Rob's P-38 "Scat II" *FINISHED*

[rob_van_riel]

The Quickboost replacement propellers arrived with commendable speed. As can be seen from the picture below, the difference with the kit parts is considerable. I must admit I'm beginning to take a liking to Aires/Quickboost; the results tend to be well worth the money.

The tail booms have been cleaned up, and mated to the wing. Once again, the fit was such that copious amounts of filler are needed, which is now curing for sanding down later this weekend.

[rob_van_riel]

It does indeed appear to have taken an interest in fighting

I expect to have some pictures later this weekend showing the results of a week's worth of small steps, most of which involved buckets of filler. For now, I just need to vent a bit of frustration though
I expect after market parts to have some fit problems, but the basic kit should not require filler based re-design, like this one is doing. More importantly, if a clear piece has window frames engraved on it on all edges except one, the one edge without the frames is not the edge where the gates between part and sprue should be. Guess what Academy did on the front and rear segments of the canopy... I-D-I-O-T-S
I have no idea how I'm going to get a millimeter deep non-transparency on a transparency fixed I do know that I'm not going to burn more money on aftermarket repairs for this one I'm beginning to think I should have shelled out for the Hasegawa in this case.

[K5083]

Sorry to see the amount of trouble this one has given you. Fit issues are uncharacteristic of Academy but several online reviewers seem to have had the same experience as you with this kit.

Maybe kit makers try to do too much with their P-38 kits. The complexity of the design is already such that fit problems tend to cascade from part to part. Then most of them give you both H and J/L versions (never capturing all of the relevant differences), fighter and recce noses, etc., adding even more complexity and fit pitfalls.

August

[rob_van_riel]

Sorry to see the amount of trouble this one has given you. Fit issues are uncharacteristic of Academy but several online reviewers seem to have had the same experience as you with this kit.

I don't mind a kit putting up a fight, it's just that I didn't expect one from a relatively recent kit, not in this way, at least. Good thing this GB has an extended duration though, otherwise this would have landed me squarely in DNF teritory. Glad to hear it's not entirely down to clumsiness on my part

Maybe kit makers try to do too much with their P-38 kits. The complexity of the design is already such that fit problems tend to cascade from part to part. Then most of them give you both H and J/L versions (never capturing all of the relevant differences), fighter and recce noses, etc., adding even more complexity and fit pitfalls.

I'm hardly an expert on P-38s, but this might well be a contributing factor.

[philp]

I have heard this is one of the better kits for the Lightning and have a couple in the stash.

One company has found a great way to make a P-38, HobbyBoss does a late one and it has wings and booms attached. No issues lining everything up. Of course, it is missing a few bits and if you want to do an earlier version, like at D-Day, you have to change a few things but it looks promising.

[rob_van_riel]

I expect to have some pictures later this weekend showing the results of a week's worth of small steps, most of which involved buckets of filler.

Just one picture, but it neatly shows all relevant progress.

I managed to sand away most of the damaged plastic from the front transparency, and polish the part back to transparency. Unfortunately, all this sanding changed the shape of the plastic, resulting in a lens which gives a very noticable distortion in the way light passes through it. Can't be helped, this will have to do.

The white area just below and ahead of the windscreen is a great big blob of filler, which is matched by a similar area on the other side of the plane. Reason for these is that the Aires part is just the slightest bit narrower than the kit part, and needed fairing over. Fortunately, the windscreen itself fit closely enough that only the smallest line of filler was needed, enabling me to use Vallejo filler, which can be smoothed over without sanding (assuming the amount of correction needed is small, as it was here).

After some serious eyeballing of the relevant parts, I concluded that with the exeption of the armoured plate behind the pilot, what work remained on the interior would still be possible with the front and rear halves of the canopy in place, and could consequently wait until a later stage. Good thing too, since I didn't relish the thought of closing off that gap for airbrushing with all the fiddly bits already in place.

Dry fitting the SAC undercarriage legs confirmed what I had feared, that the horizontal part of the legs was too narrow, and thus fell between the anchor points provided. I'll be using the main legs from the kit instead. The nosewheel does fit, and I'll use the metal part here, since this is where most of the weight of the kit is located.

I've constructed my usual 'temporary undercarriage' for use during painting, as can be seen in the picture. Once everything has been given time to cure completely, I'll give the kit a final bath and (hopefully) final layer of primer, and send it off to the paintshop.

[rob_van_riel]

I have heard this is one of the better kits for the Lightning and have a couple in the stash.

One company has found a great way to make a P-38, HobbyBoss does a late one and it has wings and booms attached. No issues lining everything up. Of course, it is missing a few bits and if you want to do an earlier version, like at D-Day, you have to change a few things but it looks promising.

Despite my grumblings, it does build up into what (to my untrained eyes) appears to be a rather nice Lightning. Make sure you have time and filler available, and you should do well. As for alignment issues, the tail booms pretty much fell into place without any problem. The area you want to be carefull with, is the front of the fuselage pod. I think I managed to get it on just a bit rotated; there's effectively two joins there without locator pins (gunports to front, and front to centre section) and errors can add up. If, like me, you intend to put a load of weight into the nose, I would recommend sectioning of part of the front section, but leaving the gun ports off until the front and centre sections are joined, and adding the weight only once that is accomplished. Lining up just the plastic should prove easier than lining up a lead loaded section.
I don't know if you're partial to after market bits, but if so, this report might give you some idea of which parts to buy and which to avoid.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Sad about the fit but you are moving right along and the thread is informative for things to watch out for.

[lancfan]

This is always going to be a difficult subject Rob and you have weathered the problems very well, will look good when finished.


David.

[rob_van_riel]

the thread is informative for things to watch out for.

Hehe, my favourite excuse to give in to the natural urge to grumble and whine

[rob_van_riel]

This is always going to be a difficult subject Rob and you have weathered the problems very well, will look good when finished.

Thanks. I have high hopes for this one, but time is getting short. In most circumstances, curing times before masking dictate that I do no more than one colour per session, and I have only four certain days of work left before the deadline, with five more colours to airbrush (although in this case, I can do that in three sessions due to lack of proximity of some of the colours). The DNF spectre is stalking me

Anyway, contruction is complete except for the itsy-bitsy bits, undercarriage and props, and the whole shebang is now covered in gloss black, in preparation for the NMF that I hope to get on tomorrow (thus gaining an extra 'safe' work session). No picture, since a black Lightining isn't all that different from the previous grey one

[rob_van_riel]

No picture, since a black Lightining isn't all that different from the previous grey one

An Aclad Lightning on the other hand...

[lancfan]

That is a very cool finish Rob.


David.

[rob_van_riel]

That is a very cool finish Rob.

Thanks. NMF used to scare the wits out of me, but since I discovered Alclad, I've developed quite a taste for it.

[rob_van_riel]

Scat is now standing on it's own three legs, and the anti-glare panels are on.

Just odd and sods from here on.
And invasion stripes, of course, which with a shape as complex as this is a daunting prospect..