AdrianMF Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Following on from my "Beautiful Lass" build, I've now finished "Babe", flown by Lt. Edgar L. Yarberry of 48th FS/14th FG from El Bathan, Tunisia in June 1943. Once again this is the Airfix P-38F kit from 1972 with the Exito "Lightning Strike" decals. The decals are excellent and the kit is surprisingly good for a fifty-year-old mould. The major modification I made was to extend the front undercarriage leg by 4-5mm to get the stance right, otherwise there are a few tweaks here and there. WIP is here if you want a look. So, with apologies to those of you who may have seen it in the KUTA gallery: Getting the hang of this worn metal thing, drybrush with Revell acrylic Silver And with "Beautiful Lass" Thanks for looking, Adrian 54 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Good job! You are so good at making these old kits look so good , no mean feat l can tell you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantherhawk27263 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Great work, Adrian!!! It looks wonderful!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 I have seen this one before, but no matter how often I look over it I still can't believe the old Airfix kit can be made to look this good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieW Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Adrian Vs Ancient Airfix= Adrian wins! It takes some serious ability and patience to make these old kits look so good. Both qualities I was sadly lacking when I built them when they were modern kits! Richie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinism Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Great work Adrian - you’ve achieved a magnificent result from a kit nearly as old as me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallBlondJohn Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Great job - loved this kit so much as a kid. Easy to paint! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Lovely work Adrian. Definitely a specialist in producing beautiful models from kits most would think of as difficult/unpromising raw material! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bissyboat Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Beautiful work on the P-38. ⚓🙌 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlada Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Great work. I like the ko s plane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 Congratulations Adrian !! Such a brilliant result on both P-38s Old Airfix mouldings at that !! Hat off Man !! Sincerely. CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 That's very nice Adrian! Love it when people rehabilitate these good old kits with modern techniques. Great stuff 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 That's excellent! Makes me want to build one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I do love the Lightning and your excellent build reminds me that I have one in my stash, singing out for attention. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 I can't tell which Lightning is done better. Both are great as far as build and finish go. I am so glad there are still modelers out there that appreciate and build the older kits. I have a few old Airfix kits, but since I am on the other side of the pond my old kit stash is mainly Monogram, Aurora and Revell. Keep building these kits to show the young'uns that it doesn't have to be the newest, greatest, most tweaked kit to get a superb finished model. Thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted January 21, 2023 Author Share Posted January 21, 2023 Thanks all for the kind comments! On 19/01/2023 at 17:57, Farmerboy said: old kits On 19/01/2023 at 21:25, Natter said: old Airfix kit On 19/01/2023 at 21:58, RichieW said: Ancient Airfix On 19/01/2023 at 23:17, Darwinism said: a kit nearly as old as me On 19/01/2023 at 23:21, TallBlondJohn said: loved this kit so much as a kid On 20/01/2023 at 06:13, Fritag said: unpromising On 20/01/2023 at 14:02, corsaircorp said: Old Airfix On 20/01/2023 at 14:20, Alan P said: old kits 22 hours ago, georgeusa said: old Airfix I'm seeing a theme here! It is an old kit, and the detailing in the undercarriage bay and cockpit is sparse to non-existent, and it's covered in rivets, BUT it looks like a P-38, fits really well and is a great starting point for the surprisingly small amount of extra detailing needed to bring it up to "modern" standards (don't look in the wheel bays!). Did I mention that the pair of them cost around a tenner? It is true that old kits can be variable in quality (and I've built some shockers), but when they are good, they're good! I had a great time building these two (I'm glad I had modern decals though). I'm not knocking modern kits, but there are some great old ones out there . If the worst happens, you've only spent a tenner and you've gotten yourself another paint mule! There are also some old shockers: I didn't even try to start the FROG MS-406 (now a paint mule) and some others (FROG Beaufort, Airfix IL-2) I took on just out of sheer bloody-mindedness/lack of available alternative. And to @georgeusa's point, although I haven't built any Monogram or US Revell kits, quite a lot of their old ones seem to be right up there with the best even today. Thanks again, Adrian 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 14 minutes ago, AdrianMF said: Thanks all for the kind comments! I'm seeing a theme here! It is an old kit, and the detailing in the undercarriage bay and cockpit is sparse to non-existent, and it's covered in rivets, BUT it looks like a P-38, fits really well and is a great starting point for the surprisingly small amount of extra detailing needed to bring it up to "modern" standards (don't look in the wheel bays!). Did I mention that the pair of them cost around a tenner? It is true that old kits can be variable in quality (and I've built some shockers), but when they are good, they're good! I had a great time building these two (I'm glad I had modern decals though). I'm not knocking modern kits, but there are some great old ones out there . If the worst happens, you've only spent a tenner and you've gotten yourself another paint mule! There are also some old shockers: I didn't even try to start the FROG MS-406 (now a paint mule) and some others (FROG Beaufort, Airfix IL-2) I took on just out of sheer bloody-mindedness/lack of available alternative. And to @georgeusa's point, although I haven't built any Monogram or US Revell kits, quite a lot of their old ones seem to be right up there with the best even today. Thanks again, Adrian Truth well told !! Old Monogram are quite fine and I used it.... And as you told it, no remorses if it fail.... Thanks adrian !! CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 That’s amazing…. Love this too. Old kits with modern techniques. Wonderful paintwork and subtle! Superb photography and presentation too. that’s what Andy like🤓 Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 They both look flawless to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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