Eduard (Academy) 1/48th P-38H a Twin Dragon
Its been a while since I have posted here, I have been busy with work, passing some tests for work, and taking classes for my pilots license. During my free time I have tried to get some model time in and finally finished my first of the year!
I have always liked the P-38 and especially the earlier versions. I have never built any versions of any P-38 before, only having had a Monogram P-38 kit when I was a teen that I gave away later on. When I saw the Eduard boxing of the early P-38's and I saw the markings for a "Twin Dragon" I knew I would have to break one of my own rules and but the kit. I rationalized doing this by selling a few kits from the stash. I had read up on the Academy and Hasegawa versions of the P-38 and understood that there would be issues. Well there were.
The Brassin resin that is included in the kit is beautiful stuff, generally well engineered and well fitting. I am not a big fan of Photoetch but found most of what was in the kit useful and adding detail. The Academy plastic looks good, but the fit is well marginal and assembly is fidgety. That said by far the worst feature of the kit is the directions which leave much to be desired. There is no indication to what is left and right, parts that need to have plastic removed or drilled don't give you direction to do so. Also the masking for the "Twin Dragon" paint scheme are not marked and there is no direction on how to apply it.
All that said in general I had a good time building this kit most of the fun was building the cockpit. The assembly of the plane itself was a bit of a challenge but I did avoid building all the fixtures that I have seen some people having built. I really do like the paint scheme in the end and am generally happy with the results even if it is not a show winner.
I just think the plane has beautiful lines an looks good from just about any angle.
that is just fantastic Walt...missed you around here
That's really good work, particularly getting the Green Dragon marking, which is hard in any case.
Yeah...what Bob said (where you been?) - nice lookin' Lightning ya got there.
Thanks Craig, every once in a while life gets busy and I have to make choices and computer time on model sites has to go. That plus I haven't had much model time has kept me away. Glad to finish this one and have a couple of more that are getting close. Last year only finished two kits, it would be cool to top that this year.
Well Walt, it sure as hell looks like a show winner to me. I have built both the Academy and Hasegawa offerings of the P-38 (both J versions) in the past and Academy, while a little less detailed than Hasegawa was , by far, a lot easier to assemble. I received the Eduard P-38J for my birthday last year and it is in the top five of my to do list.
Thanks Seamus, enjoy the build, the resin in general is a lot of fun and almost injection molding quality of fit. The plastic...well that's another story and the directions are vague to say the least. I look forward to seeing what you do!
Great build, Walt. These kits are a little awkward to handle during construction, I find, but it seems you've found your 'extra set of hands' for this one.
Looks like a show winner to meβ¦.stunning P-38. Nice touch on the weathering and great looking photos.
WOW! π
Overall great build Walt. Looks just right.
Great P 38 there Walt.
A lovely build and finish.
Super job on this project Walt ! Look forward to seeing it in person next year either at Valley Con 2015 ( our 25th anniversary) or in Oregon at the show in the fall at McMinnville !
Thanks George, I am hoping to make it to McMinnville, but that will be determined as we get closer to that time. We will be vacationing in SoCal this summer, but wife will not permit any model club or contest activity! π As of right now we will be moving back in Spring/Summer of 2016.
beautiful, love the paint, weathering, decals, smudging, little palm tree - everything , superb
gorgeous - i love the weathering job!
Nice clean build, realistic weathering and great photos.
It's a beauty, Walt, and I like the base as well, very subtle.
Thank you for sharing. Especially like green of drogon and weathering. I have sold Hasegawa early P-38 as unbuidable. Your article encourages me to buy eduard one.
Thanks Wojtek, I don't know how bad the Hasegawa kit was but like I mentioned the Academy fit was a bit fidgety. Taking my time doing lots of test fitting and doing a little trimming and sanding I was able to get a decent fit. There is a problem with the width of the horizontal stabilizer. I believe it is a little short and caused a problem with the position of the boom on the wings. I had read about this, but you can't see it because nothing positively locks in place for test fitting like a Tamiya. Anyways I fudged it a little and was able to kind of split the difference on both sides and get an okay fit. In the end if asked was it worth it? Yes I generally enjoyed the kit. If asked would I build another? No, I probably wouldn't too much work with so many other wonderful kits in my stash. Have fun with it though if you get it!
Walt,
This is outstanding, stunning, and any other adjective one could come up with. I like everything about what you have done here. NO matter what problems you found with the building of this it sure does not show. I have to agree with the Academy kit. I think it is the best one regardless of some of the warts. It builds up real nice as shown by your model. I have done a number of the Academy P-38's of various types and have been pleased with each of them. One of them is in one of my earlier posts and I am doing one now for the D Day month if I ever finish it. Again, Outstanding.
How long did it take for you to wipe the smile off your face after your first solo?
Thanks Frank, I went back and saw your article I remember it when it was posted. As I have mentioned in general I enjoyed the kit, but it is the last of these that I will build. I build slow and when the kit slows me down it just takes to long. I say that as I look at the 1/48th B-17 with resin nose, cockpit and rear gunner sections on my bench just getting started. Oh well I am a glutton for punishment sometimes. I am just finishing up ground school...so no solo yet. Actually scared to death not of the flying but of doing something wrong to the bosses plane π
Walt,
Not to worry. You may think he is crazy when he gets out and tells you to go around. You will remember everything he taught you. One thing I did not pay enough attention to was he told me the plane would perform much differently without the almost 200 extra pounds. The old clunker went up like a shot. The grin lasted well into the next day. I only flew for 3 or 4 years. I was just happy that I can say I was up there by myself. Have fun.