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1/32 P-38L "Kicked Up A Notch". Jan 15/16: FINISHED!


chuck540z3

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Chuck,

By the way... I have learned a lot from your build threads, and a few others here on LSP. So much so that I have been inspired to start a thread myself. I am building a Revell 1/32 He-162. Haven't done much lately because of work, but will continue to post as I progress.

 

I am a big fan of showing not only your work, but explaining it in detail as you go. I believe plastic modeling is loosing steam here in America and slowly dying. Forums like this, where people can learn, and advance their skills with good mentoring from guys like you(and me) will help keep fledglings interested. It may also inspire new people to buy their first model, knowing they have a place to go for advice.

 

My wife put me in contact resently with a young man (18 year old and going off to college) in her web game group that has just gotten into models and loves it. Unfortunately his dad knows nothing of models but is supportive of his son's new hobby. Via emails, I have taken him under my wing and we are working on basic skills, and I am explaining various things about, paint, glues, sanding etc. I have also provided him with links to my favorite forums and builds. A copule of yours were in there.

 

So keep up the good work! I appreciate you sharing your experience with me and the rest of the group. I hope anything you learn from me may be at least half as valuable as what I have learned from you.

 

James B

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Chuck,

By the way... I have learned a lot from your build threads, and a few others here on LSP. So much so that I have been inspired to start a thread myself. I am building a Revell 1/32 He-162. Haven't done much lately because of work, but will continue to post as I progress.

 

I am a big fan of showing not only your work, but explaining it in detail as you go. I believe plastic modeling is loosing steam here in America and slowly dying. Forums like this, where people can learn, and advance their skills with good mentoring from guys like you(and me) will help keep fledglings interested. It may also inspire new people to buy their first model, knowing they have a place to go for advice.

 

My wife put me in contact recently with a young man (18 year old and going off to college) in her web game group that has just gotten into models and loves it. Unfortunately his dad knows nothing of models but is supportive of his son's new hobby. Via emails, I have taken him under my wing and we are working on basic skills, and I am explaining various things about, paint, glues, sanding etc. I have also provided him with links to my favorite forums and builds. A couple of yours were in there.

 

So keep up the good work! I appreciate you sharing your experience with me and the rest of the group. I hope anything you learn from me may be at least half as valuable as what I have learned from you.

 

James B

 

 

Thank you very much James.  Glad I could help!

 

 

Well boys, I took James' advice and dry fit the wings and booms together to see what the problem might be and how to fix it.  NOW I know why modelers reinforce the wings!  It's not a strength thing as much as a dihedral error if you don't, which also causes wheel alignment issues with the booms.  Here's a pic of the right wing from the front.  Note the alignment issues of the wing and landing gear.  BTW, I have good reference drawings of the front of the P-38, which shows that the inner wing and outer wing are roughly on the same plane, not bent at the booms.

 

 

Dihedral1.jpg

 

 

On the right wing, there is a nasty gap on the inner side of the boom....

 

 

 

Dihedral2.jpg

 

 

 

On the left wing, much the same.

 

 

Dihedral3.jpg

 

 

But this time the big gap is on the outboard side of the boom.

 

 

 

Dihedral4.jpg

 

 

 

The fit on top is really quite good, so no issues there.

 

 

 

Dihedral5.jpg

 

 

 

So, here's the plan, much like what some of you guys have done already:

 

1)  Reinforce the upper wing to "pin" the dihedral correctly

 

2)  After gluing on the lower wings, glue the booms into place, BUT make sure the wheel alignment is also correct on each side

 

3)  Repair the gaps as required, which should be even bigger on both sides of the boom than the pics above

 

 

BTW, why the suggestion to NOT use CA glue?  I have a theory, but I want to make sure.

 

Thanks guys!

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CA does not make a good joint when expose to twisting and bending. CA works best on joints that would be pulled directly apart. Think of the guy in the crazy glue commercials hanging by a drop. Strong joint while gravity pulls him straigh down. But if was to start bending his head side to side, torque load would break the joint. Some people glue fuselage halves together with CA. Very strong and fills gaps. But if you were to twist that fuselage just a little, joints could break. I am sure you have had some similar experience.

 

I am rough with my models as I build, so I avoid CA for anything but gap filling, PE parts, and tiny details. Plastic to plastic is always liquid cement first, epoxy next, CA last. Major joints never get CA. Liquid cement makes the best joint as it welds two peices into one. Epoxy is strong, but you have to prep the mating surfaces to provide "grab", you have to mix epoxy, it's messy, and you waste alot by usually mixing more than you use. You can thin epoxy with alcohol to make it more brushable, and you can clean away excess with alcohol also, before it cures of course. 30 minute epoxy gives you work time also to get the joint just right. It takes a day or two for epoxy to fully cure, but then it is indestructable. I even use epoxy before CA on PE and tiny bits unless unavoidable.

 

I do use CA sometimes in combination with epoxy and liquid cement though. When using a slower curing adhesive, leave a little dry spot for a tiny spot of CA. Gluing a horizontal tail as an example. Brush 90% of the mating surface with epoxy, and the rest with CA just before mating(or tack with tiny spot of CA, then use liquid cement). The CA cures quickly, acting like a clamp to hold the tail in place in alignment. However, the epoxy(or liquid cement) provides all the strenght when cured. I use this technique all the time when building balsa planes. However, I use wood glue in place of epoxy.

 

James B

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By the way, you are right, the p-38 wing should be straight all the way out. No change at all in dihedral from centerline to wing tip. And wing thickness tapers evenly from centerline, through the booms, on out to just before the end of the wing. There, you will see that the bottoms of the wing tapers up to meet the top of the wing. Just the last two feet or so.

 

James B

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Just for info, the only picture I have of my P.38 where the dihedral can be appreciated, shows that the reinforcement did the job:

 

DSCN0591-vi.jpg

 

I also confirm that I used epoxy glue to bond that reinforcement to the wings; CA just helped to position everything in the right place.

Alberto

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July 7, 2015


As modelers we sometimes wish we had done certain things ahead of time, because installing or changing parts later can be very difficult, if not impossible without making a mess.   This is the case with the navigation lights, which are tiny bits of clear plastic that are supposed to fit in small holes in the wings and rear vertical stabilizers.  The kit parts have a hole for these lights alright (Parts # K-12), but they have a large raised lip around where the light is supposed to go and the hole isn't nearly big enough.  This thin lip is way too big for scale and if you can't see it from 16 feet away on the real deal, you shouldn't be able to see it from 6 inches away at 1/32 scale either.

The solution for both problems is to sand the lip off completely and carefully widen the hole, BEFORE the wing halves are glued together.  Here's a pic of the lower wing halves, with the unaltered port side on the right and the corrected starboard wing with navigation light dry fitted on the left.  This pic also shows the tiny lights on the very thick clear sprue at the top.  Getting these lights off the sprue cleanly without losing one or two is VERY difficult!



Navlights1.jpg



Here's a pic of the upper starboard wing tip, unaltered.  There's no way in heck that light will fit in there.



Navlights2.jpg




With lip sanded off and hole widened with a #11 knife tip and thin round file, the light fit is much better and will now be a “drop in†at the end of the build.



Navlights3.jpg



Now I wish I had done the same thing to the vertical stabilizers before gluing them together, but if you sand and trim the hole carefully, you get the same effect.



Navlights4.jpg



Now back to those crooked wings, which sag at the booms.  As many other modelers have done on this kit, I reinforced the wings with a brace.  Some have used metal parts and others styrene, but I thought the perfect solution might be ordinary plastic chopsticks.  The chopsticks I used are light and flat on one side, but they are quite strong and are flexible.  They were easily cut and sanded down at the tips to fit, much like ordinary resin parts.

To glue them to the upper wings, I didn't use CA glue, because it might crack under flexing stress (thanks James B. for the tip!) and I didn't use epoxy glue either.  I used ordinary “GOOP†for household use, which is a very strong but still flexible adhesive and sealer that is clear.  It takes longer than epoxy cement to dry and cure (up to 72 hours), but the results are exactly what I need.  GOOP “sticks like snot to an oven doorâ€, so these chopsticks aren't going anywhere and the wings will be allowed to flex a bit when I install the booms.  Note that I sprayed the chopsticks black underneath the superchargers, so that they can't be seen later from the top through the thin gaps on either side of the supercharger.



Chopsticks1.jpg


Another view from the front, where the dihedral of the wing now looks straight and correct:


AFTER:


Chopsticks3.jpg



BEFORE:


Dihedral3.jpg



The dry fit of the wings earlier gave me my first opportunity to calculate how much lead I will need in the engines and the nose to keep this bird from being a tail sitter.  The answer is, a LOT, so I can't think of anything better to glue the lead pieces securely than more GOOP.  I squeezed some of it into the engines, which I left open at the top, then placed the lead pieces on top, followed by more GOOP to create a solid mass that won't ever move.



Goop1.jpg



You may have noticed in the above pics that I already installed the Masterdetails resin superchargers into the upper wing.  Although there are no instructions for these parts, they fit nice and snug from underneath, but are a very hard to install from above, as with the kit parts.  Further, they can be glued from underneath so that you don't see any glue marks.  Also recall that I painted the sides of around the superchargers black earlier, which would also be scratched if the superchargers were installed from the top.

Before painting the superchargers, I checked many, many reference pics.  Wartime superchargers are generally quite rough looking with lots of rust and staining, while brand new ones are almost entirely clean steel.  My hanger queen subject has them painted flat black to the rear collar, then a combination of steel and black.  I left mine all steel at the rear, because I wanted to show off the fine features of the Masterdetails resin- and I just like it that way!



Supercharger5.jpg



Next up, the wing halves get glued together along with the flaps and ailerons, followed by the lower fuselage in the middle.  The booms will go on last, which I already know will give me fits as I strive to keep the landing gear straight.  I HATE kits where the landing gear must be installed early!  The painted parts scratch during construction and you can't alter the gear alignment without a struggle.  We'll see.

Thanks for checking in.

Chuck

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hi

 

great job ( as usual) ...Now , you know why this reinforcements are needed ......I too hate these gears glued early , it's so easy to break them during the build , that  happened to mine ....

Alain

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Chuck, you're a master. I always make sure to read your threads as there's so much good stuff in there. Thank you for taking the time to post such detailed walkthroughs, it makes the hobby richer for all of us!

 

Cheers

Jim

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July 15/15

 

 

Thanks Guys!  I really appreciate the words of encouragement.

 

 

Another small update.  Maybe boring, but I want to document every important step- and this one is VERY important, as you will soon see! 

 

Before you glue the lower wings and bottom fuselage to the top wing, you need to install the 4 flaps and the ailerons to the upper wing.  I made up the flaps and ailerons months ago and I applied some black lacquer primer to the inside edges, which will be very hard if not impossible to paint later after assembly.  When you glue the little hinges into the slots in the upper wing, made sure the flap or aileron is flush to the top of the upper wing before you commit to CA glue.  Once the hinge slots are filled with CA glue, there's no turning back.  So far so good. 

 

After the flaps and ailerons were installed, I dry fit the lower wings.  The fit wasn't too bad, but then again, this is a Trumpeter kit.

 

I then dry fit the lower fuselage over the inner flaps and things did not fit well at all.  The flaps would not move hardly at all, so I started to sand down the tight fit, when it occurred to me:  “Are the flaps installed in the right location?† Checking the wonderful Trumpeter instructions, they were no help, because there is no detail or other hints to give you some guidance as to which flap fit where.  You're just supposed to know, even though I made them up months ago.  Looking at things a bit closer, the light bulb turned on:  “The flaps are all glued in left to right and vice versa!!!  AGGGGHHHHH!!!â€

 

Upon further inspection, there is a slight angle to the side of the flaps, allowing the flap to fit tightly with the wing parts while still being able to move with the dihedral of the wing.  With the flaps flipped left to right (all 4), they were now binding with the wing.  Briefly, but only briefly, I actually considered leaving them as is.  With some sanding and tweaking, I could make them work, but the gaps and fit would always be poor- and wrong.  Time to suck it up and correct the problem.  This problem occurred very easily, so I highly suspect I'm not the first one to encounter it, because the error is not glaring.  What threw me is that the upper surface of the aileron has a lot of rivet detail, while the bottom of it is fairly plain, so I did the same with the flaps, keeping the extra rivet detail up top.  I now know that it should be on the bottom, opposite of the ailerons.  BTW, the ailerons are correct, because during assembly the hinges are glued into place, unlike the flaps.  Had the flap hinges been glued during assembly, this problem would never have happened, because the hinges have a hook that can only face in one direction- the correct direction.

 

I tried a number of methods to get the flaps off the hinges without breaking fragile plastic parts and what finally worked was to use a small thin flat screwdriver to pry the side of the hinge off the pin on one side of each flap.  Surprisingly, it worked very well and nothing broke or was scratched and the hinge did not bend out of shape.  WHEEEEEW!!!

 

So here is a pic of how things should look attached to the upper wing.  As mentioned already, a coat of gloss black lacquer was sprayed to the inner edges of the flaps and ailerons to making painting these areas a lot easier later.

 

 

Flapsinstall1.jpg

 

 

 

With the lower wings and fuselage dry fitted, the flaps and ailerons now move freely.

 

 

 

Flapsinstall2.jpg

 

 

 

And fit nice and flush with the wing and fuselage braces when retracted in the up position.

 

 

 

Flapsinstall3.jpg

 

 

 

Before I glue everything together, there's an area on the wing that still needs a lot of work.  The landing/taxiing light lens at the front of the left wing is fairly crude and it fits into a chunky fitting at the front of the wing.

 

 

 

Landinglight1.jpg

 

 

 

 

As with many parts of the wing halves, panel lines do not match very well, so I have a lot of filling and re-scribing to do.  The raised shroud around this light was sanded down earlier top and bottom, because it was way too high for scale.  The landing light lens doesn't look too bad at the bottom when installed.  With a little work, I can get it to fit flush and correct the panel line flaws…..

 

 

 

Landinglight2.jpg

 

 

 

But the top, which you can see all the time, shows that big tab at the top of the lens.

 

 

 

Landinglight3.jpg

 

 

 

A closer look.  Pretty sad- and where the heck is the LIGHT!?  Trumpeter does not supply one- just the crappy lens.

 

 

 

Landinglight4.jpg

 

 

 

So I have quite a bit more work to do before I glue the wings together.  I'm going to trim the inner wing and remove the upper lens tab, then clean up the lens and add a nice light behind it.  This could take a while!

 

Thanks for checking in.

 

Chuck

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Chuck,

Really appreciate you taking the extra time to document this build.  I started my own Trumpy in January and your processes and recommendations, even the tools you use, have taken my own building to another level.  Not your level but a substantial improvement for me!  

 

I also appreciate the NON-condescending responses you provide to everyone's comments.  I have seen many others that seem to be a bit big for their britches and instead of helping a fellow modeler, they belittle them and make them feel stupid.  You have never done that and it is appreciated.  GREAT BUILD! :wow:

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Chuck,

Really appreciate you taking the extra time to document this build.  I started my own Trumpy in January and your processes and recommendations, even the tools you use, have taken my own building to another level.  Not your level but a substantial improvement for me!  

 

I also appreciate the NON-condescending responses you provide to everyone's comments.  I have seen many others that seem to be a bit big for their britches and instead of helping a fellow modeler, they belittle them and make them feel stupid.  You have never done that and it is appreciated.  GREAT BUILD!

 

 

Thank you sir for those kind comments.  I try- and as far as not being condescending, it's pretty hard to look down from your high horse when you're sitting on a Shetland pony!   ;)   There are way better modelers than me in this forum and almost every tip I pass on, I learned from others.  A good example is the wing reinforcement.  I saw that many other modelers used braces for the wings on this kit for "added strength", but I thought that after assembly the wings were strong enough.  Well, it turns out the real reason to add a brace to the wing is because they sag, so I'm glad I was given a heads up before I glued everything together.  That's why I made a big deal about the flaps to make sure they were installed in the right position.  It's a very easy mistake to make and after looking at a few other builds from underneath, I'm pretty sure they made the same error.  If I can help others avoid it, they will learn something as important as I learned about the wing bracing.

 

This build is on ice for a few more days as I try to enjoy our very short summer outdoors, but that little light and lens in the left wing is really drawing me back.  I love little problems like that, because I know they are fixable and I enjoy the results when everything comes together.

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