P-38 GB

Thanks guys, I'm just happy to finally get this thing finished! Now to move on to other projects, Happy times.

-Stephen

Glad to see you stuck through it! You and I should get some sort of metal for finishing this POS! Now where do you put the monster when it is done. Mine did not even come close to fitting in the display case. It is collecting dust on top of a shelf as we speak.

                                                                                      Soulcrusher

Finally Finished!!!!

What has become known around my house as the beast is finished. Not the best thing in the world but I'm glad to have it done. Well any way here are some pics.

Hope you all are still here to take a look. Maybe I should post in the aircraft forum

-Stephen

Screaminhelo- Thanks for the compiments! I'm glad your not done with your 38 yet. At least i won't be working alone. Hope to see some of your updates. I got some weathering done unfortunately a my camera ist kaput and I can't post any pictures. I will not be able to get a replacement until next month. At least it will not keep me from working!!

-Stephen

Great work on what seems to be a bear of a kit Stephen! 

NucMedTech wrote:

Screaminhelo- Your lightning is looking great. Probably got yours finished by now.

Not by a long shot!  I am not much further along than I was then.  An unexpected school killed a good bit of the precious little time I have left while going through FI training.  I will be much later than you but I will still post as I go.

Soulcrusher- Thanks for looking in and the compliments. I was surprised at the kit quality too. Fortunately the price for my kit was very cheap so at least it was not a big waste of my dollars. Alot of extra effort goes into finishing this kit as you well know. However I'm still not finished, there is still some finishing work to do. I can't wait to move onto other projects.

-Stephen

Stephen glad to see you stuck with it and revived this long dead thread. I finished mine a while ago as you know and i was very unimpressed with this kit. In my opinoin for the asking price it is a big POS! I hated almost every aspect of the kit. They parts break down the poorly detailed cockpit and the horrible wing to boom fit. Unexcusible for a kit with a $140.00 dollar price tag. Trumpeter should be ashamed. My engines also sat low causing the spinners to not line up with the cowl so I do not believe it had anything to do with the modifications you did. Your build and mine are the only two I have seen completed. Congratulations on sticking with it and finishing it. i know how difficult a task that was.

                                                                              Soulcrusher

Harv,

    Opening the engine up was easy enough and the engine gives plenty of support. the problem I had was that my engine sat to low so the spinner is off just a bit, but that was on both sides so I don't think it was from opening up the engine area. This was my first try at something like this so there are quite a few mistakes. Up close you can see that i did not sand the cut sides to a proper thickness and the braces are supposed to have parralel holes instead of being off set as they are. You may have more experience and know of easier ways to achieve your goals. Anything else I can help with please let me know.

-Stephen

Edit-On page 11 there are some in progress photos that may help.

Dirtball-Thanks for the comments, still have a ways to go before finishing. The model is Hobbycraft(trumpeter) 1/32 P-38 J/L. (really it's an L with instructions on how to convert it to a J.)

-Stephen

Well, I know that I'm way past the end date, but if you don't mind I'd still like to post my progress here. I'm getting close to being finished just a few more steps and some light weathering. So here is were it's at now.

This has been a PITA to finish and I'm really looking forward to moving on.

Screaminhelo- Your lightning is looking great. Probably got yours finished by now.

-Stephen

ww2modeler wrote:

Looking good so far! About the seat cushion-maybe just paint it over with that base color and leave it? Keep us posted on progress..... David

That made me think that I could maybe use drybrushing to blend it in.  Thanks for the idea David!

Looking good so far!

About the seat cushion-maybe just paint it over with that base color and leave it?

Keep us posted on progress.....

David

I am back and so is the camera so here are a few pics of test fitting the major assemblies.

There are a few places where some work is necessary.  The fit of the booms to the wing could have been better but it really wasn't that bad for a Lightning.  When it is all said and done, I will have a couple of major panel lines and a handful of rivets that will need to be restored.  I am cleaning this up right now and it is going reasonably well.

Any suggestions on how I can get the wash on the seat cusion to look better?

I finally got started on my Academy P-38F.  The camera is on the fritz, so I don't have any pics to share right now.

The cockpit went together pretty well, no real issues there.  The booms were pretty toruble free as well aside from a little warping at the front of both.  I did goof a little and had to sand out a step along the main seam.  The biggest problem was the carburetor intakes.  This is a separate piece like the Has kit to facilitate early and late models.  The intake piece was a little wider than the front of the boom and I had to decide on the lesser of two evils and do a little filling and sanding to get the joint smooth on the inboard side.

All in all, a good kit so far.

Building will have to be suspended for the next few weeks thanks to annual training.  It kind of blows but Wisconsin beats FT Stewart any day.

Harv,

It looks like some kind of custom work may be required for 1/32 decals.  I looked for some kind of generic sheet for the buzz #'s but havn't really found anything useful yet.  I did come across some useful reference material though.

Reference page

Academy P-38M

Right nose

Also, search on 418th, 419th, and 421st NFS.  All three squadrons used the P-38.  Many references don't actually list the M as operational with these sqn's; however, I know that the 421st did fly the P-38M.

Look here.  1/32 P-38M conversion

It is a review of a conversion for the Trumpeter kit and has some suggestions for markings that are worth considering. 

O.K.  The warm-up is finally done.  Since it is a P-38 that was completed during, if not started, during the P-38 GB, I will at least let you see what has held me up for so long.  It is no masterpiece.  It is in my son's room (he's 2) and my daughter (6) was the creative consultant.

Now, on to Glacier Girl!

Thanks David. She fought me all the way but I would not let her win. Although the overall finish would never win any awards the sheer size of this beast when done does look pretty cool. I just do'nt get real close to it when I look at it so i do not see all of the imperfections! Now round two finishing my Classic Airframes Model 14!

                                                                              Soulcrusher

Wow, soulcrusher, that is a sweet looking bird. I wouldn't get to down on myself for that. If I had half that talent I woudl be ecstatic. Sorry I haven't been around much. I'm finishing up school and just havent been doing much modeling. I also have a move coming up-Florida to Maryland- so Im not going to be starting anything new until we move sometime during June. After that, I'll hope to finish my Lightning in time for the GB. But seriously, that is a REALLY nice model soulcrusher.

David

Hey guys!  I have been just lurking around looking at your progress eversince I joined the build.  Right now I think that I would welcome a sucking the life out of me though.  I hope to finish my "unofficial" Nite Lightning entry and post a pic or two before I get started on the official one.

Quick question for you guys.  So I took the darn thing to work so I could fiddle with it during lunch.  I was running late so it got left in the truck and things got busy so it stayed there until quittin' time.  The gun barrels bent in the heat, so I got the QuickBoost set to put in there but I have to get the old ones out.  My first though is to nip them off and use a drill bit to clean out the hole.  Then I figure to use some styrene tube to slip the new barrel in and glue it in.  Any thoughts on this?

Hey Soulcrusher, I know what you are saying about the difference between the pics and what you see in person as the builder.  I do have to say though that you did a fantastic job with what seems to be a bit of a beast of a kit.

Thanks for the kind words ther mucker. It is so true. There are alot of things that I just let go because of the sheer number of hours this model was eating up. In the end somethings i left as good enough when I knew in my heart I could do better. My heart just was not ini it anymore as it had sucked the life out of me. I consider it a victory just having finished it. My respect to anyone else who manages to finish this one also. Hope to see some post from you soon. I bet it is better than you think.

                                                                                       Soulcrusher

SC: I know how you feel, my friend. Regardless of how nice it looks in the pics...and it does look phenominal...I know what you mean about the enjoyment level. Building the same kit, it tends to draw out over a long time and really diminishes what should be a fun build. Having said that, I can already tell that yours is much nice than whatever I run out with mine. My hat is off to you, sir.