P-38J Lightning

[bronzzhorse]

This little bugger fought me from the word go.... im sure there are TONS of things that could have been done better, but honestly, i was so aggravated with it, i just wanted it off my work bench.......

[Jim B]

Nicely done.  Looks like you have it set up as a night fighter?

[GTJUNIOR]

Looks good.

[Snake45]

Is that the old Monogram (now Revell) kit? Yeah, that one will fight you all the way.

[Roadrunner]

Is that the old Monogram (now Revell) kit? Yeah, that one will fight you all the way.

It does appear to be, and it also looks to be representative of the P-38M, but without the P-38M specific parts. Were they not included in the box, I wonder? I built the same kit many, many years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it, same with the Mosquito. In fact I have another Monogram/Revell Mosquito mostly finished right now, destined to be a ceiling queen.

 

Edited June 13, 2016 by Roadrunner

[angelo7]

Looks great!  In real life these were extra difficult planes to fly too.

Edited June 13, 2016 by angelo7

[unclescott58]

Looks great!  In real life these were extra difficult planes to fly too.

From what I've heard the P38s were wonderful planes to fly. They were referred to as the "Cadillacs of the Air." I remember buying the Revell kit several years back. I don't remember anything good or bad about the kit. The P38 is still my all time favorite warbird. Second only to the Beech Stagerwing as my all time favorite airplane. Got to see a P38 flying a few years back at an air show. See it was my reason for going to the show. It was as impressive in flight as I had hoped it would be!

But difficult to fly? The only bad thing I've ever heard about the 38 is you had to flip her upside down if you needed to bail out of her. To avoid hitting the elevator on the way out.

[Agent G]

Nice job on that dog of a kit, 

Only thing I might add is the difficulty of applying decals on a flat finish. Yours seem to have "silvered" a bit. That's to be expected. It is difficult to eliminate that even with good decals and setting solvent. 

Next time use gloss paints or a gloss coat, apply the decals, then flat coat the piece. The decals won't silver and you have a uniformly flat finish.

G

[bismarck]

I recently built the 1/48 Catalina PBY-5A flying boat, and did it in the "Black Cat" scheme. That's what I did was use gloss black over all, decaled it, then sprayed thin coats of flat over that. Worked great!! That's a LOT of acreage to paint black, let me tell ya...

[Roadrunner]

I recently built the 1/48 Catalina PBY-5A flying boat, and did it in the "Black Cat" scheme. That's what I did was use gloss black over all, decaled it, then sprayed thin coats of flat over that. Worked great!! That's a LOT of acreage to paint black, let me tell ya...

1:48 Monogram kit?

[bismarck]

Yep. One and the same.

[Roadrunner]

Yep. One and the same.

I'm intending to do mine (it's not the -5A though, just the -5), as a Russian machine.

[bismarck]

I love that plane for the fact that it combines 2 of my other favorite subjects. Ships and planes. The PBY-5 was  used in larger numbers for Black Cat missions than the 5-A due to available airframes in theatre at the time of  Guadalcanal operations (42-43). I like either one. The wingspan on those things was over 100 ft!!!

Edited June 16, 2016 by bismarck

[Agent G]

I love that plane for the fact that it combines 2 of my other favorite subjects. Ships and planes. The PBY-5 was  used in larger numbers for Black Cat missions than the 5-A due to available airframes in theatre at the time of  Guadalcanal operations (42-43). I like either one. The wingspan on those things was over 100 ft!!!

I recall seeing an F4F parked under the left wing of a PBY5A at the AF museum in Dayton.That wing covered the entire span of the Wildcat.. 

G

[bismarck]

The Confederate Air Force had a air worthy PBY-5A, and they did a piece on it for an article. The photo ship piper cub had to tuck in close to take some photo's and was actually cruising UNDER the starboard wing close to the gun blister of the PBY fuselage, and the pilot of the cub could look out his starboard window and STILL be covered by the PBY's wing. Those planes could cruise for thousands of miles on patrols. Lean out the fuel mixture, hang it off the props, and just cruise. 'bout 85 knots or so, just fast enough for good control response.

Edited June 17, 2016 by bismarck

[bronzzhorse]

Is that the old Monogram (now Revell) kit? Yeah, that one will fight you all the way.

Yes, it is..... and yes, it totally fought me every single step

[Rider]

Congrats on finishing a dog of a kit.