Tamiya's Lockheed P38 Lightning – another one
Hello all,
Presenting my first build of 2021.
The well known Tamiya P38 Lightning.
It has been presented here multiple times and a lot has been said about it, mainly positive.
I can only say that all is true, the kit has a perfect fit and it is barely impossible to make mistakes.
This kit is built almost OOB as the White 33. Only added brake lines and Ushi antenna wiring.
For the OD, I created my own mixture, Vallejo interior green with light green in a 4:1 ratio.
For weathering pre-shading was done, black pigment for gun traces.
Besides the gauges decal, the entire interior was hand painted. The seatbelts however could have been improved, the used decals are not that impressive.
At the end this was a relaxed build and I’m pretty satisfied with the result.
Really appreciate any kind of feedback, no matter positive or negative.
Stay safe
19 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Tom Bebout said on January 16, 2021
Well done John, and that's a great looking cockpit.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks Tom.
The interior details provided by Tamiya are great.
Spiros Pendedekas said on January 16, 2021
Perfect job, my friend @johnb!
You took a great kit and produced an excellent result!
Well done!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks my friend @fiveten
After my previous 'nightmare' build, this kit is sort of relaxation.
Greg Fabian said on January 16, 2021
I'm jealous of your cockpit, it looks great! Really good work here.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks a lot Greg.
The quality and details of this kit helps a lot.
Bob Bailey said on January 16, 2021
Nice build. Looked hard, found NO clinkers. All good.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Appreciate your kind words, Bob.
dale travis said on January 16, 2021
Great looking '38 John. Did you get your Christmas wish for a Fokker G1? If you did, I can guaranty it won't be a relaxing build!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks Dale @dtravis
Unfortunately no G1 for Christmas last year, but I did find nice reading material about WWII planes.
That G1 will for sure hit my bench, hopefully this year when we are able to visit modelling events again, and buy one there.
Marcus Vinicius Teixeira Borges said on January 16, 2021
Lovely work John,congrats!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks Marcus
Eric Berg said on January 16, 2021
Sure looks good John. That cockpit instrument panel is outstanding. That OD mixture looks spot on.
Are you happy with Uschi antenna line? How does it compare with EZ Line, if you’ve tried that?
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks Eric @eb801
So far I'm pretty satisfied with the way the Uschi thread is behaving.
It stretches nicely and is easy to fix with super glue.
Till now I didn't have the possibility to compare it with EZ-line.
Erik Gjørup said on January 16, 2021
I am by no means an expert in anything US WWII, so I'll just say that I like it a lot! I like the homebrewed color, the UvdR antenna, the cockpitpainting and not least the subtle weathering. Well done - I'll hit the star on my way outta here John (@johnb)!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thank you for your kind words, Erik. @airbum
These kind of kits really keep you motivated to improve your skills even further.
Curt Cayemberg said on January 16, 2021
That's one sharp Lightning, looks great!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Thanks Curt.
John Healy said on January 16, 2021
Nice work, John. Your masking between green and gray is flawless. What method did you use?
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
John @j-healy, the masking was done using patafix.
A sort of gum which can be formed in any shape and can also be re-used.
Learned about this approach from our friend Spiros @fiveten.
John Healy said on January 16, 2021
Thanks! Similar to Blu Tac. You kept the demarcation very uniform.
Frederick J Seitz III said on January 16, 2021
Beautiful work, John.
Tamiya’s P-38 is just about as close to a perfect kit there has ever been.
Excellent!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 16, 2021
Fully agree, Frederick @fjs3
A nearly perfect kit already, a bit of PE would make it complete.
Your recent build of this P38 also looks fantastic.
Dan Lee said on January 16, 2021
Very nice build indeed!
Tom Cleaver said on January 16, 2021
I like this a lot. Nice, careful work, a great result.
The only way this kit can be messed up is if you plan to do so. it really is close to perfect.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 17, 2021
Thanks, Tom @tcinla
And indeed, you can only mess up this kit on purpose.
George Williams said on January 17, 2021
Another great looking build of this already classic kit, definitely liked.
Haslam Yeoman said on January 17, 2021
Beautifully built model.
Walt B said on January 17, 2021
I love the P-38 and yours looks great! After struggling with Eduard boxing of the Academy kit I really can appreciate the beauty of the Tamiya kit. Really excellent work on that cockpit!
John vd Biggelaar said on January 19, 2021
Thanks for your positive feedback, Walt @luftwaffe-birdman
Yours also looks great. I love those green nacelles and OD you used.
Greg Kittinger said on January 19, 2021
That's a great looking lightning! Well done.
John vd Biggelaar said on January 19, 2021
Thanks a lot, Greg. @gkittinger
This kit is also a pleasure to build.
Adrian Starling said on February 28, 2021
John, this is a fantastic build (P38 is a wonderful choice and is a favourite of mine!) and you are very talented. I will certainly be coming to you for tips and your cockpit and instrument panel is outstanding! I am now starting to manage my way around this great site and will be dropping in more often. Your build blog is very impressive and I really enjoyed going through your portfolio of aircraft.