Fork. Tailed. 1/48 Tamiya P-38F Lightning

[Habu12]

OOB, Sky decals.

[Cellarfrog]

Really nice work. Great weathering. 

[Smithy]

Spectacular job, it looks amazing 👍 👍

[ErikB]

I love it! 

[Stephen]

Beautiful.

[TimT]

That's a really great build and paint job, and it's nice to a scheme other than the one supplied with the kit. I'll be chuffed to get a result half as good as that.

[Tbolt]

Really nice build there, the weathering looks great.

[Jackson Duvalier]

Looks nice!  Sky decals have always worked well for me.  I'm still plugging away with the endless kit-supplies stencils.  😔

[Habu12]

Full write up:

Tamiya P-38F/G Lightning

Box

Packaging/Decals/Pubs: 9

Although Tamiya’s instruction sheets have been industry standard for decades, they’re due for an upgrade. More color, and 3D graphics have permeated many others by now. Having said that, the stalwart nature of the sheets make them easy to read and follow. So I might just contradict myself here. At any rate, the decals DO need an upgrade, and many would agree.

Sprues: 10

Absolutely zero flash. Superbly molded, and parts gates are state of the art. However, the attachment points on a mating surface, particularly on wing leading edges can be a pain to remove perfectly enough so that you don’t have to use filler.

Shape: 10

I find no issues here. Perhaps the Lightning illuminati will find something wrong, but I don’t see it.  

Subject/Cool Factor: 9

Second only to the Mustang, the Lightning is of course another favorite. Its importance is also not argued.

Engineering: 10

Tamiya took this subject to the next level, just as they did with their Spitfire. While there’s no direct comparison to an earlier Tamiya release, it does render the old Hasegawa kit obsolete. At least for an early Lighting, so far. Not hat the Hase kit is bad at all. The fidelity of the engineering makes it a breeze to build. There’s no alignment issues at all. That’s not something that can be said for the Hase kit. The integration of ball bearing nose and nacelle weights make it easy to sit on its gear without issue, It does take away the ability to detail the nose gun bay. I imagine aftermarket companies will work on this, and make a set that incorporates noseweight.

BOX SCORE: 48

BUILD

Fit: 10

Absolutely superb. No issues.

Detail: 10

Detail is fantastic. Without a doubt, the most detailed 1/48 P-38 to date. Most notable is the detail inside the wheel wells. More busy and accurate than any other P-38 kit. The cockpit is fantastic, and much like the Spitfire, an aftermarket option isn’t really necessary.  

Effort: 10

No issues. A complete delight to build..

Value: 9

$60-75 is something we expect to pay for the F-14 kit, a much larger and more complex aircraft. It’s not unexpected. Costs are just not going to go down. But when you can get a Mustang kit for $20 less that has this level of excellence.. A tick off.

Fun Factor: 10

This was an absolute delight. Enjoyed every minute of it.

BUILD SCORE: 49

Add it all up and the D score is…97 out of 100

Another exquisite kit from the best in the biz. What else is there to say?

[binbrook87]

Fabulous! I love the subtle weathering. Just right. Great job 👍

[RMCS]

Lovley 

[Robert_]

Looks awesome-well done. I finished this one last month and just ordered my second kit. It really is an amazing kit and most likely the best engineered kit I've seen. Thanks for sharing. 

[Habu12]

I really hope this trend continues. Well, two trends. a) I hope Tamiya makes more warbirds, and b)they retool their older warbirds like they did with the Spitfire. I think the Corsair and Thunderbolt are ripe for that.

[kapam]

A beautiful build!

While my personal preference is 1/72 aircraft, the online buzz whenever Tamiya releases a new 1/48 kit is hard to miss.

You have certainly more than met expectations on this well-regarded kit.

Very inspiring.

[chris148]

Very nice indeed 

[Harry Callahan]

Great looking P-38. Well done

[F-32]

A true work of art!