Ok, I'm getting pretty deep into my Hasegawa P-38J and I need some references. For as popular an airplane as the P-38 was you'd think there'd be more on the web. I'd like to borrow a Detail and Scale in order to get the little stuff right because the differences between a J-5-LO and a J-25-LO might as well be totally different airplanes. I need to get this stuff sorted out. Mine will not have the compressibility flaps but does have the flat windscreen making it a J-10-LO I think. Right?
If I decide later to do an 'L' then I should go Academy? The Minicraft is to be avoided, correct? What about an early P-38 from New Guinea? Academy or Hasegawa? ProModeler is the Hasegawa kit correct?
William
Hi William,
I can't help you with the D&S, since all I have is the one for the early P-38s, but I can tell you about the Hasegawa kits. They're supposed to be the most accurate & most detailed of the kits available, but are the hardest to build. Academy is supposed the be the easiest. On my Hasegawa kit, it fit together better than I expected, but still needed help. I used Terry Dean's weights, which fit inside the nacelles and weigh about 5x more than what's necessary to keep the nose wheel down. The model is very flexible, so when you pick it up, you run the risk of popping a seam, and it's made worse by the weight in the nacelles. The kit plastic reacted oddly with super glue or accelerator. It's very brittle and sprouts stress cracks spontaniously. There is no one-piece canopy available, and the multi-piece one is a major headache to deal with.
The ProModeler kit is the Hasegawa E/F kit, IIFC.
Ben
Okay, I've been poking around the Web instead of working. Here's a page from Joe Baugher's site that explains what mods were for what block #:
http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p38_13.html
If you're building a Block 10, the NASM's unrestored P-38 is a P-38J-10-LO. I found a few photos of it online. Maybe somebody on Hyperscale or ARC has shot more detailed pics of it.
HTH.
Ben
William,
I just noticed this, sorry I've not commented sooner. I have a pretty good inventory of P-38 references. I'll try really hard to come to the next meeting and let you see if anything I have will help you out. I know that I have the D & S, plus quite a bit of other stuff, including some magazines. I would like to get them back in the next 6 months or so (who knows, I might be called upon to work on the fleet I started on years ago).
Lee might correct me on this, but here is what I recall on the kits:
The Pro-Modeler kit is the Hasegawa kit.
I believe that the Minicraft and Academy kits are the same, both early and late models, but not 100% sure.
All of the kits are a real bear to align the booms with the wings. Also a pain to fill all of the gaps and get them finished out. The Hasegawa kits tend to have a twist to the booms if you fit them tight to the wings. Personally, I think that the Hasegawa kit has finer detail and better shapes, but the Minicraft & Academy kits are engineered to fit better. The radiator enclosures on all leave a lot to be desired, as they are quite open and visible from front and back.
There are some very nice resin cockpits (I think that you got one from me), but I've been quite disappointed that there are no resin wheel wells, as there is lots of detail missing and it is quite visible with the big doors open.
Norm
Hey William, just saw your post...I have a fairly nice hard cover book on the P-38 and some magazines with good shots. I'll bring them to the next meeting and let you see if it's what you need.
Ben, Norm and Ronnie. Thanks All. Yes, Norm you gave me an old KMC resin set for the 'pit that will work just fine. I've already gotten it off the mold blocks and along with some True Details tires I should be set there. You're right the wheel bays while not bad are missing a ton of detail and the fit of the gear doors is less than positive. I'll have to work on those. I'm pretty much needing detail photos of the J / L right now. In the future I'd like to do an earlier one based out of New Guinea. This one will likely be a NMF J. Any info you have on the various J - L a/c would be appreciated.
Thanks and I'll see you Sunday,
William