p38johnny

Hi Patrick, Yes, the Astrodome window on the top of the fuselage didn't change shape, only the covering of the opening. The window in the A/B airplanes was optically flat glass. When they went to the astrodome, it was just attached above the window opening. Here are some pictures that should help. John Clements

That's a great shot Patrick!!!

The blast shields were .019 stainless steel. The pad is a thin cloth material used as a barrier between the stainless and the aluminum skin. Even with primer, an additional barrier was used between dissimilar metals. I'm not entirely sure if rivets or screws were used. My first guess would be rivets. John Clements

Hey Jay: That is simply stupendous work!! Tha Dzus fasteners kill!! Don't forget to take the bumps off the wing bottoms, the J-15 didn't have those. But you probably know that. John

Hi Chuck! I feel that the plastic is fairly soft in this kit and could lead to problems a few years down the road. Couldn't hurt to give yourself a bit more rigidity. John Clements

Leave it Jay. That's accurate for your S/N airplane. I agree that trying to shorten it would probably not end well.

Excellent Jay!! Really excellent!

That cockpit came out just fantastic Jay!! Really wonderful work!

That is some really good looking work Chuck! But...... this is another one of those moments that I feel i need to interject for anyone doing a P-38 from 1944-45. The P-38 never used the K-14 gunsight in combat. Nor did it ever use the N-9 gunsight ....ever! The P-38 only used two sights in it's combat life, those being the N-3 through the J-5 model, and the Linn L-3 through the L model. I know the resource you are using for this information, and I know that some really bad assumptions were made using photographs showing a test installation. And I contributed to this book, so I was very dismayed to see that information in the final product. Anyway, it in no way detracts from what you are doing, as you have the license to do what you will in the criteria you have chosen. But, for those wishing to build a spec P-38, the N-3 and L-3 are the ones that were actually used in combat. Sorry if I'm being "that guy", but this is one of my hot button points. John

Hi Vandy: Yes, that is me with White Lightning at Reno back in the mid 80's. It is such a gorgeous airplane now with Red Bull. I think you mean Gary Levitz, not Tony LeVier. Gary raced that airplane till its gear collapsed in the pits at Reno, I think in '83. John

That's right Chuck, it's the same on the top and bottom. What I've done in the past is thin the trailing edges of the top and bottom aileron parts just a bit. then insert a piece of .005 plastic card between the two parts at the trailing edge as you assemble then. You then trim this "tab" to the contour of the aileron trailing edge, but let it protrude slightly. This is how the real airplane is, this "tab" protrudes past the trailing edge of the wing about a half inch. It's the same on the rudders and elevators too, as well as half way around the wing tips and horizontal stab tips. I'm not home right now, but I have pictures that show this. I'll try and dig them up later this evening. John

Chuck: I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to add something regarding the radio gear used in the Trumpeter kit and the Cutting Edge replacement for future reference by anyone wanting to build a P-38 from the 1943-45 era. Trumpeter copied the radio equipment that is installed in the P-38L at the Air Force Museum.This installation is nicely covered in the Aero Detail book on the P-38, and a few shots of it are also in Detail and Scale Vol. 58. But, while this an SCR-274N radio set, it is not the set-up seen as used in the P-38. Cutting Edge spruced up this same set with some nice detail additions, but then removed the radio controls on the right sidewall and added an SCR-522A radio set control in their place! A real head scratcher. Here is the set-up used in the P-38 for each radio: Not necessarily a problem for the restored airplane you are depicting, as you can say "We used what we had......" Your finish work is just excellent!

Hi Chuck: Have been watching this thread, some really nice work! Here's a scrap of the Superscale drawing showing how the trailing edge of the aileron is constructed. It's right in the center of the drawing. The ailerons, rudders, and elevators are constructed this way, as well as half way around the wing tips and the horizontal stab tips. The top edge of the aileron is the hinge point, and a piano hinge is used so there is just the piano hinge showing on the top of the wing, as shown in Vandy's picture. The bottom surface has a small gap, as shown in the other pictures. The drawing shows the aileron side view at station 182. Trumpeter totally missed these two items.

Hi Geoff: No, in this case the bottle in question is the tank for the turbocharger oil system, and there's one in each well. John

Hi Jay, I can help you with anything you need on P-38 wheel wells. John Clements