81-er Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Here’s my entry for this, an Academy P-38M I’ve had since I was 14 or 15: As it sits, it’s probably borderline if it passes the 25% rule, as it was started back then: The cockpit was probably one of the best I did back then: However, it’s due a date in the freezer to disassemble it, followed by another date with Mr Muscle to get the paint off. Then it’ll be started again with a few aftermarket goodies that could make their way into the build: Paintwork wise, the M variant follows Henry Ford’s mantra – you can have any colour you like, as long as it’s black James 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 welcome along James/Co-Host, and great to see a build being dragged back into the daylight!! No getting out of it either, she well and truly inside the 25% rule! Plus I see you have earned your "After market" badge too from the "Trickyrich I've been led down the AM path cult" group as well! What a nice selection of AM bits......almost brings a tear to my eye! You're well on your way to earning the "TR After-market" badge!!!! I do like the Nightfighter version of the Lightning, many years ago I built smaller the Dragon version. Anyway good luck with her and hopefully she'll make it into the gallery and not back into the cupboard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 Thanks Rich! I guess being the co-host now, I should probably make a good job with her. And yes, I do seem to be on the slippery slope to full-on AM junkie 🤣 James 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Bits that need to come apart now in the freezer, and the bits that don't have started the paint removal progress. I've also got the next 5 days off work (my first decent break since May), and I'm aiming to get some of the existing builds finished off so I can hit this one running next week. James 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 Given I’m co-hosting this GB, I should probably update my build thread! Stage 1 is complete, the previous paint has been stripped and the part disassembled as best as I could. Annoyingly the cockpit all came away nicely apart from the left front corner, which stubbornly refused to part company with the top of the nose gear bay. I didn’t remember to take photos of that bit, but I’m sure you can imagine what a lot of black parts look like. Painting progress has been made on the cockpit. In a break from my usual form, I went with the grey UMP primer rather than black, since with the kit being moulded in black I wouldn’t have easily been able to see where I’d primed. The main cockpit parts have been painted in a green blend using the mix suggested in the Tamiya kit, with the details to be picked out in black next session. I left the massive ejector marks on the seats, as these will be hidden by the seat cushions. Those have been painted in olive drab (even if they are spectacularly out of focus in the photo below), and the radar unit and pilot’s instrument bar have been painted in matt black. More (and hopefully better focused) photos after some detail painting. James 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 nice to see this one underway, amazing what a nice coat of paint can do, looking good. On 9/20/2022 at 8:08 PM, 81-er said: Given I’m co-hosting this GB, I should probably update my build thread! haha I'm host and I still haven't posted my start...... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 I wouldn't go as far as nice, you haven't seen the mess I've made with the detail painting, Rich 🤣 Let's just say there's a substantial amount of touch-ups required to the interior green. Ironically, it appears I'm FAR better with detail painting in 1/72 than 1/48 (have a look at the cockpit from my B&V P194 build in my signature). I'm not quite sure how that works? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 arrr ok.......so if you move down to 1/144th then you reckon your cockpits will be works of art? A wash and a wee bit of dry-brushing work and it'll look sweet. After all these years I'm only now just starting to get my cockpit painting right....and not just relying on pre-paint AM stuff. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 I'm not sure about that, I think 1/72 might be the sweet spot. That may also just be because most of what I've built has been 1/72. I've got plenty of 1/48 kits in the stash to practice on now though James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 a well stocked stash...good lad! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 Including what's in progress, I've got 67 kits. For now James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 15 hours ago, 81-er said: Including what's in progress, I've got 67 kits. For now James You’ve got a bit of work to do, mine is around the 300 mark! Probably never get around to building half of them. AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 6, 2022 Author Share Posted October 6, 2022 I'm trying to keep things somewhat sensible as I'll be moving from a 4 bed house into a 2 bed flat soon (assuming the solicitors get their finger out with the conveyancing). Although the flat I'm buying does come with a garage... I also need to up my build speed as well, since I've only actually managed to finish two builds in the 18 months since I joined here, I'll need almost 45 years to finish the current stash 🤣 James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Nice second start 😉 That is a hard to find kit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 Thank you. I'm aiming to get the F-5 wrapped up this weekend and the Sabre by next weekend, then it'll be full steam ahead with this one. I don't doubt it's hard to find now, I'm not sure that the M models were ever very popular even when this kit was new. Having had a nose on Scalemates, apparently this was only issued in 1994 with either Academy or Academy Minicraft branding, with any later issues being the regular models. Having said that, any of the J/L kits will have all of the parts for an M model, including the latest 2015 issue and the Eduard re-boxings. I was actually tempted to build this as a J rather than the M when I first came back to it, but then I figured if I stuck with the M model then it gives me an excuse to buy another Academy or Tamiya to build a J James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 You are right, all parts are included, except 1 or 2 and the canopy unfortunately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 Ah, apologies then. I just looked at the parts diagrams and assumed they were all there as the same sprues were in them all. I guess they changed the sprues but kept the references the same James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 On 10/14/2022 at 11:11 AM, 81-er said: I figured if I stuck with the M model then it gives me an excuse to buy another Academy or Tamiya to build a J I quite agree with your reasoning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 Time for another update. I did a little detail painting on the radar scope, including a coat of clear green on the screen (I know it wouldn’t have been green back them, but it seemed worth trying for a bit of variety). As you can see, it’s now glossier, but not obviously green: The cockpit is now finished other than installing the pilot’s seat & the wheel, plus a wash over the belts: The belts are Eduard Super Fabric. This is my first time using them, and they’re not bad. My only complaint is that the tang on the end of the left lap belt (so the bit that latches into the catch) was only hanging on by a thread on both sets of belts, and actually came off the pilot’s set when I tried to get it off the backing paper. However, I managed to cobble it together enough to look ok (ignore the gloss residue from the PVA, I’ll flat coat it later): A few images of the overall cockpit as it now sits: James 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Some really nice detail in there James. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 Thank you Cockpit is now in the fuselage, and the wing halves are (mostly) joined together. There's a fairly large gap at the wing roots, so I've clamped & glued the rest of it, and I'll shortly unclamp that, then reclamp & glue the wing roots. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 22, 2022 Author Share Posted October 22, 2022 The cockpit is in and the fuselage/wing halves are together: It required the use of some heavier duty clamping: I suspect due to having to set the position of the cockpit tub to suit the bit of floor I couldn’t get off, I’ve ended up with a bit of a step at the leading edge: Nothing a bit of filler and sanding won’t sort though. James 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, 81-er said: suspect due to having to set the position of the cockpit tub to suit the bit of floor I couldn’t get off, I’ve ended up with a bit of a step at the leading edge: Nothing a bit of filler and sanding won’t sort though. You too, it must be a thing with the kit. I solved it by grinding the heck out of my leading edge. I still have a couple joins on the pod under the windscreen. Im not very happy with them, but they're mostly hidden from view by decals. I do want to do an “M” so that may be my next P-38. Edited October 23, 2022 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattheCat Posted October 23, 2022 Share Posted October 23, 2022 8 hours ago, 81-er said: The cockpit is in and the fuselage/wing halves are together: It required the use of some heavier duty clamping: I suspect due to having to set the position of the cockpit tub to suit the bit of floor I couldn’t get off, I’ve ended up with a bit of a step at the leading edge: Nothing a bit of filler and sanding won’t sort though. James I second Dennis. It's the kit, none of your fault. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 Thanks gents @Corsairfoxfouruncle, I'd love to see you make an M! Which kit are you thinking of using? James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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