DMC Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 I did a little work on both of these kits last year and then got side-tracked on another couple of projects. They were gathering dust on a shelf until resurrected after Johnny suggested perhaps starting up a P-38 "thing". The Minicraft kit will be, upon completion, back-dated to the XP-38 and the Monogram kit an F-5E. I borrowed the F-5E nose from the Minicraft kit as the Monogram/Revell kit only had the "droop snoot" and night fighter options. I'm going to concentrate on the Monogram kit first as the XP-38 will require quit a lot of plunge and vacuum moulding and I'd like to at least try and get F-5E finished first. The Minicraft nose is a close fit on the Monogram kit after a little surgery. Same with the boom intakes which IMHO have a better shape than the originals. Out came the clay again as I needed a couple of spinners to mate up to the Minicraft boom intakes. I had to dis-member the Monogram prop to fit the blades into the new spinner. Cheers Dennis 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crossofiron1971 Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Nice start sir! Can't beat a good modification! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 6 hours ago, Crossofiron1971 said: Nice start sir! Can't beat a good modification! Many thanks, Young Sir, you are a gent. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 The coolant radiator inlets on the kit are in need of a little modifying, There is a narrow gap between the cowling and the boom and then the larger opening to the radiator. Once again I borrowed from the Minicraft kit and after a little work with a scalpel and file, it fits and is a big improvement. Three more to go and then it's the outlets, not forgetting the radiators which can be seen through the openings. Apparently, the outlet door is closed in flight and opened while on the ground. Cheers, Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 You are making this look far too easy,..... certainly way above my own skill level!! Good luck and I`m looking forward to following your progress, Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 8, 2017 Author Share Posted April 8, 2017 Just not showing the bits that didn't quite work out the first time. Thanks, Tony, determined to finish this one. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 The coolant radiators in the booms are really quite thick, about a cm in 1/48 scale. Rather than try to fit a solid piece to fit the curvature of the housing, I used a couple of baffles but even so it took a bit of fitting to get them right. The baffles can barely be seen from the inlets but are visible through the outlets. I'll use a bit of beer can foil for the flaps. [/U Some years ago I was into aviation art, WWll aircraft for choice. This P-38 painting, about 24x36" was one of my early ones. I painted quite a few, some pretty complex. I stayed with it for several years but finally had to admit to myself that my stuff was just not good enough. Still, I really enjoyed the whole experience but, for the life of me, I can't remember what I did with them all This set-up was for a painting that never got painted. It was a 1/72 Hasegawa kit, as were the jeep and figures. I think it was to be titled "Mount Farm Morning". Pity I wasn't up to it, might have made a good painting. I'd project the slide onto tracing paper of the correct size and trace the outlines. I'd transfer the outlines to the canvas and then draw in the details. I'm not making the Academy P-38 but, if I was, this set-up by Paul Budzik might prove useful. http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/P-38 Alignment/academy_p-38_alignment.html Cheers, Dennis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 2 hours ago, DMC said: Some years ago I was into aviation art, WWll aircraft for choice. This P-38 painting, about 24x36" was one of my early ones. I painted quite a few, some pretty complex. I stayed with it for several years but finally had to admit to myself that my stuff was just not good enough. Still, I really enjoyed the whole experience but, for the life of me, I can't remember what I did with them all I'm not making the Academy P-38 but, if I was, this set-up by Paul Budzik might prove useful. http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/P-38 Alignment/academy_p-38_alignment.html Cheers, Dennis Dude, seriously?! Not good enough?? That painting looks awesome. And to tell by the work you're putting into this model, it could have only gotten better! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 15 hours ago, Thom216 said: Dude, seriously?! Not good enough?? That painting looks awesome. And to tell by the work you're putting into this model, it could have only gotten better! Thanks for that, then, Thom(?). It's just one of those things: when you know, you know. I always held up my work against one of the more successful artists and I was seldom satisfied. Really appreciate the comments. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 Looking at the wheel wells, it's quite obvious no wheel would ever fit up in there. So a couple of strips of styrene to act as guides and a few passes with the scriber and we've opened things up a bit. I don't intend to go crazy here, just a little wiring and piping and we're done. I think I will spring for resin wheels, however. Cheers, Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 Nice start on the mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 On 12/04/2017 at 0:50 AM, Thom216 said: Nice start on the mod. Well, Thom, thanks again. Favourable comments, and likes, are always appreciated. Cheers, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 The turbo I scratched for the XP-38 Minicraft conversion is a bit big for the Monogram kit. The Minicraft boom is that mucht too wide. Started on a couple of smaller ones to fit the Monogram kit today. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 In the reference books I'm using there are several good photos of the F-5E's camera bay. I thought that I might open the hood and make an attempt to replicate the look of the K-17 and K-22 cameras and accessories. This the nose from the Minicraft kit, a close fit but it needed a little work to get it right. The hood from the Minicraft kit is a little thick so out came the clay and balsa again. The styrene is .030 and is just about thin enough after moulding. A second moulding will provide for the internal bracing. Decals for the photo reconnaissance P-38s, or F-5Es are pretty thin on the ground. Still looking, however. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 I don't seem to be able to finish one piece of this kit without seguing over to another part. I realized that I wouldn't be able to close up the top and bottom fuselage without doing something about the cockpit. That lead to the kit canopy which is a bit crude and a poor fit. Out came the clay and balsa again and I fashioned male and female moulds of the three pieces that make up the canopy. I plunge moulded each piece using plain white .030 styrene. The styrene is reduced in thickness to about .020 after moulding so it's not too thick. Using white styrene gives me some idea how good the moulded pieces are. In this case I think I lucked out and won't have to bother with making any more moulds. The cockpit sides of this Monogram kit are curved and have a slight dip in profile. They should both be dead straight and the roll-up window(?) flat. I used a bit of scrap from the kit to flatten out each side and eliminate the dip. I'll be leaving the window down and the hinged middle section open in order to see down inside. Not much to see, however, even in 1/48th scale. Cheers, and thanks for looking Dennis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Nice work, the new canopy mock-ups look like they fit exceptionally well. Looking forward to watching this develop. Cheers, JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcmmodels Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Nice kit-bashing, and well done on the scratchbuilding in the interior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 (edited) This is coming along brilliantly,....as for decals,.... there was an Aeromaster sheet for Photo Recce F-5`s, Mossies and Spits in 1/48th, Rising Decals did a similar sheet but I think that it was only in 1/72nd. It might be worth asking here on BM whether anybody has the F-5 option from this kit going spare?; Don`t know whether these are still available?; http://fineartofdecals.com/goodies/148-treasures-allied/ Cheers Tony Edited April 30, 2017 by tonyot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 15 hours ago, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said: Nice work, the new canopy mock-ups look like they fit exceptionally well. Looking forward to watching this develop. Cheers, JB Thank you, JB, good to read a positive reply 14 hours ago, bcmmodels said: Nice kit-bashing, and well done on the scratchbuilding in the interior. Wow!, all the way from Kansas yet. Thank you. 14 hours ago, tonyot said: This is coming along brilliantly,....as for decals,.... there was an Aeromaster sheet for Photo Recce F-5`s, Mossies and Spits in 1/48th, Rising Decals did a similar sheet but I think that it was only in 1/72nd. It might be worth asking here on BM whether anybody has the F-5 option from this kit going spare?; Don`t know whether these are still available?; http://fineartofdecals.com/goodies/148-treasures-allied/ Cheers Tony Thanks, Tony, there's one on eBay even as we speak. Terrific decal link. Spent some time drooling over all the options. And for anyone interested in recon P-38s there are these: http://www.33rdprs.photorecon.org/html/aircraft/P38intro.html http://www.modelingmadness.com/others/conversions/gar38rec.htm Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Well, I really let myself in for a lot of extra work when I decided to open the hood on the camera bay and show (as best I could) the Fairchild aerial cameras. The pressed reinforcement web is non-existent on the Minicraft hood and completely wrong on the Monogram one. Nothing for it but to carve out one from a .060 duplicate of the thinner .030 outer panel. Finding a good reference photo of the complete inner panel took almost as much time as carving it out. Should be able to do the starboard panel in about half the time, however. The blister came out pretty good but I doubt I'd be able to do a neat job of fitting a sliver of "glass" in the opening. I've plunged another blister out of PETG clear sheet and I think that will work out okay with a bit of tape to mask off the clear opening. I've also plunged all of the canopy sections out and I'll post a photo of the results as soon as Photobucket stops messing me about. Cheers, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 Darn!, Photobucket can be infuriating. I had to sneak this image thru the back door using my old PlayBook. The windshield came out okay but you don't get very crisp edges with plunge moulding. I tried cementing a length of copper wire around the edge and there was some improvement but I reckon to get a really good edge I'd have vacuum-form it. And, besides,the wire came out when I removed the clay mould from the styrene. I've a spare windshield moulding so I might try sanding it to improve the edges and then try polishing it out. All good experience. Except for a little dust pimple on the aft part, the rest of the canopy came out pretty good. Cheers, Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Uncool Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Wow... Dennis, I've learnt more about scratchbuilding techniques from your build threads than I've ever learnt from books. Watching at your build threads is like reading an encyclopaedia on scratchbuilding techniques. Thanks for sharing, my good mate! Unc2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Great work! Those clear parts look pretty damn good. I'm using postimg.cc now. Far less advertising and much nicer to work with than Photobucket. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 2 hours ago, Uncle Uncool said: Wow... Dennis, I've learnt more about scratchbuilding techniques from your build threads than I've ever learnt from books. Watching at your build threads is like reading an encyclopaedia on scratchbuilding techniques. Thanks for sharing, my good mate! Unc2 Hello Uncle, thanks for tuning in. Pleased you like my work but to be honest, we are learning together. Cheers Dennis 29 minutes ago, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said: Great work! Those clear parts look pretty damn good. I'm using postimg.cc now. Far less advertising and much nicer to work with than Photobucket. JB Thanks, JB. Really should do something about photo posting. Looked at most of the options some time back but it seemed like a case of "better the devil you know". Now I'm not so sure. Took a long time to get the these last two photos posted. I'll look into postimage.org, again I think. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 Had a look at my P-38 builds that I set aside a year ago last April. Can't remember why I stopped work on it but it might have had something to do with that Photobucket self-harming business. Anyway, started tinkering with the bits and ended up spending a few hours (days) on refining a few things. First up was a reworked turbo. The grey one is from the Minicraft kit and the black from the Revell. As the cooling fan that sits on top of the turbo has blades that would be impossible for me to replicate I removed it from the Revell turbo and cemented it to new turbo disc.. A bit of spru formed the tube-like forward part and the waste gate was shaped from styrene tube. Reworked the webbing that fits inside nose panels and tacked the bulge onto the left-hand panel. Might test fir a clear bulge onto a spare panel and then tape off the little window and prime it just to see how it comes out. Started work on the cameras that will fit inside the bay. I've found a few photos that show other installations but not this particular set-up. I'll keep looking but will probably improvise. Turbo looks ok in the boom. Quite a nice build of a recon p-38 in 1/72 scale: http://www.drivefly.it/gallery/lockheed-p-38-lightning.php Black and white photo is of the XP-38. Amazing looking airplane for its time. I expect most P-38 aficionados know the story of this airplanes ultimate demise on a golf course in New York after attempting to set a coast to coast speed record. Can't begin to imagine what Lt Ben Kelsey felt like when he was given the keys to this beauty and told to try for a record. Kelsey survived the crash but of course the P-38 didn't. Kelsey had an interesting life. Flew anything going it seems. https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/lockheed-xp-38-lightning/ I've fitted the streamlined cowling and extremely pointed spinner (looks as thought touching the point could draw blood). The XP-38 was buffed to a chrome-like finish. Not sure of the best way to achieve that look but I been looking into various NMF methods. I'm quite keen to complete this build. Thanks for looking Cheers Dennis 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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