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

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....

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!)

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.

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....

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!

Animated GIFs are easy.  Any 2D graphics editor that can handle layers can do them if they can save in GIF format.  Each frame of the animation is just a single layer in the animated graphic.  I use GIMP for a lot of stuff.  It's the best software I have ever used for things like making realistic looking space scenes and planets.  And it being free is just a great bonus.

VanceCrozier

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!

I had just nicely downloaded GIMP & started using it while I was in between jobs (yay - free software!!) but didn't get into it enough to know what it was capable of.

Thanks guys for the comments and thanks for the 'Gif' feedback, I'll have a play when I get a moment.

Rick I've snapped a couple of quick pictures for you. This was Vallejo flat from the can, I've used it a number of times and always liked the sheen it gives. When I'm finishing I'll use some gunze flat to give a flatter finish in some random areas and also tint it a little for some extra highlights.

I had a little play with some oils yesterday before the flat went on.

Cheers...

Man, that finish is rich!

Well my P-38F Glacier Girl is all done! Didn't weather her, cause well the restored craft ain't weathered. Had a couple decals not coperate, mainly on the props.  I got 98% of them to work and the rest don't look all that bad.  Well enoug talking, here's the pics:

Hope ya'll like. It was fun building this.

B-17GUY, Great look on the girl.  Right you are on the weathering.  That bird gets the princess treatment.  Nice finish and demarcation lines.  In my opinion MicroScale and Superscale are the best decals to lay down.  They have good color and are very thin which in turn makes them very delicate.  If you have them and they are several years old they will disintegrate pretty easily.  But they will lay down like paint.  I've been using a few different aftermarket decal brands, usually mixing and matching.  But, especially for stencils the Micro brands give you good invisibility with their clear film.  Rick

Wabashwheels

 If you have them and they are several years old they will disintegrate pretty easily. 

If you leave them sealed in the package they came in, they will keep for many years, but the trick is to NOT open them, which is hard to do 

Great work on Glacier Girl. I've seen some good closeups online & in various magazines recently - she does indeed get treated well in the weathering department. I've got to re-start my -38 after several unplanned distractions.

Well.  Now that I am feeling a little less under the weather, I have been making some progress on my Revell kit.  But I hit a major snag on the Academy kit.  Fortunately I have another Academy Lightning.  Does anyone have a set of instructions for the Academy 1/48 P-38E (Kit 2144), that they could scan and email me?  I'd appreciate it.  My E kit didn't come with any. lol

Rich

I've got only the Revell kit Rich. I think (POSSIBLY!) I've got the house to myself most of this evening, meaning I can have the table, meaning.... I should be able to get some modeling done!!

I'm thinking of renting one of those storage units & setting up my worktable there!

did any of Manny's agents "observe' ??

I know what you mean about space.  We just put in an offer on a house with a two car garage that was converted into a workshop by the owner.  We will know tomorrow if they accepted the offer.  I hate house hunting.

I am wondering how different the instructions are between the J and E models of the Academy kits.  I might be able to use the J instructions and just compensate for any differences with my remaining brain cell..

Rich

VanceCrozier

I've got only the Revell kit Rich. I think (POSSIBLY!) I've got the house to myself most of this evening, meaning I can have the table, meaning.... I should be able to get some modeling done!!

I'm thinking of renting one of those storage units & setting up my worktable there!

OY - house hunting! I remember not having much fun at all when we were looking - and the whole offer/counter-offer process.... Good luck on that one, with a workshop just waiting for you!

J vs E.. not sure, but if they are both from Academy I bet the sprues are pretty common to each other.

i got an Academy E instruction sheet.. who needed it ??

SparrowHyperion (Rich) is looking for it,

The main problem is that my disability is so little, that we could only get approved for a small loan.  Most people probably spend more just renovating a bathroom.  Fortunately for us, Toledo was hit hard in the housing meltdown and the banks are stuck with so many houses that they have to pay taxes on, that the prices on some of them are really low.  It's not easy finding something semi decent for $55K or less.  The one we put the offer on is a HUD/FHA house so it's at least passed an FHA home inspection.  The other issue is property taxes.  On a lot of the houses out here, the taxes cost more per month that the house payments so when they lump it into the loan, it just about doubles the payment.  Lucas County, where we live really sticks it to the homeowner.  I mean paying over $1500 every 6 months for a 2 bedroom 900sqft Ranch with no yard to speak of is just ridiculous...

VanceCrozier

OY - house hunting! I remember not having much fun at all when we were looking - and the whole offer/counter-offer process.... Good luck on that one, with a workshop just waiting for you!

J vs E.. not sure, but if they are both from Academy I bet the sprues are pretty common to each other.

That was me. lol...

p38jl

i got an Academy E instruction sheet.. who needed it ??

Sparrowhyperion

The main problem is that my disability is so little, that we could only get approved for a small loan.  Most people probably spend more just renovating a bathroom.  Fortunately for us, Toledo was hit hard in the housing meltdown and the banks are stuck with so many houses that they have to pay taxes on, that the prices on some of them are really low.  It's not easy finding something semi decent for $55K or less.  The one we put the offer on is a HUD/FHA house so it's at least passed an FHA home inspection.  The other issue is property taxes.  On a lot of the houses out here, the taxes cost more per month that the house payments so when they lump it into the loan, it just about doubles the payment.  Lucas County, where we live really sticks it to the homeowner.  I mean paying over $1500 every 6 months for a 2 bedroom 900sqft Ranch with no yard to speak of is just ridiculous...

 

 

Yuck - the taxes aren't that bad around here, but the prices... there was quite the housing boom in this area over the past 7 years. It's cooling down now, but the prices haven't dropped much. Our town house is worth nearly double what we paid for it, people keep telling us we should sell it... Sounds good, but then we'd have to pay the "new prices" on whatever we moved into!! 

That's why I tell people not to sell unless they have to.  My Mother in Law was thinking of selling her place, but when I showed her the prices for a new place now, she decided not to.

I just wish there were more really old large houses around here.  I hate Ranch places and the only place in town where you can find the old Victorians that I prefer, are in neighborhoods you wouldn't go out alone in even during the daytime.  All of the houses in our part of town are those cheesy cookie cutter Ranch style houses they turned out by the thousands after WWII.  I wish I had the money to move back east, but I doubt I will be able to in this lifetime.

VanceCrozier

 

Sparrowhyperion:

 

The main problem is that my disability is so little, that we could only get approved for a small loan.  Most people probably spend more just renovating a bathroom.  Fortunately for us, Toledo was hit hard in the housing meltdown and the banks are stuck with so many houses that they have to pay taxes on, that the prices on some of them are really low.  It's not easy finding something semi decent for $55K or less.  The one we put the offer on is a HUD/FHA house so it's at least passed an FHA home inspection.  The other issue is property taxes.  On a lot of the houses out here, the taxes cost more per month that the house payments so when they lump it into the loan, it just about doubles the payment.  Lucas County, where we live really sticks it to the homeowner.  I mean paying over $1500 every 6 months for a 2 bedroom 900sqft Ranch with no yard to speak of is just ridiculous...

 

 

 

 

Yuck - the taxes aren't that bad around here, but the prices... there was quite the housing boom in this area over the past 7 years. It's cooling down now, but the prices haven't dropped much. Our town house is worth nearly double what we paid for it, people keep telling us we should sell it... Sounds good, but then we'd have to pay the "new prices" on whatever we moved into!! 

Okay houston, I have a small problem..  Okay, I got this P-38E Academy 1/48 kit on eBay.  I was doing it because the Revell kits are frustrating me.  So i thought it would make a nice companion for my Academy P-38J kit.  However, the kit did not include the original decals for it.  What it did have is a set of SuperScale P38L decals.  Now I was wondering if someone could tell me the obvious differences between the E and L besides the obvious air intake difference on the nacelles.  And does anyone have any ideas where I might be able to find some decals for this kit?  eBay has nada for the E.  Until I hear back, I'll just continue the build.  I'll post some WIPs tomorrow.  It's about 85% done already (At least assembly).

Rich

Rich - pretty sure the E and F are near identical. Believe the big change was the addition of the inboard racks. So you may want to look for P-38F markings instead.

I also seem to remember somebody mentioning that outboard wing fuel tanks were a later edition. So if you upgrade the -E to llok like an -L, you may want to scribe a couple of "gas-caps", if it even bothers you. I'm just a P-38 rookie though!

Aftermarket decals, I found out quickly, were hard to come by. I hit Sprue Bros. & found an Aeromaster set that included an alternate for the nightfighter I'm working on. (Aeromaster #48631 / P-38G P-38H P-38L Lightning 'Fork Tail Devils Pt I') The other two sets of markings are interesting enough to convince me to do another (simpler!!) version in the future. If there was a part 1, there must be more out there.

You don't want to use a storage unit.  A friend of mine did and during the winter it got so cold it made all of his kits brittle.  Even when they warmed up again, the plastic was kind of brittle.

VanceCrozier

I've got only the Revell kit Rich. I think (POSSIBLY!) I've got the house to myself most of this evening, meaning I can have the table, meaning.... I should be able to get some modeling done!!

I'm thinking of renting one of those storage units & setting up my worktable there!

Good idea.   I'll see what I can find for an F then. And make any necessary modifications to the kit.

DoogsATX

Rich - pretty sure the E and F are near identical. Believe the big change was the addition of the inboard racks. So you may want to look for P-38F markings instead.