Beazer Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 This kit is mint and supposedly was Tamiya's best to date. I like the later model Lightnings so I'm going to attempt to mod a Red Roo FR kit to fit on this girl. The camoflauge is really abstract for a P-38 and the scalloped top/bottom paint will really make this stand out. Aside from some aftermarket seats and wheels this will be OOB. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Another great choice, Id love to build one of these but the cost is prohibitive for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 I used the resin pieces to make an approximate size and location on the Tamiya kit parts for where the modified nose windows would be. The right side as noted in the instructions were noticeably smaller in reference photos. I used a razor saw to cut the angles and then some very thin plastic and for the nose section, cutting the hole out as depicted. I cleaned up around the edges and once I prime I’ll put some clear thin plastic on and most likely use a sharpie on the inside to get that blue-purple black sheen. It seems to work the best in test pieces. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 The earlier lightnings used a somewhat similar interior colour that was akin to the RAFs interior green some even had a form of olive drab. I chose to use a raf interior grey green however to get a slight yellow green tinge as if to get an American approximation or half n half I used vallejos dark green wash. It works great, as if they had a touch of the early zinc chromate mixed in. Purely conjecture as to correct but It seems logical IMO. once it’s all sealed up I’ll be able to move forward with all the landing gear bays and bare metal. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Lightnings are one of my favourite aircraft, but it is the English Electric one! However... every time I see one of these I begin to remember how good these were and how different they look. I built a few Airfix ones in my youth. This one is coming along very well, and with that conversion set it will be even more interesting. All the best, Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 This looks like a good follow! Really interested to see this one take shape. as for the tamiya kit, not my scale but it appears to be good enough to change my mind from what I’ve seen of other builds! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Shouldnt the RP38 be an F5? This is on my build list but only for fun as it doesnt fit to any of my themes. Looks like great work so far Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 I'm so glad someone is doing this... and it looks like it will be done very very well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 10 hours ago, Colin W said: Shouldnt the RP38 be an F5? This is on my build list but only for fun as it doesnt fit to any of my themes. Looks like great work so far Colin Actually they weren’t F5’s. They were actually P-38 E’s converted to approximate F-4A standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 Got the booms and alot of parts ready for priming and installed some "glass" on the FR parts hoping the shape and kristal klear will hold them. SHould be able to close up the fuselage soon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 USAAF OD and Neutral Gray applied. My idea was that the Aussies just sprayed over instead of disassembling half the plane for paint. So some will be evident when I spray the final colours. I’ll assemble those booms and brass the intakes. I also need to cover the gun ports with bare metal foil and prime them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 Shaping up well, looking forward to seeing the paint work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 very nice choice and work!!! I've done the same conversion but with the old Academy model, but I do want to do it again with the new Tamiya version. Mine was A55-3, and yes the "scolloping" was fun to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Gotta say what tamiya did with the landing gear doors was ingenious for making painting easier. I have to do a little seam cleanup on the booms and then should be able to lay down more paint. I too can’t wait for the scalloped paint job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Big Update: Its finally been painted its initial coat of N41 OD. I sprayed the replaced Panels USAF OD and Neutral Gray as well as painted the Drop tanks USAF OD. I figured the drop tanks wouldnt have been repainted. I noticed in some photos that they had a straight demarcation line and I'm thinking if the Aussies had redone them that they would have did them in a similar fashion as the fuselage. Also my original plan was to foil over the gun ports but then again I noticed in some reference photos that the outline wasn't even visible. Therefore I've just been puttying them up closed and will make them smooth. I'm Using USAF Green for the forest green and experimenting with Tyre Black for the rubber. This looks a little too green to me but I'll see how the finished result is. I've been working on the superchargers and need to get them to look a bit more flat as the metallic is still showing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 Some intense masking session. The scalloped paint is a pain. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 Paint on and touched up. I really wish there was just a paint mask for this kind of stuff. Cant wait to weather this bad boy up. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Very nice,...... I do like these Aussie F-5`s,...... yours is coming along really well. What are the colours that you have gone for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, tonyot said: Very nice,...... I do like these Aussie F-5`s,...... yours is coming along really well. What are the colours that you have gone for? They technically weren't F-5's. They were P-38E's which were converted by the RAAF to approximately F-4A Standard. I primarily use Vallejo paints but I used the N41 Dk Olive Drab and the USAF Green for the colours with Sky Blue underneath. I used USAF Olive Drab and Neutral Grey for the replacement flap. The FS colours are Sky Blue FS 25550, Foliage Green FS 34092, and Olive Drab FS 34088. They replaced the leading edge which was replaced from USAAF stock and furnished in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. Edited March 31, 2021 by Beazer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 6 minutes ago, Beazer said: They technically weren't F-5's. They were P-38E's which were converted by the RAAF to approximately F-4A Standard. I primarily use Vallejo paints but I used the N41 Dk Olive Drab and the USAF Green for the colours with Sky Blue underneath. I used USAF Olive Drab and Neutral Grey for the replacement flap. The FS colours are Sky Blue FS 25550, Foliage Green FS 34092, and Olive Drab FS 34088. They replaced the leading edge which was replaced from USAAF stock and furnished in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. Nice one,.... thanks mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 Had a bit of orangepeel happening with the gloss coat so there's a couple areas im worried about. Its strange as I had next to no issues with the others I did. Not keen on using that Vallejo stuff straight out the bottle again. Anyways, decaling has begun and next will be the stencils. I like the looks of them but not how time consuming they are. I always wondered if these type of lend lease a/c had them just painted over or if they reapplied them for safety measures and the ground crew. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted April 16, 2021 Author Share Posted April 16, 2021 Those streaks are from my qtips pulling up the gloss coat. Im hoping that goes away when I put on the final flat coat after the weatherings completed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted April 20, 2021 Author Share Posted April 20, 2021 I ended up just using muscle and stripping that gloss coat and fixing the paint. Gonna redo some weathering and seal it up today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 and finished... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Interesting you've gone from Recon to Night-fighter prototype ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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