Backdating the Trumpeter P-38J to a P-38G - Paint me like one of your French planes, Jack.

[ChuckD]

Words cannot express how good it feels to start laying down paint on this project.  It's not perfect.  I could have done more sanding, scribing, filling, riveting, etc, etc, etc.  But at the end of the day, this is for fun and not for profit, so at some point I had to recognize the balance between perfection and progress.  

 

After cleaning up the last of the divots around the windscreen, I primed, pre-shaded, laid down a silver under coat on certain areas, and added a chipping medium.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, I laid down the first light coat of MRP OD green.  They were followed by a thinner coat that was tinted w/Tamiya yellow-green and white to add a fading layer.

 

 

 

 

Next is base coating the underbelly - but by this point today, I'd been wearing the respirator mask for too damn long and the bridge of my nose was just aching.  More to follow - hopefully tomorrow!

[brahman104]

Looks fantastic Chuck! 

 

Craig

[ChuckD]

Hey, thanks, Craig!  I am flattered by comments from any of the guys here, but you in particular have been an inspiration over the years. 

[MikeMaben]

10 hours ago, ChuckD said:

Words cannot express how good it feels to start laying down paint on this project.  It's not perfect.  I could have done more sanding, scribing, filling, riveting, etc, etc, etc.  But at the end of the day, this is for fun and not for profit, so at some point I had to recognize the balance between perfection and progress. 

 

Like your reasoning Chuck 

 

10 hours ago, ChuckD said:

 I'd been wearing the respirator mask for too damn long and the bridge of my nose was just aching.

 

Oouuch !!! 

[ChuckD]

4 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

 

Like your reasoning Chuck 

 

 

Thanks, Mike.  I didn't mention the other reason I'm pushing to get this done - I just pre-ordered the HKM A-20 Havoc and I want to be ready when it arrives.  It's an insta-build for me. 

[Troy Molitor]

Looking fanatic Chuck.  Great to see some OD on her.  

[Bstarr3]

Just caught up on this thread - nice plastic surgery!  I would never have enough patience to bash together this kit like you have.  And it's really come out nicely.

[ChuckD]

Thanks, gents.  I'm currently hemming and hawing on which paint scheme to do.  As if didn't have enough time to figure that out already... 

 

I realized the one I'd kinda settled on was an F model and I'd already build the G model's intakes and canopy setup.  Soooo, back to the drawing board.  I'd really like to do something with the shark's mouth motif on the nacelles, but I'm still working through exactly how ill tackle that.  

[ChuckD]

Okay... After much deliberation, I've landed on this aircraft, P-38G 43-2339.  It would later be named "Old Ironsides" when it was resurrected from the scrap heap and put back into service.  

 

 

It doesn't have the shark mouth motif I originally wanted, but it was a 339th FS bird based at Guadalcanal, which fits better with my other builds thematically.  It's interesting and will present a few challenges in that it's got bald tires (a thing with Guadalcanal aircraft, apparently), heavy oil streaking, and quite a bit of residue left over on the nose from the sealing tape.  That alone will be an interesting thing to tackle.    

 

I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so I'm hoping to make some really solid progress on it and hope to have a good update soon. 

[Woody V]

15 hours ago, ChuckD said:

It's interesting and will present a few challenges in that it's got bald tires (a thing with Guadalcanal aircraft, apparently), heavy oil streaking, and quite a bit of residue left over on the nose from the sealing tape. 

Don't forget the bullet hole.

[Oldbaldguy]

15 hours ago, ChuckD said:

Okay... After much deliberation, I've landed on this aircraft, P-38G 43-2339.  It would later be named "Old Ironsides" when it was resurrected from the scrap heap and put back into service.  

 

 

It doesn't have the shark mouth motif I originally wanted, but it was a 339th FS bird based at Guadalcanal, which fits better with my other builds thematically.  It's interesting and will present a few challenges in that it's got bald tires (a thing with Guadalcanal aircraft, apparently), heavy oil streaking, and quite a bit of residue left over on the nose from the sealing tape.  That alone will be an interesting thing to tackle.    

 

I'm taking the day off tomorrow, so I'm hoping to make some really solid progress on it and hope to have a good update soon. 

Wow.  A leaky right prop seal, a bullet hole in the nose, a nearly flat right tire with a hole in it, one drop tank and a GI sitting in the shade doing nothing.  Nothing screams AAF in the Pacific like that photo.  What a great shot.

[Bstarr3]

This looks like a cool subject - I love the beat to s**t planes of the Cactus Air Force.  

[ChuckD]

2 hours ago, Bstarr3 said:

This looks like a cool subject - I love the beat to s**t planes of the Cactus Air Force.  

 

Same.  Big fan of everything to do with that whole campaign.

 

Well, as promised, I spent a good chunk of the day at the bench and made good progress.

 

First, I had to fill and sand the Res-Kit wheels to replicate the bald tires on the subject kit.  Tamiya putty to the rescue!

 

Repeat the filling and sanding a couple times and you have a set of wheels that closely mimic the picture.  

 

I spent a bit of time masking the panel lines on the nose for the sealant residue.  I then sprayed a super thinned mix of Tamiya X19 Smoke mixed with a touch of XF1 black.  Here it is after the application.

 

 

Once I unmasked it, I felt it looked a little stark, so I dulled it down a bit with more OD green (in this case, I've used MRP's OD green for the top coat).

 

I felt that achieved the look I was after without being too over the top.

 

I then stenciled on Lockheed's constructor number on the nose.

 

And installed the gear doors.  You can't see it in this pic, but I scratched up a very quick and dirty actuator for the nose gear door as the kit doesn't account for it in the slightest.  It's not much but it'll add some visual interest when it's done.

 

The serial number was added to the tail.

 

And I spent a considerable amount of time working on chipping.  As with my Ki-45 from a few months ago, this is a mix of masking fluid and hand-applied chipping.  It's a little bit stark at this point, but I think further weathering will blend it a little better.  

 

 

 

In all, she's starting to look like the subject image!

 

Next, I'll gloss the whole thing, get some decals down and start with weathering proper.  Still hoping to knock this out by the end of the weekend!

[brahman104]

Love it Chuck!

 

Craig

[Troy Molitor]

Super cool WIP.  Love it.