Tamiya P-38H Lightning 1/48
In a great September 14, 2020 iModeler review of this kit Tom Cleaver said "The kit is a marvel of production design" that successfully deals with traditional shortcomings of P-38 kits and is “modeler-friendly.” I couldn't agree more. This kit is nearly flawless. The fit is so good much it could be assembled without cement.
I built the kit OOB with the exception of Eduard seatbelts in lieu of the Tamiya decals. This was the first time that I used the hairspray chipping technique on an aircraft. On the worn areas of the wing by the cockpit I used AK Xtreme metal and AK chipping fluid. I applied the other chips by brush. I used oil paints for a modest amount of streaking. The engine exhaust stains are a blend of pigments fixed with alcohol. Mission Models paints were used for nearly all of the rest of the painting.
I almost exclusively stick to 1/72 scale aircraft. But, the excellence of this kit and the big pallet it provided makes me want to give some other 1/48 kits a try, if they are this good.
I like this one a lot Dennis.
It’s true that it seems that all builds I’ve seen from Tamiya’s “wunder-kit”P-38 have been pretty good, some more than others. I rank yours amongst the top 3.
I particularly like the turbochargers patine, very convincing indeed. But overall a fine looking model you should be proud of
Nice looking 38. I wish they'd down-scale this to 1/72...
Thanks Greg. I had the same thought while building it. I have the Italeri/Academy 1:72 P-38J in my stash that recieved some pretty decent reviews. I may do that soon to see how it stacks up.
You should take a look at either of the Tamiya Beaufighters, Oh excelent work on the P38 by the way.
Looks great, Dennis (@dmeyers). You really can't go wrong with the newer Tamiya models. Paint and chipping look awesome. I had never used Mission Model Paints until recently when I used them on a war weary P-40B, and they worked very well.
Great looking build, the metal finish really came out awesome!
An amazing build of a good kit, Dennis.
Congratulations!
Great build, Dennis @dmeyers
Fully agree on this kit, it is such a pleasure to build and yes, almost possible to construct without cement.
Your chipping turned out well, something i still need to tackle as well.
Nice work!
That is a beauty, Dennis!
Dennis, A wonderful looking build, I also want to thank you for some fine reference material I can use for my Tamiya "H" version kits I have on my shelf.
I was wondering if you used the gun barrels provided in the kit (with the decal vent holes) or did you replace them with after market barrels. Yours look so good I can't tell ?
Thanks Terry. I used the kit barrels with the decals.
That chipping looks really nice Dennis. Really nice.
You should try using some of the Mission Models "faded olive drab" shades (they have three) - you can get a really great sun-faded look with them. (not a criticism, just an observation from having discovered them recently)
Well done, Dennis. Inspiration to want to pull mine off the stash pile.
Well done, Dennis. Great attention to detail.
Superb build on one of the finest kits ever to hit the market.