Thanks guys for the kind words…PJ, I use their Aqueous line still thinned with their brand thinner. I bought them off ebay. I primarily use their RLM colors and Olive Drab, Everything else I use Tamiya. I have no experience with their lacquers yet…
Wow Joe, such an incredible build you have here. I love all the PE touches, but the paint ideas are just nothing short of amazing. LOVE IT !!!
BK
Very, very sharp work!
I’ve tried the streaking but can’t get it to look anywhere as good as yours. [:$]
Thanks for the kind words. Gamera, it takes practice. The tough part is not overdoing it. I go for barely noticeable.
I finished this guy last night. Now that I’ve built the Hasegawa and Eduard (Academy) kits back-to-back, I can say they are both challenging and even lacking, just in different ways. Here’s the stuff I felt was worth mentioning:
*I’ll give the Hasegawa kit the nod because the surface detail is much better. I suppose this is why Eduard threw a ton of PE and resin at the Academy kit to improve things in overall appearance. I don’t particularly like the raised rivets on the Academy kit.
*Hasegawa’s kit is tricky with boom alignment and it has underside wing root issues. On the Academy kit, the boom to wing alignment was fairly painless with no wing root to deal with due to the kit design. It’s just a matter of gluing the upper piece to the lower piece. Both gun bay nose assemblies were a lousy fit with lots of sanding and scribing.
*Hasegawa’s glass is thinner and more detailed but the Academy glass, particularly the windscreen, fit better, at least to me. I’ve never liked the fit of Hasegawa’s windscreen.
*If it was not for the PE fret offered by Eduard, the landing gear bays on the Academy kit would have no detail.
So on conclusion, factoring everything in, I’d still have to go with the Hasegawa kit with a few add on goodies. Eduard did do a nice job updating the Academy basic kit and is no slouch either. I doubt I would bother with the basic Academy kit but your mileage may vary. I do hope to try out the Hobby Boss Lightning some day.
My personal additions were Quickboost gun barrels and brake lines. I didn’t particularly like the flat table-like stance, as most parked P-38s I’ve seen tilted slightly backwards. Since I had PE scissor links, I decided to fix this by replacing the front oleo strut with a longer piece and then using the said supplied PE scissor. I like the look but it did not go without consquence. I discovered it was now a tail sitter as I failed to compensate for the weight shift…[:@]. Unfortunately this one will need to be fixed to a base by the front wheel. We live an we learn. I will however be doing this on all future P-38 builds.
Here is my rendition of “Phobe”, #122, flown by Thomas Lanphier Jr. on the Yamamoto Mission. In all, Lanphier was credited with 9 kills, 8 damaged, and a Destroyer sunk.
As much as I love this subject, I’m officially Lightning’ed out. Time for something easy. How about a Tamiya Wildcat?
Thanks for following. Comments or criticizms are always welcome…
DROP. DEAD. GORGEOUS.
I love the way she sits, Lawdog. Its unfortunate that you didn’t consider the weight shift, but I’m sure most of us would’ve also missed that.
Live and learn. Indeed. 
Thanks Mike. Indeed, a touch of blue-tac under the front wheel does wonders…
Fantastic Joe, simply STUNNING !! WOW !!! [:D[
BK
I’m bookmarking this build for whenever I get around to my Eduard Pacific Lightnings kit. I must second Mike B’s compliment - gorgeous work!
Brandon, Mike…thanks. I’m glad it will be helpful.
Your builds are always top of the line stuff Joe and this one isn’t any different at all. Great work!! What really draws my attention to your builds is the lightning quick way you get them done and still pull off the quality work. Awesome show buddy! [Y]
You’re hitting all on cyclinders with your 38 builds now. You’re definitley in the zone. You are the king of OD as far as I’m concerned and when was the last time FSM had Lanphiers very famous, but lesser known Lightning spotlighted? I’ll say never.
Congrats
Another beauty lawdog! Always love seeing your builds come together!
What a fantastic build. Your details just jumps out of you.
Toshi
Niiiiiccccccccceeeeeeeeeee!!! She turned out as awesome as I figured she would! [Y]
BTW: Joe, you might consider drilling a small hole in the front wheel and another in the base and insert a small metal rod like a piece cut from a paper clip. If you get the hole the right size the friction should hold it in without glueing it.
Thanks guys! Gamera, that’s a great idea. Thank you.
Wow! I’d missed this thread for awhile and somehow just stumbled back on it. Really nice job on the craft. With Max’s clean builds I’m always envious of the experts detail work! Great! Nice history also which is always a cool part of modeling. Keep up the good work!
Max
LawDog this is a fantastic looking build. Incredible work.