TimT

Extraordinary! That's a subtle and complex paint job. Very dynamic all around!

Spectacular build! Those engines look very authentic, and your paintwork overall is immaculate. I'm enjoying this one.

Very attractive. Looks more massive than the scale suggests. Great version of a great kit.

It's good to be done. Thanks for checking in, Jackson.

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Very encouraging! I always feel a little ambivalent at the end of a project - can only see the options not taken and the mistakes made, etc. - but sharing here makes me want to get on with the next one, whatever that'll be.

I know there have been a few of these lately, but here's my interpretation of the P-38G flown by Col. Rex T. Barber during Operation Vengeance, the epic mission to intercept Admiral Yamamoto aboard his punctual Betty. That story has been well told elsewhere, and my (almost complete) build log for this one has a link to a version of it: All the superlatives thrown at Tamiya for their engineering are well justified; build it and marvel at the way the complex layers of the wheel wells build up or the ease with which the wings attach to the booms. My only hesitation at calling it perfect are the decals, which - especially the stencils - feel thick, with too much carrier film that silvers easily. It’s not a cheap kit, and while this oversight doesn’t kill the experience, I was hoping for better. It’s all built as supplied, apart from the Master gun barrels and an Eduard harness. Painting was a long, layered and enjoyable process, although I didn’t accomplish all I hoped, so perhaps in a few kits time I’ll be back for more. Thanks for looking!

Strong result, Andy. The chipped paint worked out well on the wings; in fact, the whole thing looks pretty flawless. It is indeed a great kit.

Thanks, Sky Keg, Luiz and Bell - really glad you like her. Always a celebration to get one done; then it's trying to gather energy to get the next one over the line. For occupying such a small amount of space, modeling is a draining activity.

Looking really good. Really comes to life with the camo in place, and the painted roundels will keep all that lovely surface detail. How beaten up will you make? I know Typhoons could look pretty rough, but all the images of Tempests I've seen seem to be cleaner.

Looks like a great kit, and you're doing a lovely job with it. Thanks for the thorough documentation. I'd be tempted to buy one if I wasn't still wrestling with the 1/32 Special Hobby version.

Thanks everyone - I appreciate your feedback! As far as the exhaust stains go, it was all built up with thin layers of black, red brown and deck tan with an airbrush, with some panels masked off to stagger the stains across the fuselage.

The weathering and chipping look great - you've added a lot of depth and variety to that surface. Nicely done.

This is MJ966, flown by Denys Boudard of No. 340 Free French Squadron (code GW), 1944. The squadron was moved from England – where it provided covering fire for the Normandy landings – to France, Belgium and back again. Apart from all its wear and tear, another distinguishing feature of this Spit was the 50 gallon drop tank it sported. This is Eduard’s 1/48 tooling of the Mk. IX, and It’s hard to imagine a better spitfire at this scale. Eduard attempt a 1/32 level of detail in a smaller kit, minus the engine. Perhaps some sub-assemblies do seem more complicated than they need to be; the exhaust stubs and wheel wells, for instance. But it seems as though Eduard want you to get involved - to problem solve and build at the same time. The smallness, delicacy and precision of fit makes you slow down and appreciate not only this version of the plane, but the plane itself. The Mk IX is a thing of beauty, and this kit does it justice on both a small and large level, from rivets to elliptical wings. I added an Eduard harness - this being the weekend edition - plus their resin/ PE drop tank, and I used Tamiya paints throughout. The codes and roundels were applied using Montex masks, and the stencils were all another aftermarket addition from Eduard. Thanks for looking!

Lovely Lanc - I enjoy the faint panel lines that really give it a sense of scale. Plus it looks great in flight. Bombers aren't usually my subject, but this is inspiring.

A brief update. The upper surfaces are getting close. I keep seeing new builds of this plane (some great ones posted here) and other photos of the original that make me want to keep pushing it further, but it has to stop at some point. There's certainly plenty of smaller paint chips to add, but I'm keen to hear what you all think of it so far. One question I have is about the aerial wire. I can't find a decent photo of the structure that connects it to the cockpit, and although I could imitate other modelers' solutions, I'm curious to know what they're referencing, and how they built it. I've used EZ Line in the past, but there's some other hardware in there that connects the two wires from the vertical stabilizers to a single junction at the cockpit. Again, thanks for following along, and any advice or feedback you can offer is always appreciated.

I'm just building one of these! Great to see one completed so well. Looks very sharp!

That's a knockout Typhoon! Looks like it could be 1:24 rather than 1:48. Very detailed and very convincing.

Wheels painted, with touch-ups and dirt to be applied. With the main construction complete, it was time to gloss coat the thing for decals. This is always an alarming phase; apart from its unappealing shininess, the Olive Drab seemed to get so much darker under the varnish, and all the subtleties I'd worked for disappeared. Perhaps with a matte coat the colour will come back. And so onto applying the transfers – of which there are dozens, mostly small, dark stencils that nearly disappear against the dark green paint. Tamiya have a reputation for making thick decals, and I'm afraid this seems to be true for the Lightning. The stencils stand proud of the surface, and it's a little distracting; Microsol helps, but doesn't completely mitigate the problem. This might be an issue with my application – I never feel confident that I'm putting them down in the optimal way. I might remove some of the less obvious ones if they catch light in a way that detracts from the model. However, under the right light conditions it's still a pleasing effect. Once all the decals are on, I'll seal it with another gloss coat (hopefully helping with the slight silvering on the stencils), then move onto oils and panel washes to complete the portrait. Thanks for looking!

Great, clean looking builds. Excellent job!

Really like it. A fast and pristine model so far. I know N3200 wasn't that old before it went down, but are you going to mess up that immaculate paint work with some weathering?

Spectacular job! I really enjoyed the WIP thread, and the results fulfill all the built up expectations. Such a lovely restrained colour scheme and sense of weathering.

Spectacular job, Mathy. Feels incredibly authentic. Your keen sense of detail and ability to achieve lots of colour variation within a limited range really makes this one of the most exciting versions of the P-38 I've seen so far. Thanks for the inspiration.

Very exciting - it's looking superb. Love the colour scheme of the Sea Hurricane.

Awesome start - and swift progress! Cockpit looks very convincing. Great to see one of these built; I have one I'm saving for when the inspiration hits - seems like a kit that deserves peak performance. Looking forward to seeing more, and thanks for the inspiration.

The wheel wells - complete; they're satisfying mini-kits in themselves, with layers of pipes and struts overlapping in cleverly engineered ways. The doors slot in, and I haven't worried about gluing them yet; they seem to be secure without it. The plane can now sit squarely on its wheels, although the tires will need to be shaved down to imply the weight of it. The weights in the nose and booms keep it balanced. It's getting there. Happy 2020, everyone!