I've decided to step back in era from my previous two builds, both USN jets of the 1970's, and once again re-visit the prop days of WW11. So I pulled down from my rather small stash, Academy's 1/48 scale P-38 Lightning.



I've actually been planning this build for a while now, and have collected several after market items to enhance my build.



Unlike many other kits on the market that have only one or two variants in the boxing, Academy has gone completely in the opposite direction with this release. Being a scaled down version of the Trumpeter 1/32 P-38L which is the version you can be build straight from the box without any modifications.

By removing combinations of trims tabs, compressibility flaps, fuel pump covers, and the wing leading edge landing light, you can build either a P-38J-10, P-38J-15, or a P-38J-25. The kit also contains the parts to build a F-5E Photo Recon version, and a J Droppsnoot. I'm sure that other versions are quite possible as well. So another Academy kit will once again be added to my stash.

I purchased Kit world's War Birds decals with options for the P-38J-15 Little Buckaroo flown by Major Robert C. "Buck" Rogers of the 392FS 3267FG, and the P-38L Gung Ho flown by Lt. Colonel Edwin S. Chickering also of the 392FS 367FG.



As usual, I started my build with the cockpit. I decided on using the Legend resin cockpit as I wanted a more detailed one then offered in the kit. Construction really just consisted of preparing the 3 main sections of a floor and both side walls. The seat was just unusable, as the top half of the backing was so paper thin that you could see right through it, and broke as soon as I tried to sand and polish it. I used the kit seat after thinning down the sides, and adding a seat cushion made from #600 emery cloth so it had some texture to it. I used Eduard PE USA WW11 Seatbelts and Harnesses. The yoke and wheel were two other items that I preferred the kit parts over the Legend parts, so I used them as well.







I drilled out the Legend IP and added a backing plate out of .040 sheet as it's very thin, and with my luck I'd break it. I just painted it flat black, dry brushed the highlights, and then Dullcoated it. Since it's installed under a rather large shroud, once the fuselage halves are glued together, and the windscreen added, you'll barely be able to see it. So I decided not to spend the time punching out individual instruments as you just won't be able to see them.

The cockpit was painted Interior Green using a mix of Tamiya XF-5 Green, XF-1 Black, & FX-4 Yellow Green. A gloss coat of Pledge sealed the paint. Then a wash of Model Master enamel Burnt Umber, followed by a coat of Testors Dullcoat.





I test fitted the cockpit to the fuselage, and with just a little dry fitting, the fit is nearly perfect. Once the sidewalls are glued at a slight angle to the fuselage halves, there is no gaps to deal with.







I've drilled out the mounting holes for the two inboard drop tank pylons, and opened up the recesses in the back top and bottom of the fuselage rear for the enclosed boarding ladder.



At the time I took these pictures, only the floor of the cockpit has been glued in place. The rest of the cockpit and both halves of the fuselage are only dry fitted in place.

Joel

Great start on one of the most intersting fighter designs of that era.
Got this kit and an earlier version too in my stash.
And build one years ago, my P-38 is nowadays in a sorry looking state, beside that i had run in some fit problems with the windscreen.
Have a lot of fun with your Lightning, Joel, i will stay "onboard"

Bernd

Brend,
Glad to have you along for the journey. So far the parts fit has been excellent.
Joel

After the cockpit was installed and the Fuselage/wing halves glued up, the next step was addressing the 3 I.D. recognition lights on the bottom of the fuselage. They're represented by 3 recessed scribed lines, as well as well as the light cover panel. The 3 lights needed to be drilled out, and the cover panel from what I've been able to ascertain, was slightly higher then the skin of the fuselage.

Here's the underside of the fuselage with a pin wash to help show the ID lights



I drilled out the lights.



For the cover plate I use .040 sheet plastic, The finished cover plate was glued in place, which took a few attempts to get right. Then I sanded and polished the plate till it was paper thin. Two applications of White Glue was needed to form a concave surface to later paint the colored light on.



I know it doesn't look like a lot of work, nor time needed, but it took a few hours to complete at my slow but steady pace.

Nice and clean work, Joel. Your Lightning will be a very nice follow on to your last jets.
( And it has no one, but two propellers )

Joel, great work as always.

But,.. I gotta ask, are you related to Bob Steinbrunn? He's a modeler in Minnesota who wrote several articles for FineScale Modeler back in the '80's. At least one of them was about how much AM could you cram into one 1/48 scale kit (Spitfire?).

Bernd,
Thanks for stopping by and having a look at my latest build. I'm still a Prop junkie, even though I now build jets as well. Just figured if one prop is a fun build, then 2 props shoul be double the fun.
Joel

Mark,
Thank you for your most positive feed back.

Never heard of Bob Steinbrunn as I live in Long Island New York which is about 2,000 miles or so from Minn. But I do like his thinking.
Joel

I did have the pleasure of meeting Bob when I lived in MN. His work has been featured in FineScale Modeler. I know he wrote at least 16 articles and had a few of his models (usually 1/48 aircraft) featured in their pages. Last one I remember was a 1/96? Destroyer (USS Kidd?) that he submitted to a Master Modeler competition in Baltimore and won. FSM Sept 2001

Mark,
The link doesn't work for me. I just get redirected to the FSM home page.

Joel

Joel,
nice work on your P-38 so far. For me it's one of the greatest and most beautiful aircrafts ever built. I plan to build one for the Lockheed Campaign next year as my stash is full of Academy Lightnings. In the past years I have built 2 of them. You will get fitting problems when you glue the twin booms to the wings. There is a lot of fitting, filling and sanding to do. On the other hand, the Hasegawa P-38 is also not flawless and costs twice as much ....
Enjoy your build, I'll follow.

Torsten

Torsten,
Thank you for your encouraging comments on the start of my build. I've heard about some of the fit issues, and I'm as prepared for them as I can be at this point. Like you, the P-38 is one of my personal favorite USA WW11 aircraft, so I need a few for my slowly growing collection. My problem is that I keep on finding things to detail and or correct, and just can't seem to build a OOB kit anymore. Well, at least not props.

I'm glad that you'll be along for the journey.
Joel

Time for another update as I've managed to get a little more work done.

I started work on the main wheel wells. Unlike most other kits where the wheel is just a tub, each one is comprised of 3 main parts, none of which fit that well. The main section was somewhat warped, so extra tape was used to force it into place when I glued up the 3 parts. I added the ribbing and support for the landing gear strut from plastic strip, then added a section of twisted wire to represent one set of cables, and then a 2nd set of 4 wires to replicate the bunched cables that run along the top of the well.




I air brushed the wells Interior Green with of a mix of Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green and XF-1 Flat Black @ a 5:1 ratio. There is a main engine glycol radiator pipe that runs from the engine through the well to the mid boom air scoops. I painted the pipe flat aluminum and made 3 rubber clamps out of tape. Try as I might, I couldn't get the metal clamp straps to look decent enough, so I just left them off.






Every model I've ever seen of a P-38 has the doors for those boom air scoops in the neutral position. In actuality, they were adjustable from fully closed to fully open. I have pictures of them in both positions on the ground, so I decided to have them positioned opened. I cut out each door, then thinned and shaped the leading edge, then added side plates made from .040 sheet plastic. So far I've only completed two of the 4 doors.







I also started to thin out some of the air intake scoops on the booms. This picture shows the before and after of a pair of air scoops.



Any comment and or suggestions are more then welcome.
Joel

I have to say joel you have caught my attention of late and I keep following your builds, I think I am going down with wingy thingy poisoning.

Daren,
You're more then welcome to follow my adventures. BTW, there is no none cure for Wingy Thiny poisoning.
Joel

Just getting caught up on your build here Joel , excellent progress on this bird . I like how the pit turned out .





Terri

Great progress on your Lightning, the whell wells need some attention, looking very good

Terri,
Hi. It's really great to hear from you again. Glad you like how the P-38L is coming out. I'm trying to add and define details on this build, but staying away from just cutting out the usual flying surfaces. My main focus is my 1st all NMF aircraft. Yep, I've done parts and panels, but never a complete plane before.

Joel

Brend,
Thanks for stopping by. I've added some detailing in the main wells with structural ribbing and braces on the front wall, cables, clamps, washes, and dry brushing. The struts will receive brake and Hydraulic lines. What else do you think I should add, as I'm open to any suggestions you might have?
Joel

Joel, a slight missunderstanding, thanks to my english, i guess.

Your main wheel wells look very good, according to my Squadron P-38 Walkaround the radiator piping was painted blue on the "California Cutie" restauration, don t know if that is accurate.With silver gear struts and the wells complete in Cromate Yellow Primer
Your detailing is great as it is, keep up the good work.

Bernd

Bernd,
My apologies for the misunderstanding.

I've got some detail pictures of the glycol pipe in glossy Blue on a few restorations, and just Aluminum on a few operational P-38 B&W photos. I've never seen a glossy colored paint used that way, so I opted for the natural look.

Joel

Oh wow, it's Deja Moo all over again. I thought I already posted this.....

Sorry about the magazine cover, apparently it's behind a paywall. The cover and feature in the Sept 2001 FSM was Bob's USS Kidd.

Any hints on how you thinned out the intake lips? Sandpaper, knife, files??

Mark,
Thank you so much for your more then kind words. I really don't know what to say, and usually, Have way too much to say.

While I have a Dremel with a custom made (by me) rheostat so it can crawl if need be, I haven't used it in more then 30 years. I do everything the old fashion way; by hand.

To thin out leading edges I start with a micro flat file working the blade at a 45 degree or so angle across the surface. Every stroke starts at one corner and ends at the other corner. I let the file do most of the work and hardly apply any pressure so that I'm not creating deep grooves that have to be dealt with later. When it's close, I switch to small pieces of #320 emery cloth to finish the shaping. Then I switch to #600 emery cloth to start to polish the surface. Then I go through my full sequence of Micro Mesh pads: 4,000,6,000, 8,000, & finally 12,000.

Joel

Thanks! Sounds like there's a little bit of practice involved. I wouldn't have thought about the 'smooth movement' part of the technique. I didn't pack my micro files for this trip, but I've got a few kits here to practice on.

Have talked myself out of using Dremel tool for most operations, I'm afraid it will just melt the project. I did manage to use my cordless one as a lathe on a recent screw up and managed to turn a part down to the correct size.

Looking good Joel!

I have several of these in the stash as well as one completed and a stalled Monogram kit.

Cheers Rob.