GreMir (coming soon) P-38H Lightning

[GreMir]

Ki-100 is finished so it is time to build an adversary :D
I always loved the looks of the P-38 so when Lukasz offered his model, I jumped on the opportunity.
Offered model will have markings of the plane flown by Tom Lynch.
I'm printing the pages right now and I can finally say that I like what I see coming out of the printer. Remember my disclaimer from the P-40?
This time what you will see on the photos is exactly what you will see on your computer screen :D
Printer - Epson Stylus Photo R220
Inks - original Epson (but generic gave me the same results on the test page)
Paper - CANON!!!!! Matte Photo Paper
You would say that Epson should be an obvious choice and it was for the first few pages - but color was nowhere near of what it should be so I ditched it and tried Canon - BINGO!
Settings:
Matte Paper - Heavywieght
Gamma 1.5
Color mode - Epson Vivid
Saturation - +10

As soon as ink is dry I start cutting :D

[Texman]

And we get some pictures when?!!

Ray

[redhorse]

This sounds interesting. I looked up the plane, does it look like this with the shark mouths? Hopefully, the picture comes through...

http://www.michael-reimer.com/CFS2/CFS2_Profiles/PTO_Allies_5_USAAF-Dateien/Lockheed%2520P-38F%2520LIGHTNING%252010_400x200.jpg

[Padre]

And i was just looking for a P-38. Now i gotta wait for this one and cancel the other.

[GreMir]

Jim - that's the one.
Padre - get both :D
Ray - now :D

I'm proceeding according to numerical sequence of parts and planning (keep my fingers crossed) to build detailed gun compartment.
This will be a first for me since I prefer to have planes in "ready for takeoff" look...

[Don Boose]

Beautiful airplane. I take it this is the H model (42-66532) that Lynch flew in New Guinea in 1943, and not the J model (42-103987), with the chin radiators, that he crashed in off Aitape in 1944.

The initial construction photos show the usual Mike Krol clean and precise build.

Don

[GreMir]

Thanks Don.
Yes, this the H model as it looked in March 1943.
Cleanliness of the build is greatly helped by the use of Beacon's 3-in-1 glue. This glue was suggested by one of the modelers - sorry, don't remember the name or which forum it was mentioned on - and so far I'm impressed with the results.

[CMDRTED]

Where can you get the beacons glue mike?

[GreMir]

It supposed to be available in Wal-Mart and Michael's stores but I run around Tampa and couldn't find it anywhere....
I ended up ordering from craftsetc.com - Crafts, Etc! ® - 314OZBOT12 3-In-1 Glue (http://www.craftsetc.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=61589&dep=50&cat=59&subcat=10&Search=Y)

[redhorse]

I know I bought my Beacons at Michaels, but that was a year or so ago now and Dallas probably has a different assortment. You are right, it's pretty good glue!

Do you know yet when you are going to release this kit?

[GreMir]

Kit will be released as soon as I finish building it.

[GreMir]

Framework for the cockpit nacelle is complete.
The top part #14 is only temporary to properly position forward part of the nacelle and will be removed when the glue cures.
This my addition since the connection appeared rather flimsy.

[milenio3]

Mike, I guess my next question's answer is "of course, duh", but here it goes for the record> Is this also a 1/33 scale model?

[member_3]

Oooooh, ooooh, oooooh, Mr. Kotter, can I answer??? Thanks to Gremir's incredible shrinking/stretching program this 1:33 model can be printed at any scale your printer can handle. Did I do good, Mike???

[GreMir]

Gerardo - 1:33 scale, but as Ron said you can change the scale at will - might be a bit tricky due to the size...

Ron - have a cookie :D
PS - #1 is reserved for you - fair enough?

[member_3]

TY, Mike - PayPal at the ready!

[Texman]

Build faster Mike!

Ray

[GreMir]

If you take over payment of my bills :D

[RyanShort]

It supposed to be available in Wal-Mart and Michael's stores but I run around Tampa and couldn't find it anywhere....
I ended up ordering from craftsetc.com - Crafts, Etc! ® - 314OZBOT12 3-In-1 Glue (http://www.craftsetc.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=61589&dep=50&cat=59&subcat=10&Search=Y)

I've been using that glue some, too! My only gripe is that on small curves and little cylindrical parts it doesn't tend to work as well. For bigger models and parts however, it's great.

Ryan

[GreMir]

Ryan - thanks for the tip. So far it works great for me but I didn't have to test it on any cylindrical shapes yet. Will see how it goes...

Update:
In this step I had to depart the numerical sequence since otherwise I would end up with really tight spots to fit parts into....
Magazines for 50cals (part 48) are located under parts 24. Parts 27 and 28 (20mm cannon base) are also better installed before parts 24 go in.
Not a real problem since "reading" the drawings will clearly show how to proceed.

[GreMir]

20mm cannon is ready

[member_3]

This build is really impressive, Mike! As someone else "suggested" - build faster!!! LOL

[CMDRTED]

Very fine work Mike.

[Barry]

Great looking build

[birder]

Wow, that is nice, Mike you're build AND model look very good

[GreMir]

Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully you will have the same opinion when I'm done with the model ;)

I spoke to soon in the previous post - NOW the 20mm cannon is completed.

[pahorace]

A very professional job. I'm interested!

Orazio

[GreMir]

This will take a bit longer than I thought....
Reason - my clumsiness :o
While fitting one of the machine guns I damaged the forward bulkhead. Then while trying to fix it I cut my finger (note to myself NEVER slice with a scalpel TOWARDS fingertip!!!!) as you can imagine there was blood and unfortunately I didn't let go of the fuselage fast enough.............

I already started from scratch but this time will change the build order - have to stay away from the gun compatment - to many memories......
First photo of the second attempt probably on Sunday - had to slow down since cutting cardboard without using right thumb is inconvenient :o

[pahorace]

Hi Michael,
sincere wishes for your speedy recovery precious finger!
But ... for an active modeller... perhaps what has happened is normal !?!?
I am sure that the next will be perfect.

Orazio

[shrike]

Cut out (left handed) and attach as appropriate.
Be sure to note the kit on the bar provided

[CMDRTED]

I never like to give out medical advise per se, but in regards to the" scars of our profession", those nasty little scalpel lacs that don't go deep enough to warrant stitches, ist clean it up good, soap and water. when dry, but sometimes still bleeding, apply pressure with a paper towel, clean toilet paper or something. Then get out your tube/bottle of superglue (cyanoacylate) and when the small window of oppurtunity arrives, when there is no gushing, close the edges together and apply a small dab to the cut. There is nothing faster that allows you to get cutting and gluing faster.

[dansls1]

I never like to give out medical advise per se, but in regards to the" scars of our profession", those nasty little scalpel lacs that don't go deep enough to warrant stitches, ist clean it up good, soap and water. when dry, but sometimes still bleeding, apply pressure with a paper towel, clean toilet paper or something. Then get out your tube/bottle of superglue (cyanoacylate) and when the small window of oppurtunity arrives, when there is no gushing, close the edges together and apply a small dab to the cut. There is nothing faster that allows you to get cutting and gluing faster.

Yes, and a small lesson about how cyanoacrylate glues work to squash any fears about the safety of this method. Cyanoacrylate glues polymerize on contact with water. To work on paper or the like, they draw the moisture out of the air. That's why it sticks to your fingers so much better than anything else - more moisture. Hence, no chemical exposure in the blood because it'll solidify too quickly. I read a study in the medical journals one time where they were trying to switch the industry standard to superglue instead of stitches, and ultimately it came down to the training costs to change throughout the industry being too great.

Sorry about your finger and model, it was looking good.

[Rick Thomson]

Cut out (left handed) and attach as appropriate.
Be sure to note the kit on the bar provided

Ah jeeze...beer out my nose and all over the desk...spew alert next time please.

Rick

[GreMir]

Thanks guys.
I don't deserve a medal, unless it's for own's stupidity ;)
Model is growing slowly and I really hope that I will manage to finish it without any more accidents....

[CMDRTED]

We use a commercial superglue in the ER called dermabond. The only differance to commercial superglue is it is coloured purple.

[shrike]

Superglue was originally formulated for medical use, it just happens to glue other stuff as well. I used to have stock in the original company, but after a 10/1 negative split it cost me more to try to sell it than it was worth.

[Padre]

Another safety note;

Do NOT try to catch Xacto knife (or whatever ya use to cut with) when it rolls off the table!!!

I learned the hard (sharp) way.

[GreMir]

Padre,
Done that too... Now I'm using FLAT handle.

Just to show that the model is being rebuilt.
I'm not going to stick to numerical sequence but rather follow the conventional method and do the cockpit first.
The only change I made to the original design was to add a little paper shaft to go inside of the designed one. I cut openings in the frames to allow the shaft to go through - Lukasz assured me that there will not be a problem building it as designed but I tend to put three screws where one would be enough ;)
I'm starting on the instrument panel - punch drill is a blessing! :D

[birder]

still looking nice, Mike. I don't have a punch drill do you recommend a particular one?

[GreMir]

I'm using the Japanese one, but it's on the expensive side. Total comes to about $60-$70 with bits.

[birder]

hmm, I think that's more than I expected, must be a good one!

[FredZ KSAC]

Don't try to catch a soldering iron when it falls off the bench, either. Don't ask how I know that! BTW - the original superglue was called Eastman 910 and was 'super expensive' and was supposed to be used to replace stiches. But we found much better uses for it. :) Mike, hope your thumb heals quick.
Later,
Fred Z.

[shrike]

The poor-mans paper drill shows up on eBay and the like in the watch tool sections like this (http://cgi.ebay.com/watch-repair-tools-hole-punch-opener-for-leather-strap_W0QQitemZ110279851646QQcmdZViewItem?hash=ite m110279851646&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C2 40%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14).

[bfam4t6]

Looking good so far Mike. I think we all have a few modeling scars. I got mine when I was about 6 or 7 building a balsa wood model. There was dried glue all over the top of the elmers glue bottle, and instead of going to get scissors to cut the dried glue glob off, I decided to have a go at it with an x-acto knife. I was holding the bottle with my left hand and the blade slipped right off the orange tip and right into my hand. Parents freaked, blood everywhere, trip to the E.R. ....a few stitches later and now my hand's as good as new. I even have a nice trophy scar. :)

[dansls1]

The poor-mans paper drill shows up on eBay and the like in the watch tool sections like this (http://cgi.ebay.com/watch-repair-tools-hole-punch-opener-for-leather-strap_W0QQitemZ110279851646QQcmdZViewItem?hash=ite m110279851646&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C2 40%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14).

That's the one I have. The 'blades' aren't as sharp as they could be when shipped, but overall I've been happy with it for the price ;)

[birder]

Thank- you guys, Dan I'm gonna look for one like that. On the spit I highlighted the guages with a drop of acrylic gloss medium and it worked well, but cutting them out would be nice. (back now to Mike's beautiful p-38, and no it's not a firearm)

[shrike]

or a can opener*




*do they still issue those at all?

[GreMir]

Still working on the cockpit...
Inside of the seat required a little trimming to fit the outside.
Next step will be the volant and then inside walls.

[Don Boose]

Another fine-looking airplane, Mike -- line of duty injuries notwithstanding!

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

Cockpits are getting prettier and prettier by the day! Very nice to see. - L.

[GreMir]

:D
Not overdone - just the right balance between the amount of detail and what is buildable by a mere mortal

[pahorace]

Hello Michael,
cockpit very nice and very instructive to see, for me.
Thanks for sharing.

Orazio

[Don Boose]

It looks terrific, Mike!

Don

[dansls1]

Very nice cockpit! Loving this one, can't wait to get my hands on it ;)

[birder]

That looks great! I really like the left side panel, nicer than the halinski I made (old halinski)

[willygoat]

I don't know where you get your mortals from, but I'm pretty sure THIS mortal couldn't come close to doign that. Great work:cool:

[GreMir]

Just to prove (unintentionaly...) that I'm a mortal - I messed up :o
I was a little off glueing right side and in effect left side wouldn't allign at the bottom.
After some banging into the wall (with head, not the model ;)) I decided that the only way to recover is to cut the skin and allign the bottom since the cut will be hidden under the wing.
This is actually an advice to whoever builds this model later - cut both sides of the segment on white area, glue the bottom parts together and then glue them onto the frame.
This way it's much easier to maintain allignment and simply to glue them in place.
Lines on the "glass" were traced with the pin - this version of P-38 had the rear glued from panels without any frames.

[Johnny]

Who hasnt messed up.....I do it on every model, so I know the feeling!
I guess I have been rather good in hiding/fixing the errors I make.
The P38 comes together really nice if you ask me!
Nice to follow your build Mike!

[bfam4t6]

Nice work on the cockpit Mike!

[GreMir]

Thank you everybody for the kind words.
Looking at the assembly diagram and judging from the setup of this plane it looks like it will need a lot of weight to stand on all three wheels....
I melted some lead sinkers and used the first fuselage as a mold. After some filing to make to sure that the weights fit into the designated space I covered them with the skins.
In case this is not enough, I'm planning to add some BBs into the ammo boxes - there is really not much room in the nose to put some weight there....

[shrike]

You can also put weight in the noses of the nacelles too. That's where most of the weight is on the real thing

[redhorse]

It's looking really good, I can hardly wait to buy it - plus a few others I've been drooling over:rolleyes:

What did you melt the sinkers in?

[GreMir]

Shrike - actually that's a much better option than stuffing the ammo boxes....Forward fuselage in the central nacelle is not built to hold extra weight - engines on the other hand are perfect choice.

Redhorse - low tech solution - old spoon on the stove :D Additional benefit is that after pouring the lead you can use the still hot spoon to shape and smoothe lead's surface.

[birder]

Looking very nice, Mike. I put a large steel nut in the forward center nacelle on mine, but it had room there. However it wasn't enough, so put a ball bearing in the spinner of each prop.

[tincan871]

Looks just great! If I were an airplane guy, I'd certainly consider it. Another factor.....only have display space for long narrow models. But old dogs can STILL learn new tricks by watching others....and I watch with abandon. Super job!

[John Bowden]

Wow......... if that ain't enough lead to make it sit right, you just might have to make the front wheel entirely out of lead............just kidding.

Mortal or not it IS looking good Michael!

john

[GreMir]

I just couldn't resist the idea of live ammo for the P-38 and added 8 BBs (max that would fit) per ammo box :D
Now, between the lead in the sides of the plane and the BBs, it's almost mandatory to build the shaft for the nose gear the way I did so the this weight will be distributed onto the sturdy frame instead of the flimsy shaft...
I don't like wrapping around parts around each other so I separated the outside parts for the 50cal shelfs and glued them to the inside part. I did it this way because the inside dimensions for the shelf are crucial for the proper installation of machine guns. Now, either I used thicker card or the design did not provide for this and the outside skin is a bit short and edges do not meet at the separation point. Small issue and gray marker fixed that ;)

[shrike]

Wow......... if that ain't enough lead to make it sit right, you just might have to make the front wheel entirely out of lead............just kidding.

Mortal or not it IS looking good Michael!

john


Had to do that on Nobi's Flora. I wasn't thinking ahead, so I had to make the nose wheel out of a roll of solder covered with the card parts. Just barely enough.

[WAK]

Here WWW.KONRADUS.COM - FORUM MODELARZY KARTONOWYCH - [R] Lockheed P-38H Lightning 2w1 :-) (http://www.konradus.com/forum/read.php?f=1&i=146046&t=146046&filtr=0) you can watch simultaneous build of two WAK's P-38H.

[GreMir]

And they are doing excellent job on them :D
For the record - this is the same design, just different markings.
GreMir version will also sligthly differ in construction diagrams since I'm adding some part numbering on them to make it easier.

First photo shows small design flaw, also reported on Konradus' page.
Part 31 is about 1mm to long and I chose to trimm it to fit. It's not perfect, so maybe leaving it to overlap part 30 (with some thickness reduction on the edge) would be a better option.
Oterwise no problems except that I just decided not to build so many details again, EVER! :o
I don't have steady enough hands and eyesight to do justice to models with all those small detail packed into such limited space.....
I will chug along with this build hoping that it will get easier after I'm done with the machineguns....

[Barry]

It all looks great but the machine ports in the nose are a real gem

[willygoat]

looking awesome! Keep it coming. I'm greedy, and I want more :D

[birder]

Mike that looks super! You are very good at the fiddly bits!

[dansls1]

She's looking very nice Mike!

[milenio3]

Mike, no matter the flaw, she's looking very good.

Great work on the ammunition section!

[GreMir]

Thank you for kind words but this model truly deserves somebody much better than I to to really show it off :o
I was a bit off when installing the ammo boxes so there is slight misallignment visible at the guns. Probably it would be better to first build and install the 50cals and and then match them with the ammo boxes slid into place.
Canopy - I decided to build partially open since it would look strange to have the guns exposed and buttoned up cockpit. The top part will come at the very end to prevent damage to it during wing installation. Same for the gun covers.
There supposed to be armored glass inside the cocpkpit but it's proving to difficult for me to put it there and I will skip it. Better this than mess up the canopy that it's already installed....

[CMDRTED]

Looks great Mike!

[Don Boose]

Excellent, Mike! The gun and cockpit detail look terrific to me.

Don

[pahorace]

Hi Michael,
that is a very good job, so far, for me.

Orazio

[Golden Bear]

WOW, Mike! I love it. Beautiful work and wonderful detail.


Carl

[GreMir]

Thanks again everybody.
Got the right wing in place and I'm starting to wonder where the heck I'm going to keep this model - it's getting much bigger than I anticipated...

[Padre]

That's why I reduce everything by a least 25%, sometimes more. I am still running out of room and my wife is, has, lost her patience.

[GreMir]

I admire people who can take those detailed models, reduce them in size and still build them using all the parts! (Yes, I saw your P-38...)
I like to keep my creations in the same scale and I have 5 shelves reserved for the models but the wingspan and probably length of the P-38 might pose a problem - I will deal with it when the time comes...

[milenio3]

It well deserves a good place on the shelves, Mike!

[bfam4t6]

Looks great Mike! Between my die-cast cars, plastic models, and paper models, I've filled up 6 shelves and the top of my dresser. I moved on to hanging them from the ceiling :)

[GreMir]

Dustin,
Models built in flying configuration really look good in their natural habitat under the ceiling :D - that's how I used to keep my planes as a kid.

Both wings in place and now onto the engines.

[willygoat]

Looks great Michael. At this point of construction, it almost looks like some strange X-plane with no tail or visible power unit. :p

[GreMir]

Started on the rignt engine.
I'm not following numerical sequence and added all little details inside the wheel well to simplify the task. I also did the shaft for the main wheel leg to attach to so it should safely hold the aircraft.
Last photo shows the assembly dryfitted to the wing (couldn't resist :D) but the final assembly will wait for the tail to make sure that the spacing is correct. That might be overcautious approach but I would hate to attach both tail booms to the wings and then learn that I cannot fit the tail inbetween them....

[dansls1]

Doesn't sound overcautious to me, very logical. This plane is coming together very nicely!

[GreMir]

Work continues - building the engine nacelle is almost like building another plane...

[willygoat]

It looks great! That's one detailed bird (1/3 bird?, 1/2 bird?)!

[Lukasz Fuczek]

Very nice Michael, very nice....;-))

[lee4752]

It looks great! That's one detailed bird (1/3 bird?, 1/2 bird?)!
That's got to be at least 2/3 bird! And very cool looking at that. I've always liked Lightnings, Maybe even better than Corsairs. Too bad their namesake F-35 is so darn ugly.

[GreMir]

Two weeks passed since the last update so it's time to show some progress...
Second engine nacelle is ready and everything is dryfitted together for ease of storage. Last photo shows a little jig I made to keep the plane securely in place during the next phase.

[birder]

That looks great Mike!

[willygoat]

Looks real nice. I like the jig. Nice thinking :D

[milenio3]

Very good, Mike!!

[Don Boose]

Wow! Much progress while I was away from the Forum. You sure do superb work, Mike!

Don

[GreMir]

Thank you everybody for the kind words.
Tail is ready. The only thing which might cause problem is the fact that the control surfaces were designed to be mounted in neutral position - ends do not curve around so if you want to show them deployed you will either have to add some card to close them or the innards will be visible.

[GAJouette]

Great work,and very impressive too.
regards,
Gregory Jouette

[GreMir]

Thank you.
Fuselage is ready. Don't know if this was correct or best way to do it but here it is...
First I formed last segments of the tail booms and glued them to the tail. I also poured good amount of glue inside the connection to avoid any nasty surprises later since the entire assembly is held in place by four strips of paper. Top connection is perfect, the bottom one....well...you can see the photo.
Next step was to connect the entire tail assembly to the rest of the fuselage. I mounted left side first, made sure that the glue is dried and parts secured, then slid the entire thing back onto the wing and matched with the right tail boom. No problems here.
Tail booms are not glued to the wing, except for the small area where there is no fairing (inside, bottom)
Last step was to glue in the fairings and I must admit this is a pain since access to due this is pretty limitted by the size of the plane and the twin boom design. effect is pretty good though and they hold the booms securely.

[CMDRTED]

Mike you're doing a fantastic build. Paypal is at the ready once this is released!

[Don Boose]

Outstanding, Mike!

The fairings are smooth as silk and the slight rudder-vertical stabilizer underlap is scarcely noticeable. Having seen some of these creatures close up, I know that the full-sized airplanes had similar characteristics at times.

You've built a really beautiful airplane.

Don

[willygoat]

What an amazing Lightning! Great work on this one :D

[bfam4t6]

Looks great Mike!

[redhorse]

It does look really good, I've been looking forward to buying this one.

[Johnny]

Thats just an impressive build!! Very enjoyable to watch Mike!!

[milenio3]

An excellent report, Mike!

Keep it up!

[GreMir]

Since I do not enjoy building the same assembly twice and there are two auxiliary fuel tanks, I started with one and the second will be next week.
Tank was designed two be glued edge-to-edge with only two frames in the center section.
Frame 131 is a bit undersized so cut it outside of the line. I converted mine to use connecting strips that were created from a spare copy of the printed out parts. No problems with the skins and the cone at the end was piece of cake actually - will shot the photo in the next installment.
Now the painful part.....
The way I decided to mount the undercarriage might be strong but it created a dillema how to put this thing together with all the supporting piping which has to allign with each other. I did the best I could but there will be no photo of the inside of the well :o
I'm starting to think that the best approach to this might be to do the core shaft as I did but do not install part 123b that is the actual shaft.
This is just an untested idea so it might need verifying - build the entire leg with all the piping and tubing and cut the part 123b in half so it can be placed over the shaft. It doesn't matter that the top part will be missing since there is no way to see it but this might greatly ease the pain of building this darn thing ;)

[Padre]

Great looking P-38!!

[GreMir]

Thank you.
How were you able to build this plane at smaller scale????

[Padre]

Dumb old guy obsessive compulsive stubbornness and space availability.

[GreMir]

Less and less parts to cut out from the pages ;)

[birder]

Nice, nice, nice!

[Johnny]

and nice, so that makes nice,nice,nice and nice!!

I feel I'm getting the inspiration to start the P38J I have in my pile.....or the Mosquito....or the.....or....o....

Nah....I have to finish up the 3 models I have going first.
Too bad it takes so long to build papermodels :)

[Don Boose]

Outstanding landing gear detail, Mike. Those belly-up views are impressive!

Don

[dansls1]

Beautiful build! She's starting to get to the point that you'll be flying her around the room chasing your collection of Japanese planes ;) (Or possibly vice versa in your case :D ).

[Don Boose]

Dan wrote: "She's starting to get to the point that you'll be flying her around the room chasing your collection of Japanese planes (Or possibly vice versa in your case)."

Mike's P-38 could take 'em on one at a time, but if the Ki-44 and Ki-100 ganged up, it would be a challenge! Might need help from something that looks like a Corsair!

Don

[shrike]

Depends on altitude too. If IL2 is reasonably accurate a P-38 down low is called 'target'

[GreMir]

Beautiful build! She's starting to get to the point that you'll be flying her around the room chasing your collection of Japanese planes ;) (Or possibly vice versa in your case :D ).

Dan,
I must admit that the thought crossed my mind :D

Dan wrote: "...Mike's P-38 could take 'em on one at a time, but if the Ki-44 and Ki-100 ganged up, it would be a challenge! Might need help from something that looks like a Corsair!
Don

Don,
Don't really like a Corsair, but Mustang is a different matter :D

[shrike]

Perhaps an Air Commando C model?

[member_3]

Looking very nice, Michael. Time to warm up the PayPal account!

[GreMir]

Shrike
I'm thinking more along the line of P-51D flown by Will Shomo - just don't have the model.....
I already started recolor of Emil Zarkov's P-51 but with my graphic skills (or rather lack of them :o) that's a veeeeery lengthy project.
For the C model I have something twisted in mind :D

Ron,
I'm hoping to have the model completed over the Thanksgiving weekend - four days of building should be enough :rolleyes:

[zot]

OOOOH!! I loooooove twisted! Something with ramjets perhaps??? Maybe a companion to the F2G?:D

[GreMir]

Not THAT radical :D
Here is what I have in mind

[Don Boose]

How about some background info on that captured P-51, Mike?

In 1/48, it would look good alongside the captured CW-21 put out by Kampflieger a few years ago. And there is the famous photo of a Russian Lagg, a Brewster Buffalo, and a P-40, all in Japanese markings.

Don

[GreMir]

After Wikipedia:
"The P-51C-11-NT "Evalina" marked as "278" (former USAAF serial: 44-10816) flown by 26th FS, 51st FG, was hit by gunfire on 16 January 1945 and belly landed on Suchon Airfield in China which was held by the Japanese. The Japanese repaired the aircraft, roughly applied Hinomaru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinomaru) roundels (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundel) and flew the aircraft to the Fussa evaluation centre (now Yokota Air Base) in Japan."

P-40? You mean this one? :D I'm looking for a suitable P-40E to recolor but except for the Halinski's kit (and I have no skill to do it) there is none :(

[Don Boose]

That may be the one, Mike. I can't put my hand on the photo just now, but if I find it, I'll let you know.

I hope you find a suitable P-40E model for your project. You know you'll have at least one buyer!

Don

[zot]

Not THAT radical :D


Oops! My bad. I do think Beguine would make a nice subject though.

Risingdecals made some "captured" decal sets at one time. Here's one of their web pages that show some color profiles of some captured P-40s and other allied birds.

ZOO_A (http://www.risingdecals.com/ZOO/K_ZOO_A.htm)

[GreMir]

Remember my dilemma how to install the undercarriage on the preinstalled shaft?
I just had another idea and tested it today - guess what? IT WORKS! :D
Fist photo shows parts for the right leg, the little thingy on top is part 103 that is the base of the leg connecting it (and securing) to the shaft.
I glued it to the shaft and positioned it correctly using the main leg to check the angle. I allowed glue to set and then removed tha main leg, applied glue and reinserted it into the base, alligned correctly and left to dry.
When comfortable with the look, I added rest of the parts.
The only thing to remember is to make sure that the main leg slides easily into the base to make room for the glue.

[CMDRTED]

Wow MIke! THis is truly masterpiece quality.

[GreMir]

Ted,
You are way to kind and I thank you for it :D
I build for pleasure and my skills are nowhere near of what might be achieved with this kit...

[GreMir]

Ladies and Gentleman, for the first time ever, P-38H is standing on its own legs.
The little wings up front are installed to help in liftoff of the heavily loaded plane :D
I used True Detail wheel set fo the model - my apologies to the purists. Card wheels are certainly doable but I'm just not very good at turning them to get the right shape :o
The main legs are installed with to much of an angle so the tail is a bit on the low side - I realized that AFTER I secured one of the main legs and didn't want to take the risk in trying to reposition it....

[dansls1]

Woot! Looking good standing on her own ;)

[willygoat]

It's a standing ovation! Sorry, bad joke I know. It looks great Michael. Cant' wait for the finishing touches.

[GreMir]

Plane is back into its craddle - don't want to take any risks at this stage :o
Hit a little snag on Saturday evening so not much progress to report.
First photo shows propeller under construction and second photo shows it installed on the plane.
Fortunatelly I started building the right one first so this one is safe. When I stareted putting together the left propeller I realized that something wasn't quite right....
I checked the diagrams and since I couldn't find it, I went turned to the net - P-38's propellers should turn in opposite directions but the blades for the left assembly had blades exactly as the right one....
Contacted Lukasz and I already received new propeller blades plus the drawing showing which way they should turn so there will be no questions for anybody else.

[MiG-23MLD]

Less and less parts to cut out from the pages ;)
Fantastic creation :)

[shrike]

Don't give me a P-38
With props that counter rotate
It'll crash and it'll spin
and they'll both auger in
Don't give me a P-38


A very small number of P-38's were provided to the RAF early on. As export models they had lower power engines and non-contra props. They were not well recieved.

[birder]

absolutely, viewed from the front the port prop turns clockwise and the starb turns counterclockwise

[GreMir]

Something like that...

[birder]

Ok so you knew that.:)

[GreMir]

Glen,
No I didn't, but when I started on the left propeller, I had this nagging thought that something is wrong. I couldn't find anything in the kit to check so I went looking at photos of the real planes.
The drawing in my earlier post (and correct propeller blades) was supplied by Lukasz Fuczek when I sent him info about the error.
Of course this drawing is now part of the assembly diagrams that will come with the kit.

[Yu Gyokubun]

Great build, Mike!!!
I cannot wait for the release of this kit

[GreMir]

Yu,
Thank you. I will really look forward to your build of this plane :D

[birder]

Looks great Mike. I have the flight manual for this plane, somewhere, and I distinctly recall the booms at an angle down toward the rudders, I think yours is looking good.

[milenio3]

Perfect build with perfect details!

[GreMir]

Thank you everybody.
Glen,
You are correct. I guess everything depends on how much ammo and fuel is loaded on the plane because I saw some almost dragging the tail on the ground and some almost horizontal....
So it looks like my plane will have the "almost empty" stance :D

[GreMir]

After four and half months (weekends only) P-38H Lightning is finished.
I just have to do the web page and it will be up to you to decide if I did a good job ;)
Now I have to take some rest to recuperate - this was so far the largest and most detailed plane I have ever built...

[birder]

May I be the first to congratulate you, great model Mike!

[Don Boose]

This is one of the great builds, Mike.

And a terrific diorama!

Don

[member_3]

Beautiful build, Mike! I'm looking forward to seeing the date on the Gremir website change! :)

[redhorse]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[GreMir]

Thank you everybody for the kind words. I invite you to www.gremirmodels.com (http://www.gremirmodels.com) - model is now available :D

[member_3]

Been there, ordered that! Couldn't get the T-shirt in my size...

[birder]

That's it Gremir t-shirts!:)

[DrBill]

Beautiful job, Mike -- reminds me of your Maly Zero build a few years back, only a bit more complex. :-)

[GreMir]

Beautiful job, Mike -- reminds me of your Maly Zero build a few years back, only a bit more complex. :-)
:D

Glen,
What about a downloadable logo that you can print on inkjet transfer paper and make the T-shirt yourself? After all we are modellers, right? :D

[shrike]

Or Cafepress or Zazzle.

[milenio3]

Congratulations on the model, Mike. It sure is a contest-winner model!

[GreMir]

Thank you. Despite the complexity of the model and it's size, it is a very pleasant model to build and it builds fairly quickly as you can see in my report.

[Johnny]

Congrats with a really nice build Michael!!

[milenio3]

Editing the message.