Hasegawa P-38J Lightning, ´Virginia Marie´, 1/48

March 28, 2022 · in Aviation · · 26 · 1.7K

I bought this one because I like how it look the metal color with that blue. Really different from others Lightnings.

This one is from and it doesn´t has many details, and parts doesn´t fit really good so... I had to do a lot of extra work. Used a lot of putty and sanding (at the end this areas doesn´t look like I want it), but I fixed that problem.

I got an Eduard PE parts for cockpit and the weels landing boxes to have that extra detail that I want it.

For painting I had to put a black primer and then cover it with aluminum (used a 3 differents Aluminium color from Vallejo metal colors). I had a lot, but a lot of trouble with DUST when I airbrushed this colors. I learned that the area where I´m going to airbrush has to be free of dust. But at the end it doesn´t look so bad.

For the blue color (the stripes) the kit comes with decals to be applied, but after thinking about the idea to do it in that way I decided to mask it and paint it. It took time but finally looks really nice. That specific blue was something really hard to find. Digging on the Net I found the Large Scale Planes Forum web site where the member dmthamade, builted a 1/32 Virginia Marie like mine, and he said he used the MiG Ammo Dark Grey Blue MiG-229. He said this was a color recommended on another site, and looks like a great match. I followed his advice and this color really match with the blue used in the decals.

When I took out the masking tape from the plane after airbrushed the blue parts and saw how it look... I felt happy because look really nice.

Finally the decals work ( easy one ) and extra little details. A coat of clear for protection and finally the antenna.

Hope you like it.

See you next time. A dornier do-335 a Pfiel from Tamiya is the next one I´m working on.

Keep building.

Reader reactions:
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26 responses

  1. A beautiful result, Enrique!
    Congratulations!

  2. Enrique, you've done an admirable job of masking for the metal tones and the blue areas, and I really admire how nicely your antenna device looks. Congratulations on making such a beautiful model from a kit that can be very difficult to master!

    • Hi Christopher. Thank you for your comment. I really appreciate it.
      You´re right, the kit comes with not so many parts. I have to make an extra effort basically on the paint to make it look nice. Extra ¨Kilos¨ of patience.
      Thank´s again. Have a great one.

  3. Beautiful results, a great color scheme !

  4. Great looking '38. Your paint scheme is outstanding.

  5. I used to know Bob Carroll, the pilot of "Virginia-Margaret", up at the Reno Air Races. He was a photographer before he joined the USAAF and he's the primary reason why the 475th is as well-documented photographically as it is from the summer of 1944 to the end of the war, when he was in the group. As he said, "I took photos of everything and everyone."

    This is a nice model. I've never really understood why everyone is so afraid of the Hasegawa P-38s. I never had any problems with them. Your result looks really good.

  6. Very clean paint job!
    Like it much and you've presented it very well?

  7. Excellent result on this not so easy P38, Enrique @quiquelopez
    The blue is indeed a very nice accent on this silver Lightning, good you decided to paint it instead of using the decals.
    Well done.

    • Thank you John. Before use decals, you have to think what is comming because some times is not an easy task and if there is another way to do it, well... go for it. Fortunately I took the right decition on this one.
      Thank´s again

  8. Superb result! great scheme and contrast with the metal tones. Inspiring, looking forward to seeing more of your work soon!

  9. Great looking P-38 Enrique, those blue stripes really make her pop.

  10. That is a fantastic scheme - the blue and NMF really look great together! A nice build also - great work!

  11. When I'm airbrushing, I keep one of those air duster cans on hand. Right before spraying a section of the model, I blow any dust off. Then I always blow some air from the airbrush just before applying the paint. It's not as good as a clean room, but it helps a lot with keeping the dust out of the paint.

    • Thanks for the tip Steve. I´ll keep it on mind for the next time. Acutally... I don´t know if is the kind of color (aluminium) or the Brand (Vallejo) but those little flakes of dust stick easier when I used them.
      Thanks again for the advise my friend. Have a great one!

  12. @quiquelopez, Oh man, what a striking beauty! That is a truly beautiful P-38 Enrique; great job indeed sir! ?

  13. Fantastic metal finished Enrique! Truly great build

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