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Academy 1/48 P-38E ”Texas Terror”

Started by Tom Bebout · 49 ≡ · ↻ 6 years ago

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Tom Bebout said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Yep, that's why I could never figure out why the Minicraft F-5E kit was so hard to build. The one I built fought me all the way, nothing seemed to fit. However, I conquered the little b@*+ard, and posted her on iModeler. This one and a P-38J I did for a friend are going much better. Go figure.
Carl Smoot said 6 years, 10 months ago:

My P-38 build, when I get to it, is going to be a mash up between the Monogram kit, true details resin cockpit, and the Hobby Boss kit. Hoping to avoid some of the alignment difficulties by using the HB kit. The HB kit has shape issues, which I will try to mitigate with the Monogram kit. Since I just went through sanding and rescribing surface detail on my Monogram F-80, I don't want to have to go through that again with the Monogram P-38.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Carl, looking forward to seeing what you find on the HB. My hobby connection showed me one in the box, and the idea seemed good, given the multiple joins you face on the Hasegawa kits. Booms, horizontal stab, wings, and the center fuselage pod. Any misstep, and the whole thing is off. (there is a fix noted in the Detail & Scale P-38(s) kit reviews)
Chuck A. Villanueva said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Tom, I went trough the same issue with the P-38M, that nose with the different pieces in that area to clean up once assembled. Seems it took me forever. The boom alignment didn't seem to be an issue. The 2nd time around with the "E" was like I know what I was going to run into and dealt with it. And it felt easier to assemble and finished it at a decent time.
Tom Bebout said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Starting to take shape, got the booms and tail together,

Added the required 20 grams of weight per the instructions, in matter of fact it was 21 grams added to the nose.

I've been using these weights for several years now, purchased them at Hobby Town and they come with self adhesive tape on the back. They're designed to be used on wooden race cars. As usual with any P-38 there always seems to be an issue with the nose, and this one required some putty and sanding to shape things up.

And we did some painting on some bits and pieces so I can finish her rather quickly. Not to far away from the paint shop.
Louis Gardner said 6 years, 10 months ago:

I like those weights ! I'll grab some the next time I go to Hobby Town in Sanford... It's a whole lot easier than using BB's...

You're not wasting any time with the Lightning... and it looks great. You have caused me to put the two Minicraft kits on the "build" pile... That's a good thing.

Any tips or tricks I need to know about ? I have a resin cockpit from True Details for it.
David A. Thomas said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Tom, you are just lucky split on these bad boys! My P-38 took forever with its fit issues, but I get the feeling that if I did another it would go together faster. It'll have to wait, though, so I'm glad this one is yours!
Tom Bebout said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Louis I used the TD cockpit on my F-5E and it fit quite well with a little sanding and lots of dry fitting. Really recommend you use it as it's a great enhancement overall. For tips that Minicraft kit requires lots of dry fitting as mine had lots of fit and alignment issues And David some modelers actually by 2 kits of a subject, one to build for experience the other for show.
Louis Gardner said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Well Tom you talked me into purchasing a second True Details cockpit for the other Minicraft kit in the stash. It should be arriving here soon and I'll probably get cranking on the Lightnings.

I hope that they will turn out half as nicely as yours is.
Tom Bebout said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Got a little more time on the P-38 this PM, and thought I would add some more detail than whats in the box. To begin it always seemed to me that most models of the P-38, when shown parked ,the stance is too level and the front wheel is always straight. That was not always the case, so I thought I would improve that with the following. First, I cut the front gear and added a little over 1/8" to it with some aluminum tube.

Drilled some positioning holes in the top and bottom of the plastic and ran a piece of wire, i.e.from a paper clip. down the tube then glued them together with CA.

Then before it set up I turned the wheel some 30 degrees to the left. When dried I installed the gear and the rest is history so to speak.

She seems to sit a little lower in the rear and my front wheel will be at an angle rather than straight away.
David A. Thomas said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Tom, that one detail adds significantly to the realism of the model. I agree with you: P-38s dip a bit in the rear, and the whole point of tricycle landing gear is that the front and center wheel can steer the bird while it's on the ground. Nice work, as usual.
Bernard E. Hackett, Jr. said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Tom, the stance of a P-38 seems to me to vary depending on if gassed up and armed, versus empty. I suspect that empty and its a tail sitter. Great idea on the canted nosegear, gives it a more candid look.
Paul Barber said 6 years, 10 months ago:

That's a really nice touch on the landing gear Tom - I love the idea of changing that angle - not something you'd get to do on many builds - so a really nice innovation! Looking great all round - looking forward to seeing the paint go on!
Tom Bebout said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Got some bench time again, so the Tamiya Neutral Gray in a rattle can was applied and set aside to dry. Next was to mask the gray and apply the Tamiya OD, also from a rattle can. That takes awhile because it's a twin boom model.

Finally pulled off the masks and I'll let her sit before applying some decals. Were making some progress, should be done prior to the reveal.
Louis Gardner said 6 years, 10 months ago:

Man oh man Tom... This Lightning is looking good buddy...

I turned the front nose wheel on a B-25 that I built years ago. I also positioned the rudders to make it look like the plane was parked as it was turning. People loved it, just as they will yours.

It took 2nd place at a Hobby Town contest, so I was the first loser... 🙂

I took home a few ribbons that day with some other kits I entered, but the first place trophy eluded me. The next contest I managed to get a trophy with a 1/48 Tamiya F4U-1D. Persistence my friend ...

It's the little things like that which make your builds "above and beyond"...

Well done sir... Looking forward to the stickers.

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Battle of Kasserine Pass/Tunisia Campaign Build Group

Academy 1/48 P-38E ”Texas Terror”