Jeff's P38J Lightning***Finished***

[jssel]

As the pilots used to sing, "Oh Lord, don't give me a P38 with props that counter-rotate."

The pride of Clarence Kelly Johnson.

I will attempt the Hasegawa 1/48 P-38

Box art:



Parts:



Decals:



I will be doing N2*K OD over NG.

[Martin R]

As the pilots used to sing, "Oh Lord, don't give me a P38 with props that counter-rotate."

"She'll stall and she'll spin
And she'll soon auger in
Don't give me a P-38"

I will be doing N2*K OD over NG.

Good choice! With invasion stripes?

regards,

Martin

[jssel]

@Brews. Yes ambitious. Some parts are not used however. Bomber escort so will more than likely just use the drop tanks. Builders have reported that the main issue is aligning the tail booms to true vertical and also poor wing fit as the tail booms are mounted on the uppers and then the lowers get put in. I personally feel that careful construction should beat all of that. We will see.

@Martin R. No invasion stripes for this one. By D-Day the 383FS 364FG had transitioned to the P51D. At least that is what I am finding. There is no callout for stripes on 42-67978 flown by Lt Loren R Wilson.

Almost wish it was an "F" model so I could do a Yamamoto attacker.

[splash]

@Brews. the main issue is aligning the tail booms to true vertical and also poor wing fit as the tail booms are mounted on the uppers and then the lowers get put in. I personally feel that careful construction should beat all of that. We will see.

This sounds like a Lego jig might come in handy.

Regards
Splash

[JamesPerrin]

I'm just scared looking at those decals, but I not sure if masking would be any easier?

[jssel]

You are correct, James. But I only need the lower right corner for my option. Still, the color density of Hasegawa decals are thin at best. The plus side is I have had good luck in the past with them and Micro products.

The question of Invasion Stripes has come up. I have two in-flight shots of this aircraft without stripes. The history of the unit still shows conversion to P-51's did not occur until 29JUL44. I am afraid that I will bow to the easier route at this time.

[jssel]

The celebration was pretty mellow last night so got up early and went to work.

Locating most of the cockpit pieces, interior green and zinc chromate yellow was applied to the innards. Oops, the rudder pedals need straightening.





I am using the P38 walkaround and two releases of the P38 in action as references.

[jssel]

A factoid about the P38 while the paint dries.

Charles Lindberg worked for United Air as a civilian tech rep and went to the South Pacific to "coach" pilots on the P38. How to lean out mixtures to increase range and how to better handle the aircraft with a critical engine failure. After the newer techniques won approval by the pilots, they worked him in on a couple of missions where he downed a Japanese fighter.

Another little ditty about the 38.

Oh, Heady Lamarr is a beautiful gal,
And Madeleine Carrol is too.
But you'll find, if you query,
a different theory
amoungst any bomber crew.
For the loveliest thing
of which one could sing
this side of the Heavenly Gates,
is no blonde or brunette
of the Hollywood set,
but an escort of P-38's.

Sure, we're braver than hell
on the ground all is swell,
in the air it's a different story.
We sweat out our track,
through the fighters and flak,
we're willing to split up the glory.
Well they wouldn't reject us,
so Heaven protect us,
an until all this shooting abates,
give us courage to fight 'em,
and one other small item,
An Escort of P-38's!

[Martin R]

Jeff,

Neat work and a good song!

regards,

Martin

[Dazzled]

Very impressive so far. Hope you stay mellow for the rest of the build

[jssel]

After moving around about 1 1/2 feet of snow this morning, finally got to the bench.

Work progresses on the cockpit area:





Also the main gear bays:



As far as staying mellow during builds, well, it is a fun hobby after all. This one, I feel, will wrestle me to the ground if I am not careful. Lots of flash and mould release lines to clean up and the instructions are overly detailed and not showing where things go unless you do a lot of test fitting. A Hasegawa "uberkit."

I work goes on.

[jssel]

Here is where we are this morning. Cockpit mounted to lower fuselage. Wheel wells and landing gear struts complete awaiting a wash to liven things up. And the tail booms ready for assembly.




A closer look at the wheel wells:




This accounts for the fiddly pieces. Structure work should not take to long.

[Martin R]

Jeff,

Good progress. I like the dry-brushing you have done on the black cockpit panels.

The parts breakdown looks pretty reminiscent of the Academy 1/72nd kit.

regards,

Martin

[jssel]

Thank you, Martin.

Work progressing by mounting the booms to the upper wing piece. This is an area that many modelers complained about while building the kit. I did notice that the rear portion of the booms canted outward if left unaltered. So.........as I glued the halves together I "built-in" a twist to the halves and clamped it. Then, when set up, the booms were mounted the way the instructions indicated. No problems. I dry fit the stabilizer and taped the tips of the booms off while the whole thing sets up over night.

As you know the P-38 is a natural tail setter and when empty of fuel and ordinance, sat tail low. Four double 00 buckshot and clay to hold stuff in was added to each nacelle. More to the nose. I now have a very heavy P-38 that will not set on it's bumpers.



The upper and lower wing pieces have a feature moulded in that is not on any other P-38 kit (I think). The wingtip has a washed out angle that has seemed to be missed on other kits. I tried to photo it but the camera will not focus on just the tip. It is a very nice feature.

[smethwick]

that looks really great..very tidy