Peterpools

TAMIYA P-38F LIGHTNING 1/48th SCALE Working on two ZM kits for months has finally wore me out, as my mojo had flown the coop. The 109 and the Skyraider were moving along at a nice clip but an endless stream of issues to deal with and it surely was time for a major break to recharge the batteries. The two kits sat on the bench and I had no enthusiasm to join them and keep going, for at least the present time being. I needed to change gears, rejuvenate the juices and I turned to my to favorite kit company: Tamiya. My stash is at least 85% Tamiya, both 32nd and 48th scale, so I had no problem where to head, just what to build. Decision made: 1/48 P-38F Lightning with a Quinta Cockpit set – I was off and running. Yes, I’m a huge Tamiya Fan Boy and mighty proud of it. Instructions, pure Tamiya: easy to read, understand and follow, with no guessing needed. As with most kits, construction started with the front office. I spent a good ten plus hours carefully constructing the office, preparing the parts for the Quinta decals, painting and then applying them. The office is done and one hundred percent enjoyment. Only cleanup needed was removing the sprue runners’ nubs and that’s it; no flash or injection pin marks at all. Precise fit, awesome engineering and care need to be taken to remove paint from mating surfaces as the tolerances are very tight. I can feel the mojo returning for sure. I broke my unwritten rule of macro images but the front office is mighty small, so out came the Nikon 105 Macro. I tried to keep the magnification down so the images would look as seen up close and personal. Just test fitting, only the front office as parts glued in place.

Ernie Looks really good but geez, for a company that is seriously thinking of pulling the plug on it's IM business, why offer all the AM stuff - just put the effort into upgrading the kit details. Surely would help those on the fence, decide to buy the kit, rather then keep thinking about all the upgrades.

Right with Phil

One beautiful Spitfire - terrific build.

Very nicely done

Rob WOW. beautiful work.

Sasha One good looking 109 - so very well done

Terrific start - looking mighty good

Bill Wishing you a speedy recovery. I suffered many years from back pains and thank goodness, I healed without needing surgery, I can only imagine the pain everyone has experienced and gone through.

Peter Brilliant work - just a pleasure to follow your progress.

Rob & Gaz I prefer rubbing and polishing compounds specifically made for models as they are a lot less abrasive and there is less of a chance of wearing/rubbing though the paint, with Gravity Paints (Spain) Polishing System my favorite. I used for the past few years and it's my number one.

Guys, sometimes at 75 years of age, I try not to leave construction steps and detail to memory - it's nly asking for a problem in the very near future. 😉

Oliver Just enjoying your creativity and skills at the highest level.

Looking so good and memories for sure.

John Nice work on the front office, IP, seat and harnesses. I'm pretty spoiled these days and look to use Quinta sets when I can. Of course, not going with Tamiya's front office is a hard choice for sure.

Rob WOW! What a gorgeous build and a gem. No question she will be center stage on your display shelf. Appreciate the reason why you chose BMF over Alclad or AK Real Metals - and completely agree, the right choice for sure. Will be looking forward to your next racer - excellent choice for sure.

She will fit right in and be at home with the rest of the gang.

Rob Terrific progress. The gloss finish dried perfectly and the one slightly lighter panel breaks up the solid blue color a b it and adds a lot of interest. Nice work on the radiator and deciding to go with Bare Metal Foil. Any reason you choose it over Alclad or AK Metallics? The IP and canopy framing is also spot on the money. Now I understand how the pilot will have enough forward vision to keep things semi safe and see where he is going. Looking so good and just love aircraft that can pass a Saturday morning inspection; neat, clean and polished.

Kev Yup, it does that a lot of time but it's worth the effort for sure, only if you can see the inside of the canopy framing from each side.

Pete I'm right with Martin.

Nice progress and don't push those eyes. Work for a while and then rest those eyes. - best way for sure

John never get tired of following your Corsair builds. In fact I have a few in the stash that should be hitting the bench after the Skyraider and 109 are done. Nice choice of schemes: Virgil Ray

Rob I shoot 100% in RAW and always need to do post work on every image. For model photography, I should shoot in JPEG but just don't, just how I work. Next update, I'll double check the colors and luminosity of the smaller parts to make sure.

Thanks Oliver and very much appreciated. Right now I'm pretty set for what I need, and of course have hit the wall with the folding wings. Going to be a lot of work just to get them on and looking good. Between the Skyraider and the 109, I've had my fill of 32nd scale ZM kits.

Welcome Neil, enjoy LSM and have fun building. I left LSP many years ago, had my membership terminated and never looked back.