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

Good call Sparrow, I had forgotten about GIMP, didn't realize it came with animation abilities as well. Anybody using this will also be able to touch up model pics & doctor Manny's head into other photos!

Great looking bird you have there.  Mine keeps getting slowed down...  As for a GIF builder to make an animated GIF file.  I just use GIMP.  It's a totally freeware graphics program which is as powerful as photoshop.  It can be gotten here...

http://www.gimp.org/

And you can get a good tutorial on how to use it to make animated GIFs here.

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/gimptutorials/tp/animated-gif.htm

I hope this helps.

Rich

Spike190

Vance can you recommend a Gif program for windows, I tried to add this GB badge but now my sig is to long and it wouldn't work, perhaps one like yours would solve the problem.

Nice save Howard, glad the damage wasn't to bad.

Anyhow I spent most of last week in Decal land so I've some progress pictures.

The shark mouths took multiple rounds of pin pricks and micro sol and I need to do some touch ups around them. Ive put some protective clear coat on the top now and will do the same on the underside a little later then I can put it to one side to dry good and proper and move onto the landing gear, props etc.

Cheers everyone....

Super looking colors on your Lightning, Mike.  Did the colors hold up after you clear coated over the decals?  Sometimes a flat finish seems to flatten out the color gradation as it shows under the clear gloss coat.  The decals look great.  It's hard enough to get a sharks' mouth to lay down nice, but then to get two at once and make them look similar, whew, nice job.  Rick.

Wow, she's really shaping up now Mike, looks great from here. Just barely survived my daughter's cheerleading competition (aka "the sonic root canal") this weekend, but did manage some progress. I added the nosecone - plus putty & sanding - and attached the hinged gun bay covers, along with more putty! More sanding & pics tonight.

I could have sworn there was a PC option for that gifbuilder - sorry if I sent you in the wrong direction. (PC & Mac... why can't we all just get along!)

Vance can you recommend a Gif program for windows, I tried to add this GB badge but now my sig is to long and it wouldn't work, perhaps one like yours would solve the problem.

Nice save Howard, glad the damage wasn't to bad.

Anyhow I spent most of last week in Decal land so I've some progress pictures.

The shark mouths took multiple rounds of pin pricks and micro sol and I need to do some touch ups around them. Ive put some protective clear coat on the top now and will do the same on the underside a little later then I can put it to one side to dry good and proper and move onto the landing gear, props etc.

Cheers everyone....

daddy1

Vance , how do you get the rotating GB badges in your siggy? I like it , good way to show all ones badges. 

 I used to build quicker till I raised the bar for myself getting involved in these forums. They're a great learning tool and confidence builder. 

 I've started working some pastels into the paint to get a well faded look. The underside looks good but I'm about halfway across the topside OD and it seems a bit too whitish , although the vintage color pic I posted isn't far off from what I'm coming up with. Will post some fresh pics in a day or two. 

Howard

I'm using Photoshop to create an "animated gif", you set up multiple frames & add a transition between them. (I'm a graphic designer, so I've got Photoshop on every machine I own!) Not sure if you can do the same thing on Photoshop Elements, or any of the other "light" graphics programs that often ship with digital cameras. I know you can do the same thing using GifBuilder, a freebie program that has been around awhile (http://www.tucows.com/preview/206447).

I think we all used to be quicker Howard! (except for fermis - he seems to be getting quicker!) This forum does tend to make me want to try new or different things for sure - that's a good thing right?! Which reminds me, I need to track down some pastels so I can give that a shot.

That OD upper surface did seem to get washed out pretty hard in the Pacific sun, you're probably fine.

Vance , how do you get the rotating GB badges in your siggy? I like it , good way to show all ones badges. 

 I used to build quicker till I raised the bar for myself getting involved in these forums. They're a great learning tool and confidence builder. 

 I've started working some pastels into the paint to get a well faded look. The underside looks good but I'm about halfway across the topside OD and it seems a bit too whitish , although the vintage color pic I posted isn't far off from what I'm coming up with. Will post some fresh pics in a day or two. 

Howard

daddy1

Vance-  I hear you about the home alone session. My daughter's 8 , does this sound familiar? " Emma , get in your bed and go to sleep." "But, I'm not tired."  LOL

Very familiar, except mine is 13 and routinely just getting home from cheerleading practice at 9pm...

That's a great idea for the sample sheet. Several times I've looked at doing some effect on an almost-finished kit & then thought better of it because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. If I built quicker I'd have a test mule somewhere...

Vance-  I hear you about the home alone session. My daughter's 8 , does this sound familiar? " Emma , get in your bed and go to sleep." "But, I'm not tired."  LOL

 Anyways , my sample sheet is just a piece of sheet styrene I base coated with OD ( I have another with neutral gray). I've been trying out different color washes , pastels , and pigments  on that to get a feel for how they affect the base colors and also how much an overcoat of clear will affect them.  Basically practice before applying to my model.  

I've only recently started using pastels and pigments , I like the way they can subtly alter the base colors they're applied to. Easy to use too. Another weapon in the modeling skill arsenal. 

 I've got 4 jars  of Model Makerz pigments I won in an online contest at uberhobby.com.  Liked how well the stuff worked , decided to pick up some  General's pastel chalks in a earth,portrait, skin tone set from Michale's craft store. Also picked up some pastel chalks on clearance at a local art supply store. I've also given thought to trying out some shades of of eye shadow/makeup as weathering pigments. 

  My wife had a couple extra brushes from her Bare Minerals stuff that work great for applying and blending the powdered pastels and pigments. They're thick, soft and can be found in sizes from a fine point to large , broad  and flat. The little foam tipped makup applicators are useful too.

 Amazing what we can find beyond the LHS. 

 Howard

Well I keep going back to the nacelles & sanding/puttying... it still looks the same, but I swear I'm actually doing something to it! I need an extended "home alone" session. ~cough cough~ maybe I'm coming down with a cold & need to stay home...

Howard.. good recovery !

Vance ! man... hope to see some pics !

ps.. thinking of adding a 2nd -38.. with mystery markings.. real,, but not seen often...

Howard, that may be the best bad luck I've ever seen! You're right though, after weathering that could actually add to the look - nice recovery. You need to tell us about your "sample sheet"! So you've done a base coat & applied various weathering & washes?? You sir, have done your homework!

Got a few minutes at the bench last night, think I'm just about done sanding with the exception of one seam on a boom, I may have to run a little more filler in there & sand it out a little more. Once I'm done all the bodywork I can add the canopies.

Had a bit of a set back last night. I had removed all the stubborn mask along the demarcation lines and almost finished touching up the paint when , the thing decided to take a brief flight from my hand to the floor. 

 Fortunately, it hit on the nose and broke only along the seam where the nose attaches anyways. Simple fix , but was looking forward to start the weathering process last night . Got it fixed and touched up and will start weathering tomorrow. 

RATS!!!

The gods were smiling on me as it broke on the seam without any chunks of filler breaking away. Just a matter of re-gluing the nose back on, cleaning up the seam, and touching up the paint. This time without dropping it. 

Another of my sample sheets to check various washes and pastels.

Not a bad recovery. Hand brushing a light coat of OD came out a touch darker than the airbrush, but with weathering it will blend and even enhance the effect. 

 BTW- The prewash method actually works better than the pics show. I've only started pre shading and pre washing  the past year and a half or so. Still getting the hang of painting my color on without covering up the shading . I need to learn not to make that one more pass with the airbrush. 

 Howard

Cleobold.. ! nice job ...!

daddy1 - nice recovery on the turbo scoop & good call on scratching a pair for the better match. The gear bays look great too. Pre-wash of flat black rather than airbrushing panel lines? Why not - looks good so far!

Spike190 - not so much that I was right about anything, so much as me thinking "what would I do after I screwed that one up!" The topside colours are looking great on yours as well, love the variations.

Clebode - is next past the finish line! I love the variation on your topcoat, great job buddy. I'll add this to the finished list up front. I love those big toothy smiles!

Wingman_kz - Better done than perfect!? Yep, I need to follow through on that one. This past week was March break for the school-age gang. We didn't go anywhere but the kid was all over the place (needing transport) or hosting other 13-year old cheerleaders at our place, five or six at a time … not conducive to modelling! Back to school this week, more sanding tonight.

Good luck wingman

Hugh she looks great, I like the variations in the OD. Top job sir

I've been playing with paint . Pictures are a bit dodgy I'm afraid.

I want to add some highlights on the under side and then I can get to the decals before doing some more weathering.

Hope you like so far.

Cheers...

Clebode, Jeanne looks mighty fine! I'm sure the Captain would be proud.

Tired of making excuses fellas. Had big plans for last week and layed around all week with the flu. So here's the plan...

I had openend the shell ejection chutes and did manage to fit some square tubing behind them. Had already drilled holes in the front and rear of the rear landing gear bays for the tubing going to the radiators and fitted some pieces of solder for the tubing. I'm leaving it at that. Gonna button everything up, mask the canopy and start shooting some paint. To paraphrase someone's signature, *Better done than perfect*. Wish me luck...

Tony

Spike--That's a very clean build.    My next project is an NM B-17 G so I'll be paying attention to you you finish,

All--Here is my finished "Jeanne" flown by Capt. Roy Scrutchfield, 55th FS. 20th FG.

On to the B-17 G "Bottome Up"!

Wabashwheels

Howard,  If you're going to replicate the Lightning in the photo, you might as well grab a wide chisel brush, some OD, and several other shade of dirt and start slapping it on.  That bird is a wreck.  It'll be a lot tougher to make it look "beat to  a pulp" than to make it look perfect.  Good luck, things look great so far.  Rick

  I've got the base neutral gray/olive drab paint on. The Army usually had a hard demarcation between the OD and gray so I used low tack 3M blue tape with Microscales liquid mask along the separation line. Should have used strips of electrical tape for the wavy edge, the liquid mask dried very thin and doesn't want to come off along some key curves. Hard to lift without damaging the paint.  I'm going to gently sand those edges and with a little touch up, use the problem to my advantage to show some wear of the paint.

I probably won't take the wear quite as far as the photos but still enough to give a really tough battle hardened look. I'm still playing/practicing with some washes and pastels on some sheet plastic to decide which way to go to get the effect I want . 

 Howard

Looking good !

Howard,  If you're going to replicate the Lightning in the photo, you might as well grab a wide chisel brush, some OD, and several other shade of dirt and start slapping it on.  That bird is a wreck.  It'll be a lot tougher to make it look "beat to  a pulp" than to make it look perfect.  Good luck, things look great so far.  Rick

Howard thats some mighty fine work you've got going on, cant wait to see you get the paint going on, should be fun .

Vance you were right, I pulled off the liquid mask and it had worked perfectly but looked wayyyy over done, in fact 'crap' would some it up, so I sprayed over it and now plan on using the tip of my knife or a pin to chip a few small areas. I'll get some pictures up in the next few days.

Cheers... 

VanceCrozier

 

VanceCrozier:

 

The pledge: My name is Vance, and I will not neglect my P38 tonight! Sanding out the putty I had to add, and finishing the work on the ailerons are at the top of the list, again.

 

 

 

 I know the feeling Vance. Been going through some emotionally stressful times here and it has been hard to get into the modeling rhythm . But forward progress is being made. Here's some update pics.

 In the first pics , I noticed from reference pics this little inlet on the nacelles are usually molded to look like tiny scoops on the skin surface, when actually they're tubes coming through the cowling. 

 Easy to trim off the scoops ,drill a small hole, glue in a bit of stretched sprue, trim to length. Also drilled out end of the new "tube".

I was cleaning up the seams on the turbo air scoops when one slipped from my fingers and ended up somewhere  . 

After much looking and searching, I realized I'd have to scratch a replacement out of sprue  . I still had one as a model. 

Found it better to make two new scoops for a better match . I think they are an improvement over the kit parts.

The nose gear well detail looked flat compared to the mains so I decided to add a new roof to the well , which also gave the depth needed to make the little recess the tire fits into. Then added the hydraulic lines and stuff from wire and bits of scrap plastic. Not rivet counter perfect, but a good representation of the nest of lines in the real deal. 

Weathered with sludge washes and pastels . I remember seeing a pic of a Lightning taxiing through the mud on some Pacific field . Could barely see the airplane from all the muddy water splashed up, so I imagine the gear wells ended up looking pretty grubby.

Used a round cutter from my Dremel tool , chucked into a pin vise to carve out a shallow "bowl" in the landing light lens. Painted chrome silver , then added new lenses punched out from clear sheet.

Ready to mask and paint after giving a prewash of MM flat black.

This is the waethered effect I'm aiming for . 

It's going to be tedious working all the panel lines , but I've been trying out various washes, pigments and pastels on some sheet plastic to get a feel for the colors I'll use.

 I like starting my paint with a base of factory fresh color lightly coated over the prewash and weathered in layers . Weathering happens over time and unevenly.  Should be intersting.

 Got the neutral gray airbrushed on the undersides. Now if the weather will cooperate so I can get the OD on today . Anxious to start getting it aged.

 Howard 

VanceCrozier

The pledge: My name is Vance, and I will not neglect my P38 tonight! Sanding out the putty I had to add, and finishing the work on the ailerons are at the top of the list, again.

Sanding on the forward wing-to-nacelle areas last night, once I started getting clear of the putty I realized I still needed to do some leveling between the two nacelle halves, so I just kept smoothing away. I may have to add a few panel lines here.

HA - yes, it looks like one of those effects that can be covered up if it doesn't go as planned. Where mine won't have seen much action I'll be going at it fairly lightly anyway.

Cheers Vance I guess if it looks a bit rubbish I can spray over the silver chippings, you should give it ago. Good luck with your sanding!

Cheers...

Wow Mike, that actually looks good sitting on the red for some reason! I'm trying to decide if I should try that silver undercoat on mine as well. I'm hoping to break up the overall black with a little wear, and I keep wanting to try that salt technique I keep hearing about. (Although the nightfighters didn't see a whole lot of abuse from what I've seen - the P61s did most of the work at that point.)

The pledge: My name is Vance, and I will not neglect my P38 tonight! Sanding out the putty I had to add, and finishing the work on the ailerons are at the top of the list, again.

A little progress.

All masked up and sprayed with Halfords grey plastic primer,

And a chance to experiment a little, I've painted some Humbrol flat Aluminium Metal cote onto some areas which I plant to mask with some liquid mask before the top colours go on, never tried it before so fingers crossed, aiming for some discrete chipping around various panels,

Cheers...

Hey B17 great work on your freehand camo work, it's looking really good. I'm not sure how I'm going to tackle mine yet, still trying to sort out damn pesky seams and stuff! I've got the front and rear canopy attached and hope to get the primer on in the next few days. These P38's sure make you work hard!!

Cheers...

I say we hunt this Murphy guy down and and tie him to a dummy bomb in a B-17F and go do some bomb range practice.

VanceCrozier

 

B17Pilot:

 

 

VanceCrozier:

 

Murphy's Law strikes again!

 

 

I really hate it when he shows up!

 

 

He usually drops by my place with fingerprints in unexpected places!