Lockheed P-38J Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was one of the mose famous fighters of World War II. Used in both theaters, the P-38 was more widely known in the Pacific Theater. The long range, large payload, high top speed, high rate of climb, and focused firepower made the P-38 a formatible foe in both theaters. Due to it's utility, the P-38 was adapted to fill many roles including dive bomber and photo reconnaissance. With over 10,000 built, this plane was considered to be one of the best Allied weapons in the war.
This model is the old Revel model, but made recently. There are several new parts in the kit, allowing you to make the photo reconaissance or bomber version, but they seem more like afterthoughts because you'll need to cut parts off the basic model to use them. Also, the age of the mold is showing. Fit is marginal at best, and gaps were everwhere. The surface detail was pretty nice, but was raised. That meant that a lot dissappeared when I had to fill and sand all those gaps.
Another downside to the model was the lack on interior details. I like to do a little accurization, but not build entire wheel wells. If you don't look at the plane from the bottom, you are ok. One look in the wheel wells or any vent/ducts and you'll see a whole lot of nothing. It takes away from the otherwise nice exterior details.
It Sounded Like a Good Idea
I was originally going to use Bare Metal Foil for the more realistic metal look, but all thise curves and bends made it really difficult. I decided to just use the spray bomb instead. It turned out pretty well in the end. I also had a problem with tail weight. I'm sure the real plane's engines, guns, and other goodies made it sit really well on it's wheels, but the empty model kind of just leans right back. I tried adding weight to the nose, but I didn't add enough. The model still sits on it's tail, so I had to use the little pogo stick to keep it level.
One thing I did manage to do right was the pilot. I got him painted up pretty well, and he actually has eyes! I thought that was a nice touch. I kind of have a problem with models without pilots. I mean, if the plane is sitting there loaded for war and looks like it's ready to take off, why leave the seat empty? Adding a little guy in there really put the scale into perspective for many people, so put one in there and let them see how big some of these things really are.
Overall, this was a pretty good model, but I was getting a little annoyed at all the poor seams, poor fit, and other problems. My wife also really likes this one because it's all shiny and doesn't look a thing like my other models. I've always liked the P-38 as well, and this one is a good addition to my collection.