Hi Everyone
A good friend in Tokyo managed to get me one and delivered it within days. I have spent the last 3 weeks working on it between other projects (Tamiya Marder III and Airfix Hunter). Suffice to say it is a great kit and I expect the final production version when available later this year will be even better. I only say this as the pre-production kits use a softer plastic and some of the details are not as sharp as you would normally expect in recent Tamiya kits.
Assembly is straightforward and the use of locking tabs, spars and thoughtful engineering is first rate. The cockpit detail is excellent and would save your $$ for maybe an ultracast seat and wheels. I will be adding UC seat and wheels, and Master P-38 barrels, as the kits barrel parts are probably one of the weaker aspects of this new kit, though final production versions may be better. The only other minor issue is that you must assemble some of the UC parts as part of the UC assembly (when you get one you know what I mean) and these are prone to accidental damage...I have made a temporary stand for my P-38 to minimise the chance of such damage. The UC doors themselves are superbly engineered with keyed tabs that probably wouldn't even require glue to set in position perfectly. I will be onto major painting soon, more updates to follow.
Happy Modelling
Darren
34 attached images. Click to enlarge.
