ironman1945 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Russ AAARGGHH! I just realized that I forgot to add the small scoops that you pointed out in your picture, the ones on either side of the booms...your pic says not to forget them if you leave the engine out. AAAARGHHHH. There is always one more piece.... But hey, its looking mighty sweet, and I hear you about buying another. I already have an extra in the stash, along with a JR conversion to make it an earlier version. I'll get to it... sometime... in the next 10 years or so... after having some therapy caused by the swine like radiators.. Dave/Ironman1945 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Wheeeew, I WANT one of those conversions. How do you like it? Yeah, ask me how I know about thse little scoops. I dug thru my trash retrieving all those thrown away sprues trying to find some non-existant pieces that were actually part of the engines. That was fun. While waiting for what little dissolved putty I had to put on the seams dried, I went ahead and did up the gun-nose and whittled on my resin tires/rims. Resin stuff is oh so slightly bigger in diameter. Jury is still out on whether I'll use the vinyl or resin bits. Here's a pic to show what I mean by looking 'under-inflated', and not flat on the bottom from weight. I've already shaved one down to see how it would look. And the nose wheel. I'll probably use the kit wheel for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 On the gun nose, I added a piece of styrene tube to 'sleeve' the 20mm gun, and make it look more finished. The kit .50's come with the 'sleeves' around the barrel, and don't have the perforations. Most pics of new P-38's have these sleeves over the barrels, but it seems as soon as they hit the field, they were taken off. I want the perforations, so I borrowed some barrels from a Trumpeter Bearcat. These barrels didn't have the tips I wanted, so I drilled and cut off the P-38 guns to place on the Bearcat barrel tips. 'J' model P-38's still had the gun camera in the nose, so I drilled that out while in this area. Here's a pic. Should have some pics of the start of the paint-job later on tonight. That's all for tonight. Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Hey, Russ. Am having a great time following your progress, as always: really enjoy your energy! One comment: It's hard to tell from your photos but, in case you weren't aware, there is a definite "sidedness" to P-38 propellers. The outboard prop tips travel downward, if I remember right. In some of your more recent photos, it looks like they might be swapped left for right. And if I've miscalled this, it wouldn't be the first mistake I've ever made! P-38 prop pitch Also, a fun link: 21st Century Toys did a 1:18 display model of an aircraft from the same(?) group. Here's a pic: 1:18 P-38 Haleakala II Cheers! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Here is a start up link Russ. I think John is right. Cool to watch anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Yep, I'm aware the props rotate towards the wing-tips. Pics above are only test-fit shots, and I was only interested in my prop shafts being centered,....not which way the props rotate. P-38 now has a base-coat of 'faded olive-drab', with another spray of regular 'olive drab' to make it appear weathered. Neutral Gray already shot onto the bottom, giving me my demarcation lines...so it looks like a P-38 now. Been doing a lot of masking for the dragons, so it's been covered in tape for the last couple of days. Got the green snakes done on all the booms, and masking off the red mouths tonight. Been working on my digital 'practice' P-38 to get my colors right, and the placement of the snakes correct. Here's an idea of what I've been shooting for. Still don't have 'Panty Waste' written on it( I haven't decided the colors for that yet...probably yellow), and I'm still experimenting with my nose-art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 Haven't decided on a squadron tail # yet either. That'll be in white,...probably '15' or some-such. Lots of masking and drying time between colors for these snake markings, so I'm taking my time. Most pics of the AC in this squadron I've seen, are loaded out with only one drop tank....usually on the starboard side. I'd love to put some bazooka tubes on this, but it just looks so much better un-cluttered. Nuther view of how my dragons are gonna look. Should have some progress pics of the final paint-job in a few days. Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Alright! Decided to post some pics of this lump with the beginnings of the dragon markings on the tail. This is where I was yesterday, before I put the white teeth/eyeballs/ and zillions of yellow rectangular 'outline markings' on the snakes. Whoohoo! Slowly getting there on these markings; here's some in-progress pics. Managed to work a little but of fade into the OD finish, and I can't wait to give it a good wash to bring out some details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Other side. Snakes look kinda vague without the yellow 'outline demarcation rectangles', and no teeth or eyeballs....but I think ya'll get the idea?! Oooooh, these were a hoot to paint. Hmmm, can almost see some cockpit detail here.....but, meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Lemme step back a bit. Tape is on the trailing edge to keep me from rubbing the paint off there. I've had to pick up/put down this model about a kazillion times taping up those dragons. Different view; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 This is what the pilot finally morphed into. Don't have quite 2 weeks into this yet, but my attention span usually goes kaput at about 3 weeks....so I want to have this done and out the door by this coming weekend. Rounding 3rd base and heading for home! More pics as things progress! Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted April 13, 2009 Author Share Posted April 13, 2009 Here's a pic I put in the beginning of this thread. Wanted to show what I meant about the yellow 'demarcation rectangle' for the outlines of the snakes and it's mouth/tongue. Had to do these in a couple of stages, cuz they're guaranteed to make yuh go 'duhhhhh' after the 1st hundred or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 That is really cool. Nice OD. The dragons look perfect and when you get the eyes and yellow on it's really gonna pop. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 You know, I've been wearing the paint off the exposed edges of my builds since forever, and not once did I think of covering them with tape! Russ, you're a genius! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vvwse4 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 Hi Russ, Looks great, dragon really stands out already, cannot wait how it looks yellow outlined. If those guys back then knew we would make their planes they would have kept things more simple I guess.... Keep up the good work my friend. Rick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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