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Lockheed P-38E - 1/48 Academy


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**EDITED - MODIFIED PHOTOS A FEW POSTS DOWN**

Here is the RFI for my Lockheed P-38E that I entered in the P-38 GB with.

My struggles can be found here in the build thread -> http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234979510-lockheed-p-38e-dag058s-academy-148b/page-3 #

Thanks for looking. As always comments or questions are very welcome!

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Edited by DAG058
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It looks really great and I`ve always had a soft spot for these N.African based P-38`s,.........but isn`t the the upper wing star on the wrong wing and of the wrong type compared to the boom stars?

I do hope that I`m wrong on both counts and that it was a feature of this particular aircraft,

Cheers

Tony

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The story behind the star in the wrong wing goes that the pilot was taking part in a non-stop 1500 mile transit flight to Oran, Algeria. Their planned route took them across the Bay of Biscay, near the northwest corner of Spain, down the Portuguese coast, through the Straits of Gibraltar, and then to Oran. On November 15 at 0630 the fully-fueled Lightning took off from Chivenor Airdrome in Land's End. After a half hour of low-level flight, the pilot felt a slight jolt - one of his 150-gallon belly tanks had fallen off. After calculating his fuel and looking at his maps, he estimated that he could reach Gibraltar. However after having to avoid bad weather he realized that he had to cut loose from his flight and head toward land; he was just too low on fuel. As he turned back east, he further realized that he wasn't going to make Gibraltar. He would have to choose between ditching at sea or landing in Portugal or Spain. Recalling that the Portuguese were not quite as Axis-oriented as the Spaniard, he was relieved to spot an airfield near Lisbon.

Even although Portugal was a neutral nation the pilot was to be interned. His aircraft was to be aquired by the Portugese Air Force and was refuelled by them. A Portuguese pilot asked him to explain the controls. As the Portuguese aviator sat on the wing and hundreds of people milled around, another Lightning came over to land. The crowd headed toward the new arrival.

Suddenly the P-38 pilot saw his moment for an escape and threw the throttles full forward. The Portuguese aviator tried to reach in to stop him, but the Lightning picked up speed and the propwash blew him off the plane. He managed get away and returned to Gibraltar. Upon being reunited with his squadron it is believed the Star was repainted onto the wing that the Portuguese aviator was sat on in order to return it from a "Neutral" Air Force and back into American hands.

Edited by DAG058
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've decided to do some modding. After my friend Tony pointed out the position of the star on the wing I did a bit more digging. There was a few varying accounts of the story above but nothing with much substance about the star. Therefore I've decided to play it safe and return it to the normal position. As Tony mentioned it was the incorrect star as well, I was following the decal call-out from the manufacturer, if anyone else has this set please beware!

Thankfully I hadn't sealed the decal in with too much varnish and it was only acrylic. A quick soak in micro set and sol and it lifted relatively easily.

Here are some photos, feel free to comment, and cheers Tony!

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Edited by DAG058
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Oh it looks much better now,...sorry for picking you up but now that you`ve changed it you`ve upped it from being a nice model to a great model!

I quite fancy building one of these myself as I like the N.African based P-38`s,

All the best

Tony

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