Trumpeter 1/32 P-38 Lightnings
Mark's really nice Trumpeter P-38 reminded me I hadn't shown any of my Trumpeter P-38s. They are:
P-38L OOB other than seat belts and Eagle Edition decals, to do Tommy McGuire's last "Pudgy."
P-38H done as McGuire's first "Pudgy," using decals up-scaled for me from a 1.48 sheet by my friend John Lester, and using Jerry Rutman's early P-38 resin conversion set.
I like the "tail low" sit of the P-38 when the nose isn't full of ammo, so I modify the oleo leg of the nose gear. A bit more problem in getting a "nose sitter" but worth the effort, I think.
P-38M done using Jerry's resin conversion set.
F-5B done as the plane "Chili" Williams flew to Poltava supporting the first England-USSR shuttle mission from England. (Crass commercial announcement: Chili's story of his pre-D-Day low-level mission photographing 14 bridges over the Loire River before being shot up so bad he had to return home from what he thought would be a "suicide mission," and the Poltava mission, are both in "Air Combat Annals," available at Amazon)
The Trumpeter P-38L is a great kit, and the Rutman conversion sets are now available from Grey Matter Figures.
Nicely built collection Tom.
Superb set of lightings, that is the best haze blue paint job I have seen.
Really captures the look of that color.
NICE!
Nice workmanship and cockpit details with excellent photos. There's something about a collection that defines a modelers interest in the hobby and his abilities. Your work on these planes shows a great attention to researching a subject and, in turn, producing some great models.
Tom, I love P-38's ! I love your P-38's ! I'd love to have a collection like that in 1/48th someday (only, 1- 38th FS, 55th FG, and with a P-51D to match)
TC,
Whats with the nose gear. I've seen this on several pictures of war time P-38s but, can't help but notice that your photos that show the a/c that are facing left to right. Where, the tails are on left and the nose is pointing right. McQuires last Pudgy has the nose wheel spokes facing towards the viewer. Now look at the Black P-38M same pose only the nose wheel has the spokes facing away from the viewer looking towards the port side.
Again I've seen this on war time photos of P-38s in which the nose wheel can be either facing right or left. Which ever side has the spokes. Is this a because of the negative being printed wrong or did the a/c have the wheel mounted according to what the ground crews saw fit to do with them?
I like the extended nose wheel, some writers have commented that the struts were over compressed or it was a weight and balance issue or as you've stated the guns are not loaded shifting the weight aft and causing the a/c to wrest tail down. So much for minutiae.
I wasn't aware there was a 32nd scale P-38M. Did you do a conversion?
Did you not read "P-38M done using Jerry's conversion set"?
Oops..sorry.