Tamiya P-38J Wicked Woman

[DocRob]

Hola fellow modelistas, on to a new project.

As a short holiday is nearing, I was looking for an in between project and Tamiya's P-38 was on my list since a while. I have both, the -J and the -F version, but I want to use Eduards positive rivets on  a high shine aluminum finish, so it could only be the -J. Aftermarket will be limited, I will use Quinta cockpit decals for the first time, Master brass barrels, only because I can glue them in after painting and said Eduard rivets and canopy masks.
Because of the high shine aluminum finish, I'm after, I wanted good decals and a simple paintjob, to reduce masking, so no invasion stripes. I decided to use Bombshell Decals for 'Wicked Woman', which is only accentuated in gloss and matte black.

The build log will be very brief, as everything fits like a glove and until now, I had no difficulties of any kind. If you are in search for the perfect kit, you possible can't come closer. The engineering is even better than with Tamiya' 1/32 Corsairs, hard to believe. If you are an engineering aficionado, you should build one of the three P-38's.

I started with the cockpit, scraped detail away, to accept the Quinta decals and airbrushed the base colors, followed by some brush detail painting and a very light oil pin wash. The Quinta decals, which I used for the first time look mostly very good and were applied using water thinned PVA and CA for very small parts. The seat belts look a bit unreal and HGW's offerings are looking better, but are a pain to assemble in 1/48. The dashboard has a slight rasterized look, but only through the macro lens. In all the Quinta set is a huge time saver and easy to work with.

 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

In a blink, nearly the whole fuselage, wing and tail boom construction was finished. If you ever asked yourself, why Tamiya brought out the extra thin cement, with this kit it shines, with perfect fitting panels and intersecting parts.
The construction of the plane is a bit complicated naturally with the double tail boom construction and the numerous air intakes and large wheel bays, but following the instructions, it's an easy build, not the least due ingenious engineering.
My goal was to achieve the least spoilt surface, to have a good base for a gloss coat before applying the rivets.

The wheel wells were sprayed with AK's Extreme Metal matte aluminum, followed by my own thin mix of black oil color, diluted with matte thinner.

Cheers Rob

 

[Peterpools]

Rob

Awesome start and the details and Quita set look perfect.  So far we went the same route and I'm hoping to finish my cammo work tomorrow with an update.

I'm sure you are going to blow right by me and I'm looking forward to every update.

 

[Martinnfb]

Hola Diego, are we there yet ?

I will be watching with interest.

Cheers

Martin

 

[DocRob]

10 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Awesome start and the details and Quita set look perfect.  So far we went the same route and I'm hoping to finish my cammo work tomorrow with an update.

I'm sure you are going to blow right by me and I'm looking forward to every update.

 

 

8 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

Hola Diego, are we there yet ?

I will be watching with interest.

Thank you Peter and Martin, after some very time consuming builds, I'm more than astonished, how fast building up the P-38 went. I'm not intending to overtake you Peter and I'm sure, I can't be finished before my holidays, next weekend. Painting, prep-work and riveting will be more time consuming, I guess.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Looking forward to following your progress and enjoying your touch on the P-38.

 

 

[DocRob]

For adding the nose to the fuselage, Tamiya gives you different sets of guns (grey) which have to be glued from the inside and are in the way, while riveting and airbrushing the surface. Therefore, I used Master barrels and the Tamiya parts with cut barrels and pre drilled holes for accepting the brass barrels from the outside.

Next was the base layer for the riveting. Eduard suggests using Mr. Surfacer with some gloss medium, but I went with my trusted Tamiya LP1 gloss black, thinned with about two thirds of Mr. leveling thinner. The finish is of a very high shine and should be a perfect base.
Some black on black pics .

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Looking amazing Rob, a little different from the Academy P38 I did, the nacelles took me forever. I have the Tamiya F/G in the stash plus Monogram J so looking forward to building the Tamiya. Some in inspiration…..

[Martinnfb]

I'm quite intrigued by this new Eduard riveting line, I wonder how it compares to the HGW riveting sets, or is it produced by HGW as well? In any case this is exciting approach Rob.

Cheers

M.

[Peterpools]

Rob

The gloss black base is looking mighty good and I've become a convert to using Tamiya LP-1 as well. Right with Martin wondering about the Eduard Rivet System.

 

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking amazing Rob, a little different from the Academy P38 I did, the nacelles took me forever. I have the Tamiya F/G in the stash plus Monogram J so looking forward to building the Tamiya. Some in inspiration…..

Thank you Phil, I have the Academy kit as well and initially planned a double build with the Tamiya -F/G, but that changed, when Tamiya released the -J, because I like the Lightning better in NMF

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

15 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

I'm quite intrigued by this new Eduard riveting line, I wonder how it compares to the HGW riveting sets, or is it produced by HGW as well? In any case this is exciting approach Rob.

 

14 hours ago, Peterpools said:

The gloss black base is looking mighty good and I've become a convert to using Tamiya LP-1 as well. Right with Martin wondering about the Eduard Rivet System.

I checked the decal sheets and manual and there is no HGW branding whatsoever. The manual looks different from the HGW ones I know, but you can't be sure.
Eduard explained a bit more thorough, how to work with the rivet decals in their May 2022 issue of Info Eduard.

info-eduard-2022-05en-ma.pdf

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Rob the riveter has been starting to work . I followed the process, described in Info Eduard' May 2022 issue. You have to cut the decal precisely, as the carrier film is covering the whole sheet. Some parts needed to be cut out, where raised details or similar are onto the plastic part.
Then the decal is pressed onto the sponge, soaked with water with some drops of detergent mixed in. A few seconds are sufficient and the decal slides off the backing sheet very easily. Placement on the model is critical, but the decals are generally forgiving, except for wrinkles, which are not so easy to remove. After placement, I used a dry sponge to press onto the decal without movement, followed by checking it and pressing more refined with a damp flat brush and rubber decal applicators.

Workplace:

Before (right wing underside)

After (left wing underside) The photo was taken some minutes after application, recommended drying time is 24 hours.

The decals with slightly raised rivets, which you can see and feel with the fingertip.

In case of the Eduard rivet decals, there is no later lift off the carrier film, like I think is the case with HGW's rivets. Nearly the whole plane is covered with decal in the end and needs another base layer of very fine finishing primer, in my case again Tamiya LP gloss black.

Cheers Rob

[Martinnfb]

I would cut out the decal film from these cover. Those rivets shouldn't be there.

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Martinnfb said:

I would cut out the decal film from these cover. Those rivets shouldn't be there.

Well, thank you Martin, I knew it . I was somehow sure, that the pattern of rivets is not perfect and it would be pointed out, but I'm no rivet counter, literally and doesn't even have researched. if the rivets are layed out correctly. I'm more of a 'if it looks about right, it is right' type of guy.

Cheers Rob 

[GazzaS]

Very sharp work, Rob.  Glad to see you going all out with the rivets. 

[DocRob]

20 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

Very sharp work, Rob.  Glad to see you going all out with the rivets. 

Thank you Gary, I hope they will come out flawless with my planned glossy NMF paintjob.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob, WOW, the rivets look brilliant and the effect is beyond awesome and that's what counts. Working on the same Tamiya family of P-38's, I can so easily tell and appreciate all the extra work, especially after the rivet decals are in place. and have dried. 

I 

[DocRob]

4 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Rob, WOW, the rivets look brilliant and the effect is beyond awesome and that's what counts. Working on the same Tamiya family of P-38's, I can so easily tell and appreciate all the extra work, especially after the rivet decals are in place. and have dried. 

Thank you Peter, now, after having the wings and tail finished, I have a kind of routine with the rivet decals. You have to cut precisely and take a lot of care, while placing the decals. Thy are relatively robust, but they fold over easily on corners and around cutouts. The large flat brush is my best friend, pushing out bubbles of air or water. tiny air bubbles were removed, by pinching them with a sharp blade tip and push down with the said damp brush. I have to say, the rivets are the main reason, I chose to build the P-38, because I was curios how they would be to work with.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Great reason for sure.

 

 

[DocRob]

I finished the riveting today and have to say, fitting of the rivet decals is near perfect. I ran into a bit of trouble on one of the tail booms, where two decals met on the upper and lower side. They overlapped a tiny bit, which made ugly wrinkles, which I couldn't sort out completely. I will see, what I can do about it after they are thoroughly dried. The good preparation payed off, the decals glided lightly onto the surfaces in general. Tomorrow, before spraying a new black base layer, I check for tiny bubbles, which I take out by stabbing into them with a needle.

I added seat, radios and armor plate into the cockpit, before gluing the canopy in place. The Eduard masks fitted like a glove and before mounting the clear parts, there needed to be glued some parts to their inside, like the gunsight and structural bar

Last unobstructed view into the cockpit:

Canopy glued in place:

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Looking amazing Rob, do you have to use any MicroSol or simply on these rivet decals?……..are you going to use the AK Black base on this and then the Xtreme Metals?……

[Peterpools]

Rob

Holy cow - what a difference ... the riveting looks incredible. 🏆

  

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking amazing Rob, do you have to use any MicroSol or simply on these rivet decals?……..are you going to use the AK Black base on this and then the Xtreme Metals?……

 

28 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Holy cow - what a difference ... the riveting looks incredible. 🏆

Thank you Phil and Peter. The riveting changed the appearance of the plane a lot. Let's see, how the color layers on top will show.

Phil, I only used lukewarm water with some drops of detergent mixed in, like Eduard suggests. I pushed the cut decals onto a sponge soaked with the mix and after a few seconds, the decal moves easily. The plastic surface was brushed with the same mix and the detergent hindered the water to pool. After application, I used another dry sponge to press water and air bubbles out, followed by passes with a wet flat brush and rubber decal applicator.
I will never use AK's black base again, as it never really dries. Even after days, it is still tacky on the surface, in one word, the stuff is crap. I use Tamiya LP-1 gloss black instead, which sprays perfectly and dries fast and rock hard, mixed with about two thirds of leveling thinner.

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

2 hours ago, DocRob said:

 

Thank you Phil and Peter. The riveting changed the appearance of the plane a lot. Let's see, how the color layers on top will show.

Phil, I only used lukewarm water with some drops of detergent mixed in, like Eduard suggests. I pushed the cut decals onto a sponge soaked with the mix and after a few seconds, the decal moves easily. The plastic surface was brushed with the same mix and the detergent hindered the water to pool. After application, I used another dry sponge to press water and air bubbles out, followed by passes with a wet flat brush and rubber decal applicator.
I will never use AK's black base again, as it never really dries. Even after days, it is still tacky on the surface, in one word, the stuff is crap. I use Tamiya LP-1 gloss black instead, which sprays perfectly and dries fast and rock hard, mixed with about two thirds of leveling thinner.

Cheers Rob

+1 on AK black base (and I think it is also the one interacting funnily with Mr Levelling Thinner)

Hubert