e-mail the file but it is huge, Hope this will help you in your build.

Hey Vance,

Another lurker from the Monogram Mafia GB.  Great to see the work on everyone's P38s, very inspirational.  I was toying with the idea of jumping in with my Monogram P38/F5B, but just couldn't pull it together.....maybe the next one?

Thanks to all for sharing your talents and passion for the hobby!

Tal Afar Dave

vetteman42 - thanks for tagging along, we enjoyed having some lurkers pop in & out with questions & commentary. We were a small but determined group, which was just fine for me: first-ever P-38 build, first-ever time running a group build! I think I'll go a simpler route next time I build one of these though!

Helo H-34 sweeeeeeet build man ! Love the extras you added, the tug and ladder with the figure really add to the build. Very well done

Vance although I wasnt a member of the group I sure enjoyed watching and lurking here. You ran a great group and picked a great subject, well done sir. Loads of talent as far as the builders here too, my hat is off to all of you.

Helo H-34

Thank's Vance and p38jI for the kind words on the build . I did notice this morning , that in my usual haste in taking finished pic's and getting them posted , that I must of had some powder residue still on my hands from wearing disposable gloves while I was attaching the last few parts . When I grabbed the P-38 by the wing to postion her for some photo's you can see a little dust on the wing leading edge . I guess I'll call it weathering even though most of my Aircraft and Helicopter builds a way to shinny as well .

Thank's again Guy's and the front page with everyone's finished P-38 builds looks great .

BTW , I tried uploading the GB badge and post it in my profile but an error message kept coming through about the limlit of the number of character letters or something like that . How do you guy's upload multiple GB Badges ?

"unintended weathering?" That black paint just shows everything doesn't it! Signature line error - yep, I found that quickly as well, I'll send you a PM.

Thank's Vance and p38jI for the kind words on the build . I did notice this morning , that in my usual haste in taking finished pic's and getting them posted , that I must of had some powder residue still on my hands from wearing disposable gloves while I was attaching the last few parts . When I grabbed the P-38 by the wing to postion her for some photo's you can see a little dust on the wing leading edge . I guess I'll call it weathering even though most of my Aircraft and Helicopter builds a way to shinny as well .

Thank's again Guy's and the front page with everyone's finished P-38 builds looks great .

BTW , I tried uploading the GB badge and post it in my profile but an error message kept coming through about the limlit of the number of character letters or something like that . How do you guy's upload multiple GB Badges ?

Nope, mine either. I mean, there were the original kit stencils (I think? ), but black stencils over black paint... "Calling Dr. Redundancy!"

Mine didn't have all the stencils his did..

p38jl

hey Helo.. .looks good !   I did those same markings for mine.. ( see the front page )... I used the Monogram 1/48..

Good job !

Yep, I forgot to mention that - I want to zoom in on Helo's 1/72 pics & see how it compares to the 1/48 version for decals etc - seeing as how three of us did the same bird! I didn't use the flat-black anti-glare panels on the nose & inner nacelle areas... I liked it shiny!

hey Helo.. .looks good !   I did those same markings for mine.. ( see the front page )... I used the Monogram 1/48..

Good job !

Helo H-34

It came out okay in the end but wasn't worth the $30 I paid for the kit .

I did like the option of the open nose gun bay , however the nose cone was a terrible fit and caused the guns to angle up more than I liked .

You don't see that much engine detail with the access panels removed , I suppose some wireing or hoses may have made things look a little more busy , oh well !

Anyway I'm happy I actually finished the P-38 and I'm most gratefull for the time extension ;

Thank's for not leaving me behind ....(Enemy Lines)

                              John .

NO MODELER LEFT BEHIND!!!! Looks good from here, and I like the ground crew & gear, that really ads something to the all-black NF finish. Plumbing inside the engine bay would help busy it up, but in 1/72?!?! Where would it go?! Now that we've all built one of these birds we should submit a wishlist to the manufacturers, for their next attempt at a P38. Adding your pic to the finished roster up front. I'll have to check around, don't think we're waiting on anyone else at this point though.

Hi Vance ;

I have finished the 1/72 scale Revell P-38M Lightning .

"Lockheed P-38M-6 of the 421st Night Fighter Squadron , Atsugi AB , Japan , July 1945" .

It came out okay in the end but wasn't worth the $30 I paid for the kit .

I did like the option of the open nose gun bay , however the nose cone was a terrible fit and caused the guns to angle up more than I liked .

You don't see that much engine detail with the access panels removed , I suppose some wireing or hoses may have made things look a little more busy , oh well !

Anyway I'm happy I actually finished the P-38 and I'm most gratefull for the time extension ;

Thank's for not leaving me behind ....(Enemy Lines)

                              John .

I'm almost there Vance ;

I re-masked and painted the canopy for the third time and have her up on landing gear with all but the engine access panels fitted . I'm starting the decals right now and there is lot's of stensilling .

I don't mind the red stensilling , it should look good against the black paint ; I also added Academy's tow tractor to enhance my rather ordinary efforts with the build .

Will be finished by this time tomorrow ........."Finally"

                               John .

Hi Vance ;

The Revell 1/72 P-38M will be finished this weekend and I'll post pic's sunday night .

Thank's again for the time extension , overall I'm not too impressed with my efforts on the build , the wing / fuselage joins seem fragile and the tooling of the kit was a lot older than the fancy box art and $30 price tag would suggest . Actually the stamp under the wing reads " Revell INC 1982 " . Definitly not worth the money I forked out for it

Oh well , at least I built her . Decals tomorrow and final coat of clear first thing sunday morning .

                          John .

BUMP!!!! How are you doing Helo?

JOHN!! There you are! No problem keeping it open, I think there are only a few stragglers left. You're not far off now anyway from the assemblies I see in the pic above, looking forward to seeing her after final assembly. I mentioned the terms "fun" and "soft deadline" right off the start so I'm not worried. Now that I've got one of these things wrapped up, I think I've got a better idea of what I want to do on the next one.

My sincere apologies Vance , for not having my P-38M not finished yet .

I haven't been happy about a couple of things with the build , The masking on the canopy wasn't very good and I didn't like the paint finish on the frame lines that followed , so I ended up stripping the paint off to re-do the canopy .

Also in my hurry to get a few clear coats on so I could start the decaling , I forgot to clean the spraybooth filter and I now have a slightly rough feel to the paint finish . I started to buff the surface with some kitchen paper towel and bumped the rear cockpit housing off

Anyway all these issue's can be fixed and I'm most gratefull for your patience in keeping the P-38 GB still open . I'll get the canopy remasked and painted again this afternoon and hopfully smooth out the surface a little more for a couple of additional clear coats and then the decals .

I will finish by the end of this weekend .

                    John .

Thanks! Other than the dust (), I left it pretty much factory-fresh, seeing as how these didn't see much more than post-war patrols. Now that I see the pics again, I think I want to go back & add some exhaust staining though.  I also managed to snap the "hinge" for the gun bay, the red prop-rod is precariously holding the panel in place while I take my pics!

Looks good Vance ! nice job..

dante, Helo - are you two still wrapping up?? I took some pics of mine a few weeks back, but realized afterwards that my new camera picks up all sorts of details.... like dust all over a shiny black finish!! . (And I had also forgotten to re-attach a broken-off pitot tube!) Haven't had a chance to re-photograph yet, but I'll post up the "99%" pics for now just to get us back on the front page. Here goes...

My overall verdicts... The Revell kit is not a straight-forward build, but considering it isn't a $60 kit I felt comfortable enough to actually go ahead & try some scratch0building & modifications - what could I lose right?? The fit was pretty goo all-around, glass a little thick & the forward windscreen was probably the worst-fitting area on mine.

Modifications...

• Obviously, I went ahead & cut her up to make the nighfighter according to the kit instructions, seemed to work out just fine. (although I scribed the opening for the RIO area, just before I finally broke down & bought a proper razor saw!)
• dropped rear elevator
• offset the ailerons
• built a little landing light to fill out the open clear spot
• scratchbuilt the Radar operator's compartment. I left the greenish display where it was, but had to re-position some items below it to make it look like there was a reasonable amount of room for the poor guy's legs! I added various boxes & cables on the wall side, re-built the seat starting with what Revell gave me, seatbelts made from masking tape - that one was a first for me as well.
• The Fowler Flaps! I cut away the parts from the lower wing, added some internal ribs, gave the actual flaps a little structure, and simplified attachment points. It's got the look of a "flaps partway down for maintenance", rather than all the way down. (Although someone mentioned earlier that they were rarely seen deployed on the ground). I like it 'cuz it's different!
• Landing gear bays were boxed-in and had some plumping added. Looking back, I probably would have done all that gear bay work, and then added the gear afterwards. (I think if I remove the lower sections of those location circles, I could just drop the gear in after & glue in place, the weight of the kit is going to help keep it in place as well.

AM stuff used...

• True Details resin wheels
• Ultracast resin seats (and it came with a pair of seats - the RIO seat was a different shape, so I've still got a resin for the next one of these I tackle!)
• Aeromaster decals - not surprisingly, these were great - and now I have options to use on the next one!
• Scale Aircraft Conversions white metal landing gear - seemed alright but not breath-taking. I suppose they are more durable than the plastic, so it is an upgrade.
• Eduard Zoom PE cockpit set - everything was well-made and accurate, but sooooo much of it is hidden inside a -38. "next time" I'd probably skip it & put the money somewhere else.

I would loved to have found clearer/better clear parts, and I probably would have gone for an upgraded set of guns. I also spotted, afterwards of course, an AM option for the gear bays!! Ahhh well, I tried some stuff I had never done before with this kit, so it's all good.

There are still a few stragglers out there, we'll keep the light on for you if you like. And a big thank you from me to all who participated in this GB, my first at the helm, and my first P-38!

All pics of this project on Photobucket here.

Sorry guys, I was unable to complete mine before the deadline.  Now that summer is here I wont be spending all my free time helping the kids with their homework and should have time to build.  I really enjoyed being a part of this group build and learned a lot which will help me when I finally get around to completing my P-38.

Thanks again,

Dante821

Hi Vance ,

I'll be decaling the Revell P-38M today , so hopfully within the next couple of days she will be finished

                            John

And I've been visiting sporadically at best over the past three weeks - if I've managed to miss somebody's finished pics, just yell at me. (You'll have to be louder than Manny though, I'm on his yell-at list until I finish off a different project! )

well.. I'm having trouble getting to the bench lately... so my E with secret decaling.. is seriously lagging..

Co-host cking in ..

so far all stuff looks great !

Hey guys, haven't had a chance to sit down with camera & do my pics yet, and this week is looking like a wash. I'll try to get them up asap though. Anybody else still straggling behind like I am?? No modeler left behind!!!!