shortCummins

ABT420 was stippled and then wiped off leaving some of the colour in the tyre treads. The Quickboost resin machine-guns were painted with MRP-149 gunmetal and then dry brushed with MrColor 076 burnt iron. Both counterweights and pitot tube were added. One of the most satisfying parts of any build is removing the canopy masks. The open canopy parts fixed in situ. Finally both propellors pressed in place. Next I’ll be braving the cold to take some RFI photos. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

502 Abteilung oils were stippled as a base for the exhaust stains… ABT002 sepia ABT420 cream brown ABT510 starship filth All three oils were dotted and stippled as a base layer for the stain… …this was left to dry overnight and then ABT165 faded white was dotted and stippled to the front and centre of the stain. I’d previously painted the exhaust and turbo charger pieces with base colours of LP11, MRP-167 light earth, MRP-241 dark gunship grey and MRP-241 dark grey… …these pieces were stippled with more oils… ABT002 sepia ABT020 faded dark yellow ABT505 coagulated blood ABT510 starship filth …and then the pieces were fixed to the airframe… Next I’ll be adding the remaining bits’n’pieces. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

thanks Chris I don't want to sound like a broken record but I can 100% recommend this kit, the engineering is made with modellers in mind. The only "bad" bit is the undercarriage door supports need to be added earlyish in the build and as they are quite thin you need to either be very carful or make some form of protection. I'm also impressed with the HGW rivets, certainly for this NMF scheme, I think they add so much, although if I do it again I'll leave off the air scoops before added the rivets. thanks Pete I've tried to restrain the weathering on this one, still overdone? but I think I'm getting nearer to the subtly I, believe it or not, aim for. My favourite colour name is a Farrow & Ball paint, it's named "elephants breath", that must have been named after the marketing guys had been down the pub! thanks Mark the stains and muck around the fuel fillers would have been far less if I'd been able to use the HGW transfers as the Tamiya decals have carrier film that becomes really noticeable if I smush the oils too much, the oils don't want to stick to the carrier film. If I'd sprayed a varnish over them they might have behaved better, another thing to try on my paint mule when I get 5 minutes. rgds John(shortCummins)

To complete the “topside” weathering I turned my attention to the ailerons, and the cockpit area where muddy boots and greasy hands would have left muck and dirt The same 502 Abteilung oils were used in a similar method, dots of colour, stippled and then streaked. ABT002 sepia ABT020 faded dark yellow ABT420 cream brown ABT510 starship filth Starship filth was used along the movable aileron surfaces… …faded dark yellow was stippled around the fuel caps, to try and simulate spilt fuel… …“dots” of all 4 colours were added to the cockpit area stippled and blended to simulate the buildup of accumulated dirt… …first stipple/blend… …second stipple/blending after first round had been allow to dry for an hour or so. Next I’ll be attempting the exhaust stains. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

thanks Keith I "normally" tend to go over the top with weathering, often a case of not knowing when to stop and/or lack of skill being able to "fine-tune" the effects, I think I'm getting better and the more I practice the "more comfortable" I think I'll become? rgds John(shortCummins)

For the weathering on the underside I used 4 502 Abteilung oils ABT002 sepia ABT020 faded dark yellow ABT420 cream brown ABT519 starship filth “dots” of each colour were applied, stippled and then “streaked”… Next I’ll be finishing off the topside weathering. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

thanks James I'm getting the hang of oils now, I really like the way you can create "layers" of dirt (or whatever) whilst not completely obliterating the underlying paint and detail rgds John(shortCummins)

thanks Dan I'll be stealing this method when I (finally) get around to my Hasegawa Sea King rgds John(shortCummins)

To start the weathering I wanted to chip the antiglare panels, this was achieved with prismacolor silver pencil and brush painted vallejo metal color 77.701 aluminium… I wanted to give the effect of “faded” paint on the antiglare panels, for this I used some 502 Abteilung oils. ABT525 ghost grey “dotted” on… …which was then blended with a dry brush… …the same process was used with ABT240 cream brown… I think the effect is very subtile, is show up more IRL rather than in these photos. ABT510 starship filth, my favourite, was used to simulate dirty, greasy hand prints… …and fuel spills. Next I’ll be continuing with the weathering. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

Both propellors were given a “base” of Tamiya LP-11, the tips masked and given a base of MRP-231 pale roundel red. The idea behind using “pink” as a base for the yellow is that it should really make the yellow “pop”? According to the Eduard P-38J over Europe decal instructions the propellor spinners were different colours… Therefore one of the spinners was given a base coat of MRP-231 also… …followed by a coat of MRP-122 marking yellow… …the yellow tips were then masked and MRP-017 AMT6 Russian black was used as a base colour from the propellors, other spinner and back parts of the spinners… …a light coat of MRP-205 eggplant grey was them misted over the propellor blades towards the leading edges… After a hour or so I chipped the propellor blades, more heavily on the back… …the spinners were also lightly chipped… Both propellors were then assembled… …and test fitted to the aircraft. Next I’ll be making a start on the weathering. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

looking good Dan how did you make the sheepskin seat?, its very convincing rgds John(shortCummins)

ha ha thanks Keeff I don't know how I managed to do everything when I worked full time? SWMBO has a very, very long list of "little jobs" that won't take 5 minutes just in case I get bored the really good thing about grandchildren is that you get to give them back rgds John(shortCummins)

The resin wheels were given a coat of MrSurfacer 1500 black and the “hubs” masked and sprayed with Tamiya LP-11… …masks removed… …”hubs” masked… …the tyres were sprayed with a base colour of MRP-173 tyre rubber… …followed by a light mist of MRP-77 NATO black… …some thinned MRP-205 eggplant dark grey… …and finally the masks were removed and Tamiya panel liner black used on the tyre side of the rims. Next I’ll be dealing with the propellors. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

The “insides” of the landing gear doors were given a “base” of Tamiya LP-11 and weathered in a similar fashion as the wheel wells, MrWeathering multi black and greyish brown stippled on to simulate mud and muck that had been thrown up by the wheels… Despite 81-er’s warning I managed to break off one of the door struts… …I had protected them with some cardboard strips however I removed the protection and then immediately dropped the aircraft!, one of the supports flew away and was eaten by the carpet monster. I may try and replace it with some stretched sprue, or ignore it if it doesn’t show too obviously? The landing gear was painted with LP-11, with Tamiya X-1 gloss black, applied to the shock absorbers… …I tried to apply the kit supplied chrome decals, they wouldn’t conform so I painted them with a chrome paint. Next the oleo torsion links were attached and the struts fitted into the landing bays… …nose gear has a really “positive” fit… …wheel well doors attached… …here is the “missing” support strut… I’d like to praise Tamiya (again) for the way they’ve engineered this kit specifically for the wheel well doors. Previously, I’d built the Hasegawa’s P-38J, and managed to fit the booms to the wrong sides!, the main thing I remember from that build was how much of a pain it was to fit their wheel well doors, they were really flimsy and I never did get them to “sit correctly”? So, when Tamiya have made them this way… …with large location tabs that “slot” in firmly, you could easily get away without glueing them in place, I just wanted to share what exceptional engineering looks like. Another thing to make the modellers life easier is each door has its “number” moulded into its tab. Next I’ll be looking at the aftermarket resin wheels. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

After a delay, almost 3 months!, due to sickness (a bad bout of manflu), fitting a “new” bathroom (my wife said it’ll only take you a week or so, 6 weeks later…), Christmas, New Year, running away to Cornwall (I can’t resist any excuse to go back there) and various grand-parenting duties, school nativities (3 of them), pantomimes (2 of them, one in Nottingham and one in Windsor), I can finally get back to this build. So, I’d added the “main” Eduard decals and removed the carrier film, to be honest I can’t really see any difference however when I get to “weathering” the film may have been more obvious? There are a few stencils that I want to add, fuel cap markers and “no step”, these are from the Tamiya supplied decals unfortunately no removable carrier film… I’m in two minds about applying a clear coat, Aqua gloss is my clear coat of choice, as I’m not sure if the NMF will loose its “metallic” look, however a gloss coat will protect the decals, also using enamel weathering products, panel liners, MrWeathering colours, oil paints etc. may effect the NMF? I think I’ll experiment on my paint mule and then decide. While I decide I think the next thing for me to tackle is the landing gear? until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

I've just caught up with this, its going to be another fantastic build rgds John(shortCummins)

that's an interesting idea Paul I've found this photo... ...I've head good things about the new(ish) 1:48 Airfix kit and at around £30 is very tempting rgds John(shortCummins)

Hi KingTiger I built an 1:48 Airfix MkI last year... Troy and others supplied lots of "reference" information and photos during my build that you might find helpful... rgds John(shortCummins)

Have I mentioned I’m not keen on decals?, whenever possible I prefer to use paint masks, usually Montex. My “issue” with decals, transfers as some of us old farts still think of them, is often the carrier film is quite thick and you have to blend them in, usually by adding layer(s) of varnish and then sanding, however as this is a NMF blending in is not really an option. So for this build I’ve a set of HGW P-38 “wet transfer” and the Eduard “peelable” set of P-38J’s over Europe. Once again I’ll have to wait for these to “cure”, 6-8 hours for HGW and 24 hours for the Eduard decals. I started with the Eduard set, and I must say that I’m really impressed with them. Each decal was submersed in tepid water for 10 seconds, MrMarkSetter applied to the area I wanted to place the decal, and then I used a Q-Tip rolled over the decal to both “fully bond” the decal to the paint and to remove excess fluid from under the decal. Here the decals are set in place, I’ve not removed the carrier film at this point… I had a couple of mishaps. The “Little Buckaroo” decal, even though I thought there was plenty of MrMarkSetter applied, the decal wouldn’t move once I’d applied it, so it’s a bit too far to the right, this might be an issue when I add the “tally” decal? …the other mishap was one of the tail numbers folded up on itself… …however, I managed to cobble together the number from others in the same set, the 8 is slightly wrong and I’m not convinced they all line up?, still I’m reasonably happy with the outcome. I had planned to use the HGW “stars” but when I tried to use them they wouldn’t release from the backing paper, gentle persuasion resulted in this… So, it looks as if there’s a problem with the HGW set, Matt McDougall “Doogs” mentioned that he’d had a problem with this HGW set, he didn’t say what his problem was but I assume it was the same sort of thing? I’m guessing that the HGW P-38 set had some sort of production run problem(s)? As the Eduard set doesn’t have any stencils, I’m left with the choice of either using the Tamiya ones or not applying any, I haven’t made up my mind. I also have to decide if I need to try and remove the carrier film from the Eduard decals, at this point I’m tempted to leave “as is” however the carrier film could become noticeable when I start weathering? I’ve applied a couple of the "spare" Eduard decals to my “mule” and try removing the carrier film to see how they behave. I've also added a couple of Tamiya decals, I plan to try the "white sprit" carrier film removal trick however as I believe Xtreme Metal paint are enamel based the white sprit could effect the paint? Next I’ll be applying the remaining decals and probably the stencils? until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

Hi Kitchen Modeller I would have not added either the pylons or boom intakes... ...this is because I had to cut the HGW transfers carrier film to fit around them, it would have been easier with them not fitted. rgds John(shortCummins)

Looking at the Little Buckaroo scheme there are a couple of other colours on the nose of the aircraft, red and dark iron (or black?) I masked for the red nose, MRP-250 Richthofen’s red… …I'd used Tamiya flexible tape and obviously didn’t get it sealed enough, so I used liquid mask to mask the red and then resprayed the aluminium. After the masking mishap with the red I decided to brush paint the dark iron/black, I used MrMetalColor MC212 iron. Not my best work however I’m hoping that I can tidy it up (hide) when I add some weathering? I also “fixed” the damaged NMF on the boom. Next I’ll be applying the HGW wet transfer and Eduard “peelable” decals. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

MrColor H52 olive drab 50/50 MrLevelling thinner was used for the anti-glare panels. Firstly a very rough “marble” layer… …followed by a “blend” coat of a slightly more thinned H52. I’m not sure why the masking tape removed some of the aluminium colour? The masking tape was “pre-used” therefore de-tacked and was slowly removed, not yanked off, the aluminium was painted 24 hours previously. Next I’ll be repairing the NMF. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

thanks Pete those rivets were worth it thanks James once I've added more weathering they shouldn't look so stark? thanks Chris I'd guess that brush painting requires thicker, more layers to get them to look even?, and as these rivets are really just small dots of paint the chances of them being swamped is quite high. HGW suggest, in their instructions, that you use high grit wet and dry to sand back the paint to better reveal them, you'd have to be very confident to try that! rgds John(shortCummins)

To try and give some subtle variation to the airframe I lightly over-sprayed various panels with different shades of Xtreme metals. AK478 white aluminium, AK480 dark aluminium andAK482 duraluminium. AK488 matt aluminium was sprayed through a “mottle mask” to give the impression of wear/scuffing where the crew would have clambered on the aircraft. Next I’ll be applying the anti-glare panels/paint. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

Now that I’d applied the rivets it’s time to see if the paint will obliterate them meaning that I’ve wasted my time last week? A “base” coat of AK Xtreme Metal 479 aluminium was applied… …a closer look… Apart from the “setting” time, 6-8 hours, the only “problem” with the HGW rivets is that, I’m sure it was my fault, there was some glue residue left, I thought I'd removed all of it with a moist Q-tip however I missed some… …easily fixed by gently rubbing down, my “generic” sanding stick was labelled 1500… …and AK479 reapplied. I’m really very happy with how the HGW rivets have come out, if/when I build another of these, or any other aircraft HGW make a rivet set for, I’ll definitely be using them. Next I’ll be adding some different aluminium “shades” to add interest to the airframe. until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)