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Over-paid & over here - 453rd Museum P-38 Lightning; a build for recovery


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Not feeling quite so perky today - nothing to worry about; it’s still early days and my body has taken a bit if a hammering.  So I decided to do very little other than go for a quiet walk and them read books about the 8th Air Force.

 

Therefore nothing to show you - though I did spray a coat of chipping fluid on top of yesterday’s lacquer silver (which looks amazing dry, by the way; definite food for thought when it comes to the P-51D, which will be NMF.

 

Interior green and yellow chromate tomorrow. 

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40 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Not feeling quite so perky today - nothing to worry about; it’s still early days and my body has taken a bit if a hammering.  So I decided to do very little other than go for a quiet walk and them read books about the 8th Air Force.

Quite normal, Crisp.. The fuel pump did take a knock so there's bound to be a period of recovery while the rest of the body adapts.

Steady on! 

I'll follow along if you don't mind :)

 

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Been away from the bench for many months and just catching up now. So sorry to hear you joined the heart attack club but glad you are making a recovery. The stamina and confidence do come back with time. This project looks just the ticket to help with that.  I joined the club in 2014 which led to me taking up modelling again. It was a massive help.

 

Best wishes

Richie

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Interesting Crisp, hope you're feeling a little better today, R & R is the order of the day.

 

Regarding the undercarriage bays, a source over at LSP, (quoting a former Lockheed man) says 'P-38s never had Interior Green or Yellow Zinc Chromate wheel wells. Up through the P-38G, the wheel wells were aluminum lacquer. From the P-38H through the P-38J-15 (even the P-38J 10s and 15s in NMF) the wheel wells were Neutral Grey. From the P-38J-25 through the P-38L they were unpainted aluminum. Although another poster says that the L model could be seen with neutral grey too, so there is some confusion there. All very difficult without photographic evidence of the particular aircraft you're building. Another factor is that Zinc Chromate could have been applied for protection prior to shipping or in the field having arrived at their units.

Interestingly, P-38F 'Glacier Girl' was apparently restored using the original paint found on the aircraft, including aluminium (with a small amount of Chromate Yellow primer in some areas), applied to the gear bays. From most of what I've read so far, it would seem that the F and G models left the factory in this colour but I'm certainly no expert on this aircraft and I'm sure, due to the numbers built and wartime conditions, there would invariably have been variations on this. I'm going to have to dig a bit deeper before starting mine, methinks.

 

Edited by general melchett
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On the other hand... [both photos taken from the Squadron/Signal walkround no.30, of which I found a complete pdf copy posted online]:

51058567186_d23a02f696_b.jpg

51057846033_c6a5871fcc_b.jpg



HOWEVER...

This is a P-38-LO, the first production variant, taken in California in Autumn 1941; incontrovertibly aluminium nose bay door:

P-38 LO California 1942


...and this is a P-38H taken at Wittering in late-43 or early 44.  Could be grey or aluminium, but a stretch to see this as Chromate Yellow:

P-38H Wittering 1943-44

[Both photos found unattributed on the interwebs - though I note that both appear in the Squadron/Signal book, so may have been put up on the web by the same guy who posted the book pdf]

 

Since mine is to be an F and is therefore straddled by these two, I think I’ve seen enough - especially since I am trying hard NOT to do my usual trick of disappearing down research rabbit holes.

 

Aluminium it is.

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32 minutes ago, Teuchter said:

With a coating of mud, by the looks of the second pic....

True. So it can be any colour, really.... 😜

 

Ciao 

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Another brief session today; enough to squirt some Gunze Sangyo Aqueous H058 US Interior Green at assorted cockpit parts that were given a Tamiya Lacquer LP-11 base on Friday and some AK Worn Effects fluid (posh stuff to spare Mrs Crisp’s hairspray) yesterday.  
 

The engineering of this kit is intriguing, in that it breaks from the conventional cockpit first mantra that we’re all so used to: some of the cockpit is done now, but adding the seat, radios and stuff is almost the last thing you do.

 

Anyway.  ‘Murican-style cockpit colour; to be detail painted, scratched, highlighted and generally messed up in the coming days:

51059685206_fefbf6222b_b.jpg


More soon as I gain strength!

 

Crisp

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Watching with interest.

 

Really glad you are up and about, but take it easy!

 

Can't afford to loose a good instructional build on this kit.  😜

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Hi Crisp, sorry to hear about your medical set back, hope the nurses in the sickbay looked after you? I wish you a speedy return to full health.

An interesting build, which I might well have overlooked if it hadn't had your name on the header.

 

Popcorn at the ready.

 

Colin

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Shocked to hear of your woes, glad to see you beat the grim reaper off, looking forward to seeing you step outside your comfort zone, I have to do the same every now and then just to come back and appreciate proper Naval Aviation!

 

All the best and crack on!

 

Bob

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Progress with the P-38F cockpit; at this stage only the control wheel to add - the seat, armour plate, radios etc are right at the end.

 

After market efforts are available for this kit, but I have to say I really wouldn’t bother.  This is 100% Tamiya.

51073863731_e6e380097a_b.jpg 51073863721_1552040169_b.jpg

 

More soon

 

Crisp

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Well what a surprise to see you undertaking this one, and what a great start you have made. So glad to see you are "on the up" after what must have been a very scary interlude. I have an long standing friend (only just turned 60) who last year suffered a similar, quite serious event. He is well post op and all that went with that, and appears to be running on all cylinders again. I hope your recovery continues well Crisp, I really do.

 

Meanwhile, it feels a bit odd seeing you build such machines, but what a great cause. Carry on sir!

 

Terry

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And now with the cockpit tub glued onto the underside of the fuselage / nacelle.  The main spar (which includes the bulge for the nose wheel) is not yet glued.

51074366361_a89f114730_b.jpg


Even at the sort of magnification that usually has me hiding behind the sofa it still looks pleasing:

51005188125_000866a560_b.jpg


Here the same bulge seen from underneath; everything in this photo is dry fitted; the fit of this kit is ridiculously good.

51074366366_4b3867831b_b.jpg


More soon

 

Crisp

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Looking fantastic, that cockpit is soo good. 👏👏👏👏. Terrible news about the old ticker but I’m glad you’re on the mend dear boy.
So you got three? Blimey. My single 1/32 Mustang turned up the other day. Looks rather splendid. Can’t wait to get cracking. Looks like we have quite a band. 🙌

 

Johnny. 

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