Tamiya 1/48 P-38 Lightning

[Guest]

Thanks Pete. I seem to have had one illness after another lately. Hopefully I'm getting them all out of the way for the year :smiling3:

Cheers Lee. I like that colour scheme too and am looking forward to getting some paint on it, although not the subsequent weathering lol

[Guest]

Early morning update before popping out to do some DIY for the in-laws.

After ruminating over the turbos last night I settled on a plan. After black primer the turbo parts were painted in a custom mix of burnt iron, red-brown and red. The intake parts were given a mixture of silver & steel. All Mr Color

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And this is how they will be fitted. You can just see that I've also drilled out the bare plastic scoops either side of the intake.

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And the plan for painting - temporarily attach the starship enterprise looking bit so I only have minimum masking to do, then add the rest after. I know I could just add all this after but I don't want the currently primed portion to look noticeably different to the surrounding panels so want to paint & weather it in situ.

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[colin m]

Great work Andy. It's a good idea to spend a bit of time on the exhausts as they do have a prominent position on the P38.

[Guest]

Thanks Colin. Yes, they couldn't be more in your face really.

I started work on the booms this afternoon, which starts with the landing gear bays. It looked like it would be a mission to paint them complete so I built up a few sub assemblies and gave them a coat of silver as a starter.

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I did some of the detail painting while I had good access then started delicately gluing things together

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Plenty of details which should stand out nicely after a wash. The macro function on my phone is playing havoc with the colours and reflections but they are much more consistent in reality.

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I also put the oil coolers together. The instructions called out for Neutral Grey inside (virtually the colour of the plastic) but I decided to go with black primer. That way as I paint the exterior some will blow into this area but leave a natural shadow, which I think will look more realistic. I did paint the grilles, even though I don't think they'll ever be seen.

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[Jim R]

Hi Andy
That cockpit is stunning - lovely neat work. You should be pleased with the wheel wells.
Jim

[JR]

Andy , hats off to you with these photos, they are so sharp , brilliant.
Some very neat work there as well , hope you are feeling better.

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Got to agree with John, lovely work mate. I trust you are feeling better now.

[Guest]

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm well chuffed.

And yes, after a few days on liquids the searing pain has gone so hopefully I've avoided another hospital visit. I'm told if I get more than 5 or 6 of these "attacks" this year then surgery will be on the cards, but with the risks involved my consultant would rather me grin and bear it as long as possible! I've been prescribed enough pain killers to down a herd of elephants but I'm reluctant to rely on them, I'd rather know what's going on.

John, I'm still feeling my way around my new phone. I recently got the Huawei P30pro which has arguably the best camera on the market, especially for macro work. I haven't even tried the high definition 40MP mode yet, these are just "standard", but I'm beginning to get to grips with it.

[colin m]

That silver is brilliant, what are you using ?

[Guest]

Hi Colin - Mr Color C-159 Super Silver.

It's one of their car colours, and the [COLOR=rgb(209, 72, 65)]2 [/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)]denotes that it needs a clearcoat for full effect. However, well thinned with levelling thinner (~ 1 paint : 1.5 MLT) it goes on pretty glossy by itself and I'm thinking of using it on one of the drop tanks to simulate a BMF replacement.

H&S Infinity, 0.4mm. Didn't check the pressure but it was probably around 20, I just adjust until it comes out as I want. Sprayed with the automotive "grip and rip" technique - a light coat straight onto the bare plastic for adhesion and to break the surface tension, then a good wet flowing coat.

I've since given them a coat of gloss (very well thinned MrC GX-100) as it's time for a wash. It would probably be okay as it is but since this is usually the time I mess things up I wanted as much help as I could get! Everyone else seems to make washes look so easy but they have been a real nightmare for me :smiling5:[/COLOR]

[Allen Dewire]

Morn Scratchy,

Sorry that I am late coming in on this and just played catch up. Fantastic stuff Sir and your colors are so realistic. The pit is a work of art and I love the huge BB in the nose. She won't be a tail sitter!!!

I do hope that you are finally feeling better now and this crap is behind you. Drive on Andy!!!

Prost
Allen

[Guest]

Thanks Allen, good to have you along.

There are 2 more of those BB's fitting where the engines would be, so it might even stand on it's nose!

[Fernando N]

Looking very nice Andy:thumb2:.
Washes are easy btw, imho oil ones are the best:tongue-out3:, apply with a small brush 2/0 or something like that, let it dry for a bit and then you can clean it to a desired look with either a tissue or a flat brush damped with white spirit HTH

[Guest]

Thanks Fernando. Unfortunately I have bigger problems right now with this: :flushed:

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More here

[scottie3158]

Wow Andy,
That is very unlike Tamyia contact their customer services to get a replacement.