Academy P-38M Night Lightning - The Return!

[81-er]

As plan B hasn’t worked out, I’m moving on to plan C. Or shelving the previous P-38M until after the move when I can really sort it (or just kit-bash it into something else) and build the new kit instead. Borrowing the box & goodies shots from my previous build:

 

 

 

As I’d originally planned to use bits of this kit to fix the other build, I didn’t take a photo until after I’d started cutting stuff off sprues. It was 100% sealed before I did, and you can see some of the sprues are still bagged here:

 

 

So, where have I got to then? Both wings are free from the sprues and any bits that might be seen around the cockpit tub are now in interior green (no photo though). The main cockpit tub is together and just needs a wash before the seat goes in:

 

 

 

The seats and radar set are painted & drybrushed:

 

 

I’ve since fitted the seat cushions, but I made a hash of the pilot’s seat and I’ll have to do some minor paint repairs. I’ll get the Kitsworld harnesses fitted after that. I’ve also made a start on removing the resin gear bays from the pour blocks. All the sides are off, but I’ve run into a problem with the tops of the bays as my razor saw isn’t deep enough to get it all off. I’ll be hunting out the Dremmel later to grind the rest off.

 

James

[81-er]

Work on this has mostly been continuing to remove the Profimodeller landing gear bay parts from their casting blocks. Everything apart from the bay roofs are now totally free of the blocks:

 

 

There’s some nice detail on the sidewalls, much better than the flat slabs of the kit:

 

 

The doors are also nicely detailed, though I’ll have to do some cleanup on the lightening holes as some of them have some flash in them. I’ve also got a bonus gift of bits of the mould to remove as well (the fuzzy blue bits in my rubbish photo):

 

 

Minor grip aside, they are nicely detailed as well. The outer layer is VERY thin, so I’ll have to be careful with the cleanup:

 

 

James

[81-er]

Some significant progress with this one. The seats got their belts, then glued into the cockpit and given an Agrax Earthshade wash. The tub was then glued into the lower wing and the wing/fuselage pieces joined:

 

 

I’ve checked the fit of the rear canopy and it fits, so thankfully this one doesn’t have the issue the other kit did. Even the gaps at the wing roots are more reasonable:

 

 

 

The tub doesn’t look too bad in there:

 

 

 

I nabbed the IP cowl from the other kit as it had the Eduard PE IP attached to it, but as you can see from the shots above, it’s entirely invisible now.

 

I’ve shelved the idea of using the resin wheel bays. The roof sections are taking an age to remove from the casting blocks neatly and I just don’t feel I’ve got the time if I’ve any hope of a making the deadline. I’ve reverted to using the extremely basic kit bays, but I may see if I can make the resin doors work with them. No one looks at the bottom of models anyway, right?

 

With that choice made, I managed to get one of the booms together. It looks straight, so fingers crossed. There’s a lot of seam tidying to do still:

 

 

Being able to access the nose on this one, I’ve added a fair bit of weight. I managed to get two 5g wheel weights into the gunbay, followed by a substantial amount of Liquid Gravity fixed with thin superglue. I added that in layers, compacting it as I went. I added more Liquid Gravity to the nosecone as well:

 

 

The tape you can just see the ends of was used to seal the gaps so the superglue didn’t end up where it shouldn’t. I’ve got about 30g in there in total, which should be enough as the instructions say 20g. I’ll do a check before permanently attaching the nose and the fronts of the booms.

 

The final bit of progress is the props are primed & now have yellow tips:

 

 

James

[Wings unlevel]

Some lovely detail in that cockpit, James.

[81-er]

Thank you  Other than the invisible IP and the belts, it's all OOB too. The Tamiya kit is far more detailed, but the Academy one scrubs up nicely with some paint, dry brushing, and washes

 

James

[Wings unlevel]

22 minutes ago, 81-er said:

but the Academy one scrubs up nicely with some paint, dry brushing, and washes

It sure does!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I used a 1/2 oz weight in each nacelle and the nose on mine. I hate when an airplane pops a wheelie (tail sits). 

[AdrianMF]

The cockpit looks great, and I’m glad the fit problems aren’t happening on this one. The last one must have been warped somehow?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[81-er]

Yep, the other one is definitely warped. I'll have a go at fixing it at some point.

 

I think unfortunately it’s time to be sensible and park this one, much as I don't want to. As well as there only being a week left in the GB, I’ve only got 9 days until I move house and time is now at a premium. Expect this one to be picked up early in the new year, but until then, a final progress photo:

 

 

The main assemblies are together, and a multitude of smaller parts are painted as well. There’s a lot of clean-up and filling required to the seams on the booms and between the two wing halves. At least the canopy will fit this one!

 

Sorry to bail on another build, blame this one on last-minute moving dates

 

James