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Vengeance! Rex Barber's P-38G Lightning


TimT

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p-38_b

 

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: 

 

 

p-38_k

 

p-38_c

 

p-38_h

 

p-38_f

 

p-38_g

 

p-38_i

 

p-38_d

 

p-38_e

 

p-38_j

 

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!

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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. 

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I can't understand why so many have trouble with Tamiya decals. They do need to be released using HOT water. Place on model using water, once in place used either Tamiya

Mark Fit strong or Gunze Mr Mark Softer to soften decals. That's it.They snuggle down beautifully!

Hope this helps,

George.

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As others have said, Tim, excellent build and the painting and weathering are fantastic!  I just checked out the build log for it and was interested in how you achieved so much of the weathering effect through the painting process.  It was very useful for me.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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  • 2 years later...

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