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Col. Olds Scat II, MPM (Academy) P-38J Lightning 1/72


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Hello All. I've had a few laidback months modelling wise and have been slowly chipping away at Airfix's HE 111 which has suffered a series of setbacks, namely a warped canopy straight from the box, which means I cannot continue until hopefully Airfix kindly send me a replacement...

 

Nevermind! After seeing @The Spadgent getting stuck into his P-38 I thought I'd shelve the Heinkel and start a WIP with an MPM P-38 in 1/72, which has been in the drawer for months:

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When I bought this, I grabbed a set of War Birds decals which contained Col. Olds Scat II:

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Col. Olds is a legend and started his combat career in WW2 where he flew P-38's and P-51's and I've always wanted to pay homage to this incredible man. A particular story which has always stuck with me was where Olds shot down an enemy fighter whilst in a glide. This excerpt from Wikipedia details the story:

 

"On an escort mission to Wismar on August 25 1944, his flight was on the far left of the group's line abreast formation and encountered 40-50 Messerschmitt Bf 109s near Wittenberge, flying north at the same 28,000 ft (8,500 m) altitude in a loose formation of three large vees. Olds turned his flight left and began a ten-minute pursuit in which they climbed to altitude above and behind the Germans. Over Bützow, undetected by the Germans, Olds and his wingman jettisoned their fuel drop tanks and attacked, although the second element of the flight had been unable to keep up during the climb.

Just as Olds began firing, both engines of his P-38 quit from fuel exhaustion; in the excitement of the attack he had neglected to switch to his internal fuel tanks. He continued attacking in "dead-stick mode", hitting his target in the fuselage and shooting off part of its engine cowling. After fatally damaging the Bf 109 he dived away and restarted his engines. Despite battle damage to his own plane, including loss of a side window of its canopy, Olds shot down two during the dogfight and another on the way home to become the first ace of the 479th FG."

 

Anyway, let's get stuck in! I started with the office, cleaning the parts and preparing them for my own mix of US interior green, Tamiya XF-71 and FX-4 at a 2:1 ratio:

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I then painted the radio sets and various controls with a matt black:

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Dry-brushed grey and silver then picked out the various knobs and pipes:

IMG_4547_zpsfu6vlwc8.jpg

 

Assembling begins with the seat onto the cockpit floor and I made some harnesses with Tamiya masking tape and sandwich bag ties stripped and bent to make buckles and harness fittings:

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These were then painted:

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Fitting the cockpit walls and test fitting into the main fuselage completed the work for today:

IMG_4552_zpsclkooqjt.jpg

 

Sadly that'll probably it until next weekend as the working week beckons. Hope you've enjoyed!

JB

 

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Brilliant stuff. Glad I sparked something to start this build. :lol: you have over taken me already you swine :giles:. Great back story too. I'll enjoy watching this one come together.

 

John.

 

btw. Love those belts. 

Edited by The Spadgent
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Yep, it's definitely time for a P38 group! 

Can you imagine what it was like sitting in that pod of a fuselage with 2 turbocharged engines roaring and the nose in front of you packed full of.50s and cannons.?

Wow, what a plane!

I love em! 

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Ok, you've got me! I'm interested in Olds and his SCATs too, and that brings me to think more and more about P-38s. I know next to nothing about them, or about which kits to go for and which to avoid, so I'm certainly along for this ride.

 

Justin

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23 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Brilliant stuff. Glad I sparked something to start this build. :lol: you have over taken me already you swine :giles:. Great back story too. I'll enjoy watching this one come together.

 

John.

 

btw. Love those belts. 

Cheers John! Although I do have it much easier without resin to contend with and in the gentleman's scale. I can't attack mine again until Sunday so you'll get a chance to get ahead... B)

20 hours ago, caseyjones said:

Yep, the belts are GREAT.  There is a set of DVDs called "Dogfights".  There is a interview and story with Col. Olds about this day and also his Vietnam tour.

 

Stephen

That's where I first heard about Robin Olds. For those interested, the episode is Air Ambush. I bought the DVD's of both seasons a while back and sometimes have them on for 'modelling company'. Robin's Book 'Fighter Pilot' is a sterling read. I'd highly recommend it for anyone interested in this legend of a man.

19 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Yep, it's definitely time for a P38 group! 

Can you imagine what it was like sitting in that pod of a fuselage with 2 turbocharged engines roaring and the nose in front of you packed full of.50s and cannons.?

Wow, what a plane!

I love em! 

They're easily one of my favorites. I have been putting it off as I wanted to get extra practise in to make the best I possibly can... oh well!

8 hours ago, Christer A said:

The Academy P-38 is excellent!

I have a stalled one somewhere...

Nice start on the office, and those tape-belts are something extra.

The molding is certainly crisp with minimal flashing. I had been looking for the Academy boxed kit for a while but it was out of stock everywhere until I saw the MPM and decided to take a gamble. Appears to be good though so far. Thanks on the office, although looking back at it I feel it needs more weathering. Definitely some floor scuffing and scratches. What do people think?

2 hours ago, Bedders said:

Ok, you've got me! I'm interested in Olds and his SCATs too, and that brings me to think more and more about P-38s. I know next to nothing about them, or about which kits to go for and which to avoid, so I'm certainly along for this ride.

 

Justin

I'm going to do Old's Scat II in olive drab with invasion stripes as that's the one where he made his glide kill. I'll hold off any judgement on the kit until I build the twin booms and attach them to the fuselage but so far so good :)

 

Cheers all, JB.

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Hello all, early start on the modelling front today but no sooner have I started I've hit a blocker :o

I was about to glue the wings together and was merrily drilling holes for the wing tanks when I noticed this in the instructions:

IMG_4579_zps6hbkmxaz.jpg

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Does anyone have an idea as to what this surgery could be for?!! I've checked photographs of the real thing as I wondered whether this might be an antenna threading point but that attaches to the canopy. Could it be for a stand or perhaps a different version of the kit? Hopefully one of you knowledgeable lot have the answer...

 

Cheers, JB

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1 hour ago, airbus320 said:

No worries! It certainly looks like an interesting piece of engineering!

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

And I've just found the ladder in the kit. There is no reference or instruction to it but it's definitely it... I'll have to see if I want it fitted now as I've just sealed the wings.

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Hello JB,

And there is a third Lightninger !!:hobbyhorse:

And you take the lead in what is not a race at all. I'don't mind since I know that mine would be the last entries in the RFI.

Nice job, I really like the Robin Olds bird, nice choice ! :thumbsup:

I remember him telling on an interview "The fighter pilot did'nt see a cloud, but beauty !"

I'll follow too if you don't mind, I picked up a chair, last row on the right side, beside the fridge for my beers :drink:

Have a nice modelling day.

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

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2 hours ago, airbus320 said:

 

No worries! It certainly looks like an interesting piece of engineering!

 

So that looks like a built -in accessory on the plane!?

That's a cool solution to the problem of getting on board a high tailed, high winged machine!

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6 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Hello JB,

And there is a third Lightninger !!:hobbyhorse:

And you take the lead in what is not a race at all. I'don't mind since I know that mine would be the last entries in the RFI.

Nice job, I really like the Robin Olds bird, nice choice ! :thumbsup:

I remember him telling on an interview "The fighter pilot did'nt see a cloud, but beauty !"

I'll follow too if you don't mind, I picked up a chair, last row on the right side, beside the fridge for my beers :drink:

Have a nice modelling day.

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

Not at all Corsaircorp, great to have you along for the ride. Have you managed to get in any modelling today? I'll post my progress shortly :D

 

I've just checked out your P-38 thread and the Monogram kit looks quite nice. I know some think the rivets are a bit over done but I quite like all that detail. As per @spadgent, I wish I'd seen your cockpit reference pics as well; but fortunately I think I;ve got mine down ok. Are you going for Scat II with invasion or without invasion stripes? 

 

Best, JB.

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I've shuffled in on the back row. This looks very interesting :).

 

This P-38 business is quite infectious. I have an old Airfix one (P-38G I think), just in a loose bag, forlorn, no transfers. Raised rivets and so on, but it looks nice. It's lonely.

 

Should I join the madness :hmmm: ?

 

Well, I'm joining in watching this for sure; another +1 vote for the seat belts from me!

 

:popcorn: 

TonyT

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Well what a modelling day I have had! I promised myself I would get some serious bench time in today and I did :D nothing stopped me!!

Mrs wants the car washed... NO! (well ok I did do that considering I used it yesterday and she asked very nicely).

Cats want feeding... NO! (well their insesent meowing finally got the better of me, so I might have done that as well).

Gardening needs doing... NO! (ok well that had to be done as it's green collection week this week).

Dinner needs cooking... NO! (I did get Mrs to do that).

 

Anyway on to the modelling.

 

First up today was to join the two halves of the wings and cockpit together. I had to drill out the mount points for the external wing tanks as I wanted to pay homage to Olds story about forgetting to flick his drop tanks to wing tanks. I also drilled out the nav light as instructed and backed that with some foil ready for the clear plastic bit later:

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You'll see from earlier posts that I wasn't too sure on what the optional cutting points were towards the rear of the cockpit so whilst I waited for an expert BM to tell me what it was for (thanks @airbus320 ) I moved onto the twin booms. Had a glue mishap which dropped onto one halve of the nacelle:

IMG_4577_zpsi5u1zrmn.jpg

 

Damn it. And of course it had to be on the top outer part...

 

Prepped all and fitted the air intake meshes:

IMG_4578_zpskuuaiznq.jpg

 

Then glued together after some dry fitting:

IMG_4581_zpssmgvf70w.jpg

 

Moved onto the undercarriage. Instructions and all the pictures I could see show these as silver or bear metal so reached for my favourite pot of Humbrol metalcote and happily airbrushed away in the man-den:

IMG_4586_zpslvicf3hu.jpg

 

In between coats I glued the two halves of the wings and cockpit together. Before gluing I found it much easier to remove the sprue lugs with my scalpel and sand down using 600 then progressing grades through to 2000 grade W&D. This made for a much better seam:

IMG_4587_zpsitors5og.jpg

 

Multitasking (:o), I went back to the nacelles and fitted the undercarriage bays which you must get in the correct nacelle as they're opposite to allow for the undercarriage supports... I checked and checked again as I really don't want my lightning to look as if it needs the loo with it's wheels facing inwards:

IMG_4588_zpssm0skwr1.jpg

 

I have to say the joins on this kit are great! I did some sanding and some minor filling then glued some of the extra parts on such as the front air vents. Finally took the lot down to the workshop and did a test spray on the seams with some interior green I mixed up for the undercarriage bays after glueing. Here's the results:

IMG_4592_zpsvav6dmsi.jpg

 

And a test fit including external tanks:

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I love Humbrol Metalcote out of the tin, look at the shine on these (spot the ladder):

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That's it for today. Remember that big old finger-glue print on the nacelle? Fortunately a bit of careful sanding has exercised it.

 

Hope you've enjoyed and not long until the long Easter weekend in the UK which means... MORE P-38!!

 

JB

 

 

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Hello JB,

Nice and fast progress on your P-38, I enjoy it.

In fact the Monogram will be a P-38M, and the other one will be Pacific Prowler.

I'll made Scat II later and without invasion stripes.

I just made my first painted stripes last week on my Spit Mk IX, but I must confess that I did'nt like it.

IMHO it litterally broke the lines of the Aircraft that carry it.

So Scat will join my "before the 6th of june ladies"

I think you will be the first in RFI :yes:

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

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22 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Way to Go, Victory!!

Good progress there 

Thanks Rob, I've got the scary canopy to attach next which is always the part I dread... At least If I cock it up I have two options with the Kit. Going for open of course to show off the detail which is really good for stock 1/72.

21 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Hello JB,

Nice and fast progress on your P-38, I enjoy it.

In fact the Monogram will be a P-38M, and the other one will be Pacific Prowler.

I'll made Scat II later and without invasion stripes.

I just made my first painted stripes last week on my Spit Mk IX, but I must confess that I did'nt like it.

IMHO it litterally broke the lines of the Aircraft that carry it.

So Scat will join my "before the 6th of june ladies"

I think you will be the first in RFI :yes:

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

Thanks! Invasion stripes aren't for everyone. I did however enjoy adding them to my Typhoon, I guess it depends on the aircraft as well. They 'suit' the Typhoon IMO. The question is, how neat do I make them? I have read that they were roughly applied before the invasion and Col Olds P-38 would have had them manually applied...

 

We'll on first in RFI; the competition isn't far behind!

 

JB

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Hello dear,

Invasion stripes have really been roughly applied, by hand, brush, roll or anything available

They have been applied on the same 24 hour span for every Aircraft.

So having the stripes neatly and regularly applied on the model is aesthetic of course, but not accurate.

The typhoon is another story, since she receive black and white bands on the undersides well before june '44

It was a measure of self protection against the flack and the Spitfire, not to mention the trigger happy little friends....

It has been said that the Typhoon has the appearance of a FW 190 :lol:.

Easy to laugh about today, but at the time, with some little second as a notice, the decision is only a matter of life or death, so I just say , "ah OK !"

Hope that will help, keep carry on the fine job, well done :yes:

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

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18 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Hello dear,

Invasion stripes have really been roughly applied, by hand, brush, roll or anything available

They have been applied on the same 24 hour span for every Aircraft.

So having the stripes neatly and regularly applied on the model is aesthetic of course, but not accurate.

The typhoon is another story, since she receive black and white bands on the undersides well before june '44

It was a measure of self protection against the flack and the Spitfire, not to mention the trigger happy little friends....

It has been said that the Typhoon has the appearance of a FW 190 :lol:.

Easy to laugh about today, but at the time, with some little second as a notice, the decision is only a matter of life or death, so I just say , "ah OK !"

Hope that will help, keep carry on the fine job, well done :yes:

Sincerely.

Corsaircorp

I see... I suppose it could be mistaken for an FW190 and I didn't realise it was an 'early adopter' of the invasion stripes. Interesting stuff, thanks for the detail but it does leave me with a little bit of a dilemma now; to be historically accurate or neat with the lines. I can already feel my OCD kicking in :o

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Great stuff JB :thumbsup2: 

This kit looks like a bit of a gem, in the right hands of course ;)!

 

It looks like a very enjoyable build and has gone together with very little filler or problem. Oh dear, I can feel temptation to browse the lists of the online model shops... a new kit or more Easter chocolate 🐣,  a very difficult choice.

 

Chocolate wins for now.... I can eat it whilst building an old kit :lol:!

 

I like your metal clips on the spray table; are they adapted from clothes pegs, or a special item? The metalcote looks very good; I haven't had much luck with it, it seems very, very thin indeed; hardly any metal indeed in my tins, but yours looks really dense and rich. Maybe I have duff tins :shrug: ?

 

Keep up the good work, great progress and good pictures :).

 

Best regards 

TonyT

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