Nice. I've been thinking of using similar technique since my Gladiator had camo painted over the original aluminum dope... And then a very rough time on and over Malta.
Tamiya Lockheed p-38 F/G Lightning 1/48
- Thread starter Ron2
- Start date
I like it because it gives you the opportunity to incorporate several different stages of the weathering: bare metal, faded and worn bottom coat and top coat.
Top has had gloss coat. Painted the bottom neutral grey and applied some of the decals on top side. Guns and front cap ? Applied. Decals on props. Coming together nicely. Tomorrow I'll get landing gear installed and varnish bottom side. Then finish decals on top side.
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Such an interesting aircraft.
Doing a great job of it.
Doing a great job of it.
Thank you.
Beautiful job!
Thanks!
I've gotten quite a bit done this morning. I need to touch up the nose cones, finish decals on uppers, and hit the underside with a varnish today. I can't believe I put this model off- everything has been Tamiya smooth! Tomorrow I plan to do some final weathering.
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The business end looks nasty alright! and are those the kit tires? They actually look like tires!
Cool build.
Cool build.
Yes. I didn't do any aftermarket on this kit.
I love the detail on the main gear wheel wells. They even made the hinges! So nice to see.
Seriously? The diagram shows them going on the outside fuselage! I was wondering why. Where do they go inside??? The box art shows them on outside. As does the paint guide. Why do you say otherwise?When you get around to stickers, avoid a mistake I made...
The big chrome ovals, those are mirrors that go on the inside so the pilot could see if his gear were down.
They go on the inside of each engine nacelle so that the pilot can see whether his landing gear is down. The pilot looked at the right mirror to see his left landing gear, and in the left mirror to see his right landing gear.
Applied decals today. Not sure that I'm going to do all of these. At this scale the wording just ends up looking like flaws in the paint. I've applied all the decals that have contrasting color. Screwed up on the right side mouth alignment, left boom was much better. The steel weights they provided for this kit really make the plane feel much more substantial when I pick it up. Funny because it's still just flimsy plastic…or has it become a p38?
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Thanks! I'm getting there.
VegasAWACER13
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2025
- Messages
- 461
Very nice!
Thanks! Did you run radio wire?
Used some glue applicator tubing to make insulators , applied a bit more varnish and did some touch up. Frustrated because the canopy frosted on me. I should have removed it but by the time I had thought to do so had applied the decals around the canopy so I couldn't. Except for the foggy glass I'm very pleased with this build.
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Jakko
Well-Known Member
Claim it was a cold night so there's condensation on the canopy 
Edbert
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- May 16, 2024
- Messages
- 3,237
Check your references, I'm not positive about the F model, but I'm pretty sure all the canopies were similar in their opening mechanism.
The two side panels "rolled down" into the fuselage similar to an automobile, and the top part was hinged in the back. A latch was released up in the front and it flipped backwards on that hinge.
The two side panels "rolled down" into the fuselage similar to an automobile, and the top part was hinged in the back. A latch was released up in the front and it flipped backwards on that hinge.
