Tamiya P-38F Bat Out of Hell

[81-er]

With my Academy build dead, I’m doing what I probably should have done in the first place and starting on my Tamiya kit instead. Box/sprue shot to show it wasn’t started:

 

 

 

I’ve got the Xtradecal set to build it as Bat Out of Hell:

 

 

I bet you’re ear-wormed with Meat Loaf now. I also have some Master guns, as well as wheels and Tubosuperchargers from Eduard:

 

 

I started on this after I finished work yesterday and I’ve managed to get a long way into it. Primer on the top wing/back of the cockpit ready for some interior colour, primer and Alclad aluminium on all the rest in this shot:

 

 

A couple of slightly fuzzy shots of a myriad of smaller parts that have had some primer, plus a few more with aluminium as well:

 

 

 

And finally, the cockpit tub is at the aluminium stage (and much lighter than it looks here):

 

 

I’ve started with the aluminium as I’m going to give the hairspray chipping effect a try.

 

James

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I did “Bat out of Hell” years ago but messed it up with the weathering. Its on my to rebuild list.  

[PattheCat]

Wow, it's a fast start. Back with a vengeance after the Academy you are (Yoda'ish grammar)

Don't forget to take the time to enjoy your build.

😉

 

Cheers.

Pat.

[81-er]

9 hours ago, PattheCat said:

Wow, it's a fast start. Back with a vengeance after the Academy you are (Yoda'ish grammar)

Don't forget to take the time to enjoy your build.

😉

 

Cheers.

Pat.

There's a big difference between the two. The Academy kit always felt like a slog (possibly because I was trying to undo my past mistakes), whereas the Tamiya is an absolute dream

 

James

[trickyrich]

Nice!!!!!  

 

See you were just looking for an excuse to ditch the other one and start this one!!! 

 

Plus just the right amount of AM to go too.....teaching you well I am!

 

Just be very careful with this build, you may nod off and wake up to find it all finished, it goes together that nicely!!

 

I love the scheme as well, so looking forward to seeing this one very shortly (at the rate you're going) in the gallery !  

[81-er]

Cheers Rich

[81-er]

As mentioned in my last post, I was using this build as a chance to try the hair spray chipping technique. I gave the cockpit floor, the wheel hump, and the seat a coat of hair spray, followed by the interior colour. Then had at them with water, a cut down paintbrush, and a toothpick. I’m quite pleased with the results:

 

 

 

Detail painting then happened, followed by a dry brush with Mr Hobby H306 grey rather than my usual silver. I think I like the result a bit more, so I think that will become my standard approach. I then partially assembled the tub and gave it all a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade:

 

 

One day I’ll work out the setting to stop my phone camera automatically shifting to macro mode and changing the colour cast.

 

After this I gave the cockpit a general application of Tamiya weathering powders, which really worked very nicely. I’m not uploading the photos of the after purely because you can’t tell the difference, but it is noticeable in reality.

 

I decided to give the kit IP and decal a shot after all. It was a little tricky lining the decal up, especially as the one in this box seemed to have an excess of carrier film by the bit that abuts the projecting gauge (and yes, I did use the correct decal for this IP). It needed a couple of coats of UMP Extra Strong decal softener to bed down, but it did nicely in the end. On the last application one of the bottom dials decided to go on a wander and ended up mostly outside it’s bezel, but any attempts to shift it had it starting to disintegrate, so I left it be. TBH you’ll probably never notice when the model is finished:

 

 

I got the nose landing gear bay assembled and installed in the lower pod:

 

 

 

The cockpit all assembled and ready to go in:

 

 

 

 

It still needs a matt coat, but it was a bit late to be doing that last night, so it’s going to get a coat shortly.

 

After that, well it just flew together. In the end I had to make myself stop sticking bits on as it was 1am, but the wings are all together now:

 

 

 

The nose is off as I need to work out what I need to do to allow me to fit the Master barrels after paint. I’ll be starting on the main gear bays this afternoon, hopefully a lot more progress to report later.

 

James

[PattheCat]

That's a really nice cockpit and thinking that the pics are real close-ups, I'd even say perfect detail painting.

[81-er]

Thank you, Pat

 

Time for an update! 

I got the main gear bays built up and given a wash to make them look grubby:

 

 

 

One tip I’ll give to anyone else thinking of building this kit is about the complicated strut arrangements at the front of the main bays. Follow the ordering Tamiya give you for parts C16 & C37 (starboard, C15 & C36 port), but DON’T glue them until both those parts are in place. They will stay of their own accord (even if C36/C37 are tricky to get in). If you glue them in one at a time, you run the risk (as I did) of finding you can’t get C37 to sit in C16. Second time around, no glue, and it fit like a dream. The misalignment in the one I got wrong is minor, so no one’s likely to ever spot it. But I know…

 

While the bays hardened up, I got the parts for the oil coolers painted and washed to bring out some detail:

 

 

Tamiya have hidden a face inside the lower engine cowl:

 

 

The booms were zipped up:

 

 

And the decals for the radiators applied:

 

 

I had hoped to get the booms on today, but I’ve worked out I can’t install those until the turbosupercharger housings are in. Currently trying to work out if I can fit the Eduard Brassin turbosuperchargers after painting, as it’s not a straightforward fit.

 

James

[Thom216]

Dang, the level of detail on this kit is amazing! May have to get one...🤭

 

 

 

edit - just did!🤪

Edited November 2, 2022 by Thom216

[81-er]

You won't regret it. Honestly, the biggest issue with this kit is STOPPING yourself from gluing more bits on. I sat down at the bench about 10pm last night thinking I’d just clean up a couple of smaller bits ready for paint, and before I knew it it was half past midnight. Although, this had happened:

 

 

James

[81-er]

No photos just yet, but I'm currently finishing off the last bits in the cockpit prior to getting the canopies on. I've realised my mistake from earlier in the build of believing Bat Out of Hell was a P-38F. This stems from there being two aircraft with the name, with the yellow-winged version I’m building being a P-38G. I managed to pick that up in time to install the under-fuselage signal lights rather than the blanking plate, and I can live with the F IP. What wasn’t going to be easy to live with was having cut the mount for the open canopy off the backrest armour plate prior to painting it. So, my options were to use the earlier-style open canopy (which is really obviously wrong), have a closed canopy, or scratch build another mount. So, I did what anyone else would do and bought another kit to rob the part from 🤣

 

Realistically I was always going to buy another, as @John Masters build of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s F-5A has me wanting to do the same scheme, albeit in 1/48 using the CMK conversion. That’ll not be for this GB though, as I’ve already got too many current GB projects on the go. Now if only there was going to be a GB next year that I could build a reconnaissance aircraft for…

 

James

[John Masters]

10 minutes ago, 81-er said:

as I’ve already got too many current GB projects on the go

Looking very nice indeed.  I'm eager to see your St. Ex aircraft.

 

I have discovered, having been working on 5 kits that have now been whittled to 3, I feel happy at 3.  I must find balance...

[81-er]

Thanks John  The St Ex. will definitely have to wait until next year. Too many current projects and it's looking very much like the house sale will finally be going through in the next month, so there's no point starting any more for now

 

James

[PattheCat]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:15 AM, 81-er said:

Realistically I was always going to buy another, as @John Masters build of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s F-5A has me wanting to do the same scheme, albeit in 1/48 using the CMK conversion. That’ll not be for this GB though, as I’ve already got too many current GB projects on the go. Now if only there was going to be a GB next year that I could build a reconnaissance aircraft for…

 

James

 

As the Reconnaissance GB is first in the Bunfight poll I hope I'll have the pleasure to watch you building A. de St Ex plane next year.

[81-er]

Is indeed the plan

 

James

[81-er]

Time for an update. As mentioned previously, I’d got my knickers in a twist over which canopy was applicable to my build and cut the support for the top-opening canopy off the back of the seat armour. I’ve now taken that part from the new kit (which should make an appearance in the reconnaissance GB) and painted it. I’ve also painted up the radio bay and added wiring from the same 0.2mm black enamelled wire I use for brake lines:

 

 

 

 

The cowling over the IP was painted & decaled, the gunsight was painted and installed, and the insides of the canopy parts were painted:

 

 

 

 

Tamiya only supply external masks, so I bought a set of HGW masks. My first experience of their masks, and I have to say I’m impressed.

 

The front screen was attached, but the rear will require some clamping. I think that’s down to adding the radio wiring, and it pushing the map case outwards. I just need to dig the right clamp out of the packing boxes:

 

 

James

[AdrianMF]

Looking fab! It's a brilliant kit but you are making it more brilliant with all the extra touches.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[81-er]

Thanks Adrian  I should credit @general melchett here, as I've been using his excellent build of this kit for the 453rd Museum as a reference

 

James

[81-er]

I stand corrected on thinking I’d need to clamp the rear canopy, apparently I just didn’t have it properly aligned. I did one last test fit before breaking out the clamps and 5 minute epoxy, and with a slight jiggle it just clicked into place. Which was nice.

 

I then turned my attentions to masking. I did want to use the Tamiya masks for the external glazing, but mine aren’t cut out. I don’t know if that’s just how they come or if I’ve got a duff one, either way, I wasn’t going to mess around there and decided to use the rest of the excellent HGW set. I have found one flaw in that, as the middle pieces for the dropped side windows are too long, which was easily solved by cutting it in half and overlapping in the middle.

 

The biggest puzzle was how to mask the open section of the cockpit. I initially tried using tape, but only succeeded in dislodging the gunsight (which I’ll fix after the paint now). Plan B was using the closed canopy section, with a notch cut out to clear the mount for the open canopy. Initially I tried the trick I’d used on my Ar 555 build and used Maskol as glue, which failed as the canopy section is slightly warped and doesn’t contact both sidewalls on its own. To get over this, I stuffed some foam into the cockpit and glued the canopy on with a couple of spots of PVA, hopefully that should make removal easy later:

 

 

The next step will be a coat of the interior colour on the glazing, then I’ll mask up the wheel bays and give the whole model a coat of primer to see if there’s any gaps that need dealing with.

 

James

[general melchett]

Thanks James, looks like you have everything well in hand. As I mentioned at SMW if there’s anything you think I can help you with, then please, just ask away.😉

 

 

[81-er]

Thank you, Andy, it's very much appreciated

 

James

[shortCummins]

On 23/11/2022 at 10:37, 81-er said:

I stand corrected on thinking I’d need to clamp the rear canopy, apparently I just didn’t have it properly aligned. I did one last test fit before breaking out the clamps and 5 minute epoxy, and with a slight jiggle it just clicked into place. Which was nice.

 

I then turned my attentions to masking. I did want to use the Tamiya masks for the external glazing, but mine aren’t cut out. I don’t know if that’s just how they come or if I’ve got a duff one, either way, I wasn’t going to mess around there and decided to use the rest of the excellent HGW set. I have found one flaw in that, as the middle pieces for the dropped side windows are too long, which was easily solved by cutting it in half and overlapping in the middle.

 

The biggest puzzle was how to mask the open section of the cockpit. I initially tried using tape, but only succeeded in dislodging the gunsight (which I’ll fix after the paint now). Plan B was using the closed canopy section, with a notch cut out to clear the mount for the open canopy. Initially I tried the trick I’d used on my Ar 555 build and used Maskol as glue, which failed as the canopy section is slightly warped and doesn’t contact both sidewalls on its own. To get over this, I stuffed some foam into the cockpit and glued the canopy on with a couple of spots of PVA, hopefully that should make removal easy later:

 

 

The next step will be a coat of the interior colour on the glazing, then I’ll mask up the wheel bays and give the whole model a coat of primer to see if there’s any gaps that need dealing with.

 

James

 

the Tamiya masks aren't pre-cut, you have to cut them out

 

looking very good, I'm very tempted to get one of these, perhaps Santa can be persuaded?

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

[81-er]

That would explain that then, thanks John  I can thoroughly recommend suggesting to Santa that one come your way, along with a set of the HGW inside & out masks. I'm really enjoying building it, and I'll be building my second one in the Reccongnisance GB next year.

 

Hopefully I'll get the time to get this in primer today

 

James

[81-er]

The gear bays were masked with a combination of knock-off blu tack, foam, tape, and a variety of Anglo-Saxon words that would get me into a lot of trouble with the mods if I mentioned them here:

 

 

Not so evident in that shot, but there’s also foam stuffed into the intakes for the oil coolers under the props, and also in the intakes and exhausts of the radiator ducts on the sides of the booms.

 

Going with Henry Ford’s / The Rolling Stones vibe, there was only one colour of primer for this:

 

 

That naturally showed some areas that needed more attention, so more filling & sanding occurred before hitting it with another coat of black. There’s a couple of bits that need another go, but I’m close to paint now.

 

I’m amused that this kit is moulded in grey plastic, I’m priming it in black and then painting it grey again (well, at least the underside). The Academy kit is moulded in black, I’ll be priming it in grey, then painting it black again…

 

James