Vengeance! Barber's P-38G Lightning
This is my interpretation of the P-38G flown by Col. Rex T. Barber during Operation Vengeance, the epic mission to intercept Admiral Yamamoto aboard his punctual Betty. That story has been well told elsewhere, and the history of the plane has been well documented here by Mr. Cleaver: https://imodeler.com/2019/11/tamiya-1-48-p-38f-lightning-review/
All the superlatives thrown at Tamiya for their engineering are well justified; build it and marvel at the way the complex layers of the wheel wells build up or the ease with which the wings attach to the booms.
My only hesitation at calling it perfect are the decals, which - especially the stencils - feel thick, with too much carrier film that silvers easily. It's not a cheap kit, and while this oversight doesn't kill the experience, I was hoping for better.
It's built as supplied, apart from the Master gun barrels and an Eduard harness. Painting was a long, layered and enjoyable process, although I didn't accomplish all I hoped, so perhaps in a few kits time I'll be back for more.
Thanks for looking!
A masterful work! Always liked the G style nacelles.
That is one excellent P-38...
I have built 2 now and it one of the best kits I have ever built.
Plan to build a few more as well!
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Very handsome! Those red spinners really pop against the olive drab. Thanks, Darren!
Outstanding job Tim! Really excellent.
"Liked"
@timtozer231
Cheers, Robert and James!
Very realistic finish.
WOW!
Amazing work!
That is truly a pleasurable sight to see! Outstanding work Tim, especially on that OD, it just looks perfect near and far. Also thanks for the heads up on the decals.
Beautiful; absolutely love the weathered worn appearance; very convincing!
Sharp looking '38! Nice job on the OD and weathering.
Absolutely everything I wanted my P-38 to turn out to be you accomplished. Stunning. Of course I built the Eduard kit with the Academy Plastic, and the Brassin Resin and Eduard Photoetch. I sure wish I had known Tamiya was going to release the kit. Yours is beautiful, Congratulations on and excellent build!
My build is here https://imodeler.com/2014/04/eduard-academy-148th-p-38h-a-twin-dragon/
I really like your paintwork on this. You definitely got the most out of what was in thebox.
If you consider the paint work of your P-38 is still not as good as you hoped to, I can’t wait to see how a future P-38 will look like. My opinion about your Miss Virginia seconds all the above
Thanks, everyone! Your support is really appreciated!
A real beauty - love the paint and weathering work. Fantastic.
Great weathering job, kudos!
Man that's pretty, really like what you've done with that paint job.
Tim I keep coming back to your P-38 and certainly admire it. Do you recall the paints and shades of OD you used for the olive drab finish? Did you multi-layer any particular shades of OD? I love the dark shadows and any guidance on your techniques is appreciated. Many thanks.