I have been a modeler since my dad would let me handle modeling paint…about age 4-5…[:p]and over the years with a new interest in WWII fighters my modeling has gotten more seriouse and mostley WWII prop. planes either US or German. I looked in a Fine Scale Modeling Magazine on the WWII fighters and a few other issues and kept hearing of resin and other after market parts…and saw how much more of a realistic finish they had on the model. I had bought a 1/48 P-38J Lockheed Lightning from Monogram and was wandering what detail kit i can use maybe to make the cock-pit more robust and realistic, also the gun platform and any other little details i can add to this model…and where i can find these kits at. [?] I have noticed that my models have been gettin better from the years of practice though im not a serious modeler due to lack of free time i would like to have but i can put together a nice model that has a good paint job and sastisfies me and even gets me a few “I wish i could do that” from my friends…lol [:D] but im always experimenting with new techniques and new ideas and i would like to try to detail my kit with the after market detail kits…and i would like to know what i can do to make it look more realistic and where i can find the kit i need. Thnx
Hey shark try looking for true details cockpit etched set and resin wheels Im not sure but i think they make one for the mono-p-38j and maybe VLS might have something too www.verlinden-productions.com thats just a few of them. If you got a good hobbie shop nearby they will have catalogs that can point you in the right direction. I know for my mono p-47 true details had the cockpit set and resin -i was real happy with the way it turned out–let me know how it goes
OK…thanks there is a hobby shop i can go to but it is 2 hours away…hehe but that doesnt matter. I was also thinking about using “Bare-Metal foil” to cover it with because i saw a P-38 on this site covered in tin-foil and it looks more realistic and much better than silver paint. Do you have any tips on how to do it or how to make it easier and have a better finish? If not i think the owners of the hobby shop said they were pretty good at puttin a model together so i can ask them also.
Im not to sure about foil–its kind of the blind leading the blind on that! Im doing p-47n right now and was thinking of doing the same thing! Ive heard of poeple using a spray type of glue on tin foil and when it gets tacky they lay it on the model–if i try it im going to test it on an junk plane. The bare metal i know works but it is not cheap! But it can go around curves better than tin foil. I have allways painted my planes with like SNJ and for that you have get all the seems and joints flawless or it will show.
Let me know how its going! Did you find any etched parts to use on it?
Ok…i looked around on the net and found a few kits but i decided not to get it because i found a nice deal for a 1/38 P-51 “Glamorous Glennis”<–i think thats how ya spell it…lol and it includes true details resin wheels and the cockpit update for $40[:D] so i got that instead…but i went on and put the 38’s cockpit together and added some wires and some weathering and when i finished it …the cockpit didnt look half bad…when i finish it ill add it and the mustang to the “ron.george.com gallery” I took some pics already of my BF-109 and when i get them uploaded ill add them…
–but i will add the foil to the P-51…the Mustang should be easier to cover since there arent as many difficult curves to cover unlike the lightning. Maybe with the experience after i cover the lightning ill be able to do a better job.
–But these aftermarket parts and covering with foil are new for me i didnt even know anything about it till i read the magazine and came to this website…hehe now i know how people get their models to look so realistic. Though im still wondering how they get the aftermarket engine in the model if the model kit doesnt have a cut away area where you could see the engine?
Do they use a dremel tool to cut the area away?
Right now …im starting to put the main pieces together…i got some Future and sprayed a few coats on it. It helped my canopy alot! the prop blades look nice and shiney with a few coats of future…but im having some problems with the NMF i airbrushed on…after I masked off the areas to put the “No-Glare” sections of Olive drab and gave it 24 hrs to dry i removed the tape and it took some of the silver paint off…so its goin to be a matter of touching it up alot when its done…Do you think the Painter’s “Blue” masking tape could solve this?? Also the putty i used to fill in some gaps has weakened the plastic causin it to cave in on some of the places its been used…mainly on the underside…making it look like dents[:(!] but i guess this is all a part of the learning process…[:(]
But hopefully i will be able to touch the paint up atleast to make it look decent.
And just make sure to prevent that on my next model[;)]
I want to super detail a P-38J 1/48 from Hasegawa. I’ve found a refrence book, cockpit detail set, nose detail set, tire set, and decals too. All I need is a wheel well kit, some gear doors, and filters for the boom intakes and engine intakes. So if u could help me I would appreciate it.
“The Fork-tailed devil”-German pilots[:D]
P.S. How do u change that snap-together thing?
Its FlyBoy again. So none of you know where I can find a wheel well kit? Well…I’ll just keep searching the web! I’ll send some pictures of the P-38 when I’m done![:D] That’s going to be a while because of school![:p]
Fly fast, fly high,so the Germans and Japanese can’t get ya![8D]
P.S. CFS2 ROCKS!! (When you’re flying a lightning!) And when you’re behind them…BLOW THIER TAIL OUT’A THE SKY!!![:D]