VMA131Marine's Academy P-38J +

[VMA131Marine]

I'll put up photos of the kit as soon as I can. In the meantime, as I was perusing the stash, I found a Hasegawa 1/72 P-38J and a Revell P-38J/M that I'll add to the build.

[VMA131Marine]

Wow! Glad you're joining in!

Thanks Brews! I need to clear my workbench of a few models that are nearly finished, but I should be ready to start the build(s) in the new year.

[VMA131Marine]

Here's the box and parts for the Academy kit:


Acad P-38 Box by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Acad P-38J Sprue by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Acad P-38J Sprue2 by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

[VMA131Marine]

Here's the Hasegawa kit


Has P-38J Box by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Has P-38J Sprues by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Has P-38J Decal by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

[VMA131Marine]

And, here's the Revell kit, note two complete, if basic, engines and detailed gun bay:


Rev P-38J Box by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

complete with Revell Modeler's Club application from 1977


Rev P-38J Decal by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Rev P-38J Sprue by VMA131Marine, on Flickr


Rev P-38J Sprue 2 by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

[VMA131Marine]

Aftermarket decal sheets:

Microscale 72-256 Pacific Aces:


MS 72-256 P-38 Pacific Aces by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

MS 72-630 Bong, McGuire, Issaacson, and Cline


72-630 P-38j Bong-McGuire-Issacson-Cline by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

MS 72-865 44th FS - I'm planning to use the shark's teeth scheme for St Louis Blues from this sheet on the Academy kit.


MS 72-865 P-38J 44th FS by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

MS 72-867 - The Hasegawa kit will get the Olive Drab and Grey markings for Lt Col Joseph Meyers "Journey's End"


MS 72-867 P-38J by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

I'm planning to use the kit P-38J markings on the Revell kit so I can do one model in invasion stripes.

[Dazzled]

Wow.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom.

It's like Basil Brush with a stutter.

[VMA131Marine]

Progress on the Academy P-38J after a few hours work. Fuselage and wings are glued together, cockpit is finished but for the seat and instrument panel. I'm waiting on the seatbelt and instrument panel decals to dry. I'm glad I chose to use aftermarket decals on this kit, the panel decal doesn't respond to MicroSol or Solvaset.


Acad_P-38-Prog-01022012 by VMA131Marine, on Flickr

[Martin R]

I've got to get an airbrush. The cockpit and interior painting seems to go so much quicker than I can manage it . . .

[Martin R]

Hey Marine!

How's it going?

regards,

Martin

[VMA131Marine]

Hey Marine!

How's it going?

regards,

Martin

I'm making progress! I've got the major airframe parts of the Academy and Hasegawa kits assembled and am starting on the Revell kit. I'll try to post some more pictures in the next day or so.

[Martin R]

regards,

Martin

[VMA131Marine]

Current state of play:

Hasegawa P-38J on the left and the Academy kit on the right


Close-up of the Academy kit (of the three, this is by far the easiest to build, the most detailed, and looks accurate. It's also the only one with recessed panel lines.


Close-up of the Revell kit, this includes the gun detail in the nose and basic engines. I left the engines out as they are very basic so that I could fill the nacelles with weight to prevent tail sitting). Props are not permanently affixed as yet.


All three kits, L to R Hasegawa, Academy, Revell


Currently I'm working on the seams (and there are a lot of seams on a P-38) in preparation for painting. No filler used so far, but the Revell and Hasegawa kits are both going to need some to fix areas of poor fit and sink marks in the parts themselves. None of the canopies are glued in place yet.
I suppose that if I had been more ambitious, I would have also built a Dragon P-38 as I have several of these in my stash. However, I can't imagine it's any better than the Academy kit in terms of detail, and I suspect that it would be a lot harder to build.

[Stamford]

I always like to see these comparisons being built not just in the box. I have done the Acadamy one - It´s a lovely kit with horrible decals as you say.

[VMA131Marine]

In light of my comment earlier, I went and dug out a DML P-38J from the stash just to refresh my memory about this particular kit and to compare it to the three builds I have going on here. The DML kit has a copyright date of 1994, but my particular issue of it has a nice set of decals printed in Italy (presumably Cartograph) for Maj Thomas B. McGuire's "Pudgy V." The level of detail is similar to that of the Academy kit but perhaps not quite as crisp. A quick test of the parts also suggests that fit will not be too bad. However, the breakdown of the parts is not ideal for ensuring that the finished model will have nicely aligned booms and tail surfaces. Unlike the three kits under construction, which have one piece upper wings, the Dragon kit has a three piece upper wing where the cockpit pod has stub wings that have minimal attachment points to the booms. This will make it a challenge to get everything squared up and get strong glue joints.

When I get a chance I will take some photos of the parts and post them to this thread. So far, I wouldn't recommend anything but the Academy kit, but if you can get the Dragon kit cheap it might be an option.