Yaks Revell (monogram) P-38M night lightning in 1/48

[Ian M]

This is turning out rather nice Tony. I must admit that watching these GB builds and that New P38 from Tamiya temptation is big at the moment.
Hmm RAF had these for evaluation did they not? LOL.

[yak face]

This is turning out rather nice Tony. I must admit that watching these GB builds and that New P38 from Tamiya temptation is big at the moment.
Hmm RAF had these for evaluation did they not? LOL.

Yes the name was originally given to the aircraft by the British , but the p-38 the air ministry specified was a very different animal , not having the superchargers and therefore a bit gutless. We didnt use them much if at all , as far as i know the only maker to do a kit of this variant is RS models in 1/72 i think . Cheers tony

[yak face]

Well its been a long time since i did anything in the shed but i finally got back onto this one. The problem of finding somewhere for the lead weights was solved by putting some in the nacelles before the fronts were glued on . I also attached the PE grilles to the back of the intakes before this . Ive now fitted the guns , ammo boxes ,the right hand side of the nose cowling and the nose cone, with a fair bit of shimming and acrylic putty. The left hand cowling will be temporarily fitted for painting. Next job is to mask and fit the canopies

[rtfoe]

Ah... giving weight to the build I see Tony. Good to see this back again.

Cheers,
Richard

[adt70hk]

Hi Tony

Sorry missed the start of this being a recent-ish arrival on here.

Very impressed with the work you did on the cockpit, it clearly took some effort, and the fuselage also came together nicely.

I've recently picked up a 1/72 Monogram kit of 1970 vintage and that too has raised panel lines. Very odd.

Looking forward to seeing this finished.

ATB

Andrew

[yak face]

Ah... giving weight to the build I see Tony. Good to see this back again.

Cheers,
Richard

Thanks richard , ive had a chronic shortage of time lately so im glad to get back on the horse too! The considerable amount of lead in the nacelles adds hopefully enough weight to keep its nose down, with the open gun bay theres nowhere else i could find to put it .

Hi Tony

Sorry missed the start of this being a recent-ish arrival on here.

Very impressed with the work you did on the cockpit, it clearly took some effort, and the fuselage also came together nicely.

I've recently picked up a 1/72 Monogram kit of 1970 vintage and that too has raised panel lines. Very odd.

Looking forward to seeing this finished.

ATB

Andrew

Cheers andrew , glad to have you along for the build , yes raised panel lines , some hate them with a vengeance and wont touch them but i dont mind at all , it just means you have to be a bit careful cleaning up seams etc and sometimes theyre just as accurate as recessed ones , cheers tony

[rtfoe]

Tony, you've got the tail on so you can test by balancing a pivot like a dowel or large paint brush handle along the line of where the rear wheels touch the ground. If the front pivots forward then you're ok.

Cheers,
Richard

[yak face]

Bit more done on the lightning yesterday . I’ve been adding a bit of detail to the wheel wells , ive not gone mad , just a few prominent areas . The pipe that runs the length of the well has been added from lead solder, and the various access panels from circles of plastic card .I also made the structures that the door retraction jacks at each end of the bay are connected to . I’ve dry fitted the undercarriage legs and it’s definitely not a tail sitter ! The nacelle fronts have been fitted after the etched grilles were glued to the back face. I’ve now fitted the windscreen and second cockpit canopy sections , the middle sliding windows and the folding roof will be added after painting.

[flyjoe180]

Lightning is building up well Tony

[yak face]

It’s now had a base coat of silver , if there’s anything that needs sorting I’ll do it now before it has a coat of hairspray , then once that’s fully dried it’s ready for the gloss black top coat.

[yak face]

Hairspray applied and left to dry ( about a week !! Oops ) then first coat of gloss black misted on , one more coat needed to give even coverage then its ready for chipping.

[flyjoe180]

Looking forward to seeing the chipping Tony

[Guest]

Looks very sleek and black Tony. Great work.

I met a former Lightning night fighter pilot when I worked at the IWM. He described the tactic which I'd read of in a Martha Gelhorn article, that of climbing to a great height, then diving to see what they encountered on the way down.

[yak face]

Started with the chipping today , I wanted to give a lightly weathered appearance as these aircraft weren’t in service for long and wouldn’t have worn too badly . I thoroughly wet the area to be chipped with a flat brush and clean water then leave for five minutes before scrubbing with an old brush with the bristles cut off to about 2mm long. Ive also used a very worn piece of 1200 wet and dry to rub over the whole airframe ,in particular areas that would receive the most attention like engine acces panels and the gun covers. This removes the black from the raised rivets and lines and gives a nice worn effect. I was a bit too keen with the chipping on the side of the cockpit and removed too much so will have to touch up this area and re do it - DOH! heres the before and after

[yak face]

Touch up round the cockpit completed and chipping all done now . The unpainted areas behind the superchargers were masked off before the black went on and have now been unmasked and ready for a quick tidy up then the suoerchargers can be fitted after painting. The decals ( few that there are) have been put on although a few of the red stencils all but disappeared on the black. Next up adding all the knocky off bits and sorting the multi part canopy .