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

Goodness180

Vance:  Looking amazing!!!!

I also like the black finish. Has me thinking of building the night fighter when I get around to the Revellogram 38 in my stash. Looks very cool.

 I have completed Oriole , and hoping to post pics tonight. Still learning my Canon Rebel T1i DSLR after being used to point and shoot. I've put together a take down studio of sorts following FSM how tos and am dialing in my lighting and exposure and such for the beauty shots. Will most likely submit to the mag for publication in the readers gallery.  

Howard 

That camera will do a great job for you once you get used to it Howard. I just picked up a new Canon a few weeks back - the Rebel was out of my range though, I ended up with a very capable (for what I need) Canon Powershot. Take lots of shots, mark down your settings for the first few sessions. I would not be surprised to see the Oriole in print!

Vance- Been using the Powershot cameras for a number of years , even some earlier 35mm film types. Great cameras. I've wanted an SLR for ages to bring my photo skills up a few notches. They always seemed out of my range too. Finally , I decided this was the year. Actually ,the T1i is one of Canons less expensive DSLRs.  A very good beginning DSLR.

 Funny thing is with everything electronic getting smaller. I like that the DSLRs have more heft. Makes them easier to hold steady, and looking through the viewfinder is the best way to track a moving subject.

Mostly , it'll be a camera that can grow with my skills taking pictures. I feel that scale modeling gives all of us the basics of good photography, an eye for detail, good composition , and a natural feel for what looks right.

But I digress, on to the completed pics of Oriole.

If you look close you'll see the ring and bead sight ,scratchbuilt from thin sheet plastic , using a hole punch with fine stretched sprue for the cross hairs. Also used small ovals of aluminum foil , applied with Micro-scale adhesive for the mirrors on the inboard of the nacelles.

 The Lightning is one beautiful ,very art deco design . Hats off to Kelly Johnson . 

Howard

That is one awesome P-38.  Weathering is great!

Daddy1 WOW!!!!!!!!! that is one dirty used up P-38. As was said above" AWESOME"

hey Daddy,,, very sweet! love it !

Thanks guys. 

 Yes Randy  , she's good and dirty. That's one of the reasons I like building WWII warbirds . All combat aircraft during wartime tend to get more weatherbeaten than in peacetime , (fix it, get it back in the air, we'll wash it later if we get the chance). But during WWII they seemed to show more wear and tear than modern jets. Especially in that South Pacific sun n fun.

I've taken some pics to submit for the readers gallery. We'll see what happens.

Howard

Great job Howard, it certainly looks the part of a South Pacific veteran! What did you use for the red canopy "clamps"? Great addition that adds a spot of colour. I'll add yours to the roster up front.

And actually - a general "" question for anyone - the criss-cross pattern on the side windows, reinforcements I'm assuming. Are those on the outside or inside of the glass? (The Revell kit may actually have them molded deep enough for me to find out, but I just thought of it now & don't have them in front of me!)

Quick question for you guys.  Since I am a skill level 1 modeler, I am having a hard time trying to figure out how you guys working on the the Revell kit managed to box in the landing gear bays and radiators.  Does anyone have a template they can share?  I have printed out the pictures several of you have posted for reference but still can't get it right.  May just have to leave them open until my skills improve.  Thaks in advance for any assistance.

Jim

dante821

Quick question for you guys.  Since I am a skill level 1 modeler, I am having a hard time trying to figure out how you guys working on the the Revell kit managed to box in the landing gear bays and radiators.  Does anyone have a template they can share?  I have printed out the pictures several of you have posted for reference but still can't get it right.  May just have to leave them open until my skills improve.  Thaks in advance for any assistance.

Jim

Well I'm not sure what skill level I'm at, but I'll pass on what I did anyway! Before the halves of the booms were glued together, I cut some small pieces of cardboard to rough shapes for the front & back of the bays, getting as close as I could. Then I transferred the shapes onto styrene sheet & did a little more sanding until they fit. I was off a little,  but filled any gaps with some CA. For the amount of attention they will receive in my house, it'll do.

Afterwards I thought next time I could fill the areas with damp paper towel, allow it to dry, then cut it at the point where the bulkheads would be. Not sure how well it would work, but I may try it next time I'm thinking of boxing in a gear bay.

 Vance-  I made the canopy clamps from small slivers of plastic sheet. Then holding enough of one end with a pair of tweezers and gripping the other end with another tweezer or jewelers needle nose, give the tiny strip about a 1/4 to 1/2 twist. enough to create a flat pivot point. Superglue on to the edge of the windscreen frame where the top canopy would meet, then a touch of paint with a fine tip brush. 

 You could probably use sprue stretched to the proper thickness , then with the needle nose, squeeze flat the sprue. First in one direction for the handle end , then flatten at about 1/2 turn for the pivot end. Also look into the frets that PE parts are attached to . Likely to be a narrow strip of  fret that could be cut to length, then given the twist .

BTW They do add a nice touch of colour . I tried to drybrush a little aluminum on them and the overhead handle, but every time Thay would knock off. So be careful ,they're tiny. Still one rolling around the floor of the cockpit some where.

 As far as that cross frame on the side windows, they seem to be moulded on the outside of the windows. Very lightly (of course) on the Academy kit.

Howard 

VanceCrozier

 

dante821:

 

Quick question for you guys.  Since I am a skill level 1 modeler, I am having a hard time trying to figure out how you guys working on the the Revell kit managed to box in the landing gear bays and radiators.  Does anyone have a template they can share?  I have printed out the pictures several of you have posted for reference but still can't get it right.  May just have to leave them open until my skills improve.  Thaks in advance for any assistance.

Jim

 

 

Well I'm not sure what skill level I'm at, but I'll pass on what I did anyway! Before the halves of the booms were glued together, I cut some small pieces of cardboard to rough shapes for the front & back of the bays, getting as close as I could. Then I transferred the shapes onto styrene sheet & did a little more sanding until they fit. I was off a little,  but filled any gaps with some CA. For the amount of attention they will receive in my house, it'll do.

Afterwards I thought next time I could fill the areas with damp paper towel, allow it to dry, then cut it at the point where the bulkheads would be. Not sure how well it would work, but I may try it next time I'm thinking of boxing in a gear bay.

 Neat Idea Vance with the paper towel . Could try adding a few drops of Elmer's White glue to the water you soak the paper towel in and pack in enough to make a paper mac-hie plug to use as a template.

Good luck Jim , let us know how you make out.

Howard 

,

Vance & daddy1 - thanks for the tips, I will give them a try.

Hi folks.  I decided to make my 1/32 Revell kit a custom job with some non-accurate but cool markings.  I found an old AM decal which had been poking around my drawer for a while and after some major modifications and changes, I came up with this for the nose art.  What do you think?

Sparrowhyperion

Hi folks.  I decided to make my 1/32 Revell kit a custom job with some non-accurate but cool markings.  I found an old AM decal which had been poking around my drawer for a while and after some major modifications and changes, I came up with this for the nose art.  What do you think?

I'm good with it! (And you remembered to invoke the "I know it's not accurate" clause, one step below fermis's "Artistic License" certificate.) Go for it Rich! Spent the weekend running, relatives birthdays, daughter's gym show, softball organization meetings etc etc. Looking at magazines was about the only modeling-related activity for me this weekend. Ohh, actually, I did spray paint the drop-tanks. THERE - I did do something!

(It's also been raining here for about three weeks straight - bloody depressing!)

Ditto on the Rain in Maine....

The rain in Maine falls mainly on the plains...

VanceCrozier

The rain in Maine falls mainly on the plains...planes

 I'm hoping to get the Hellcat I'm doing for the Alley cat GB painted the next couple days . We had a storm front move through here in central Fla. Sunday morning and now it's low humidity and dewpoints, temps in the upper 70s to mid 80s F . Perfect paint weather. Try to send you guys some.

Howard 

Hi Folks

Does anyone happen to have a spare sheet of Academy P-38E decals.  A small accident perpetrated by a small quadruped soaked my Academy set and they are scrapped now.  I have been looking on eBay but can only find F,J,L andF5-E.  I need to get something quick to make the entry deadline.

Sorry Rich, just spotted this! No "E" decals here. Spent some time on the landing gear, props & flaps last night, will post some pics when there are enough to make the update worthwhile. Deadline's closing in but I think I'll make it!

Hi Vance ,

I have forgotten about your great P-38 GB and I have had a little extra time this past week to work on some of my on-going builds . My 1/72 Revell P-38M Night Fighter just needs a little sanding and she's ready for masking to paint .

So hopfully this weekend I'll get a few coats of satin black on her and have the P-38 ready for decaling .

                    John .

Hey John, looks like you're closing in at the wire like I am! Looking forward to seeing the black go down on it. Good news/bad news for me - good news, I'll have some unexpected time to spend at the bench tomorrow night. Bad news - it's because it is STILL too wet to play softball up here yet. About three weeks behind schedule now, making me cranky!

I officially bow out.  As i do not even have a P-38 kit yet.  Sorry couldnt swing it been trying to save up for my upcoming wedding.  So ya money has been tight.  But some great looking builds here congrats to everyone.

Happy Modeling.

Well, for those of you who don't already know, a few days back, we have a major cat induced disaster, and a lot of in progress kits were damaged, which is why I haven't been posting as much as usual.  I have been doing or trying to do Damage Control on all of the damaged kits.  My kits for this build were all damaged, some beyond repair.  Basically I am left with an unopened Revell 1/48 kit, an Academy Glacier Girl, also unopened, and my mostly completed P-38E for which I have no decals and I can't seem to find any either.  I think the only way I am going to be able to finish this build is using the simpler Revell 1/48 kit and building it quickly and completely stock.  So wish me luck on the clock, as I will most assuredly need it.

Rich

According to the block number stenciling decal in the Academy kit, Glacier Girl is an E model. Build the Academy as Oriole and your decal deprived E model as Glacier Girl.

 Oriole ,you could weather up, and the Girl would appear factory fresh. Would make a nice pairing on the display shelf. Just a thought. 

Howard 

Well, I really thought I was going to almost make it. Almost. Thought maybe a good holiday weekend thrash and it would be very close to being finished. My compressor died this morning so, again, no go. Sorry guys. When it's finished I'll post it here.

I did manage to get some Alclad on it. I had two bottles of aluminum, one almost empty and one almost full. Thought I'd finish off the almost empty first. It looked pretty good and got me about a third of the way through. Then switched to the second bottle and it wasn't the same at all. It was a very dark gray. Both were labeled the same. I hadn't wanted to go this shiney but figured I'd shoot some polished aluminum and while I was doing that the compressor stopped compressing. Not sure what I'm going to do but will come up with something.

Tony

Any chance we could get an extension?   After my disaster, the only kit I have which can be finished without major damage is my P38E, and I haven't been able to get decals for it yet.  I finally found a set on eBay but the auction isn't even over for a few more days.  Unless it would be OK to use decals from the badly damaged J or L kits?

Rich needs extensions!!!

Oh wait, I think I mis-understood that request. Does two weeks give everybody (that requires it) time to finish off?