Hasegawa 1:48 P-38J

I'll be going with the standard "Virginia Marie" decal option because the blue will look so pretty on the silver. I'm going to follow examples I saw in a recent issue of Model Art Magazine about going with alternating white and black base coats under the silver to produce a varied effect. I can actually see this in the model example on the box, even though the instructions do not call for this.

My wife bought me the Tamiya P-38G about 4 birthdays (or maybe Christmases )ago. I want to build this Hasegawa kit, flaws and all, to give me a better appreciation for the newly-tooled Tamiya kit.


People complain about the wheel wells on the engine nacelles and I see what they mean. They could have been engineered a bit better, with locator teeth to get them to fit together more tightly. The halves also require a lot of sanding for the seamlines. It's unfortunate because the panel lines are already so shallow. There are some indentations on top of the engine pods, so I used some Tamiya Light Curing Putty to fill that in. Dab some on, let it sit under the fluorescent lamp for a while to harden, then sand off the excess. This is particularly useful for filling in injection points on the inside of landing gear bay doors, etc.


You attach the nacelles to the underside of the wingspan/cockpit and then the underside of the wings. The connection between the engine nacelles and the top part isn't very good. It will require a lot of filing. The nose requires a lot of weight to keep it from becoming a tail sitter. 35g! Someone recommended getting metal landing gears by SAC that are made for this model kit. HLJ has some in stock, so I used my birthday coupon to get a set. Looking at the photo now, I wonder if those engine nacelles are not straight? Maybe it's just the camera angle. I'll have to look a look at it when I get home.

The nacelles look straight to me in the photo. Great work so far, I like it

They look straight to me as well.

Yes, after I got home that day, I confirmed that the nacelles are straight. Someone told me that he had to soak his in warm water to get them to straighten out... Dunno what that was about. Maybe his kit was warped? Anyhow, he's a real butt-ass so I don't talk to him anymore. It took a while to realize that he's a manchild who has a hissy fit when a model does not fit perfectly like a Tamiya kit.

Lots of work for an old kit, but looking good

Last night the pewter landing gears arrived.

For those of you who enjoy modeling videos, I've done two of them so far and uploaded them to Odysee.

I've finished airbrushing my P-38 with gloss white with gloss black panels. When I spray the kit with a silver overcoat, these alternate panels will show through differently.

stevethefish said:

I've finished airbrushing my P-38 with gloss white with gloss black panels. When I spray the kit with a silver overcoat, these alternate panels will show through differently.

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Very nice. Pantherman

Looks good. Looking forward to seeing how the black and white gloss works under the silver.

This is super interesting. I have not tried this method before. Excited to see how ti turns out.

Yeah, I learned about this method in the August(?) 2023 issue of Model Art magazine. I show it briefly in the most recent video. If you guys have never seen Model Art, it would knock your socks off. I hear that Fine Scale Modeler is down to only 6 issues per year, and they are pretty thin. Each month, Model Art has a thick issue that is FULL of information, various test paint demonstrations, and so on. During the whole Covid feldercarb, Model Art came out with so many useful, in-depth tutorial issues all about airbrushing, scribing, masking, sanding, and so on. This specific issue is all about metallic paints-- lacquer, acrylic, and even enamel, which thinners to use, and so on.

If you guys can get a hold of Mr. Color Rapid Thinner, this is the #1 recommended thinner for airbrushing metallic paints. It helps the paint dry quickly and evenly, so that the metallic pigment particles dry in a uniform direction. It helps the paint to dry before the particles slosh about or something.

Today I put down a coat of Mr. Color SM201, Super Fine Silver 2. The color variation is a bit more visible in-person than in these photos. But if you can compare with the photos above, you'll see that the engine cowlings, the rear end of the nacelles, and the sections of the vertical stabilizers were painted black.

I can see it in the top photo on the nose and the top engine panels. It certainly makes a difference and looks good.

stevethefish said:

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Today I put down a coat of Mr. Color SM201, Super Fine Silver 2. The color variation is a bit more visible in-person than in these photos. But if you can compare with the photos above, you'll see that the engine cowlings, the rear end of the nacelles, and the sections of the vertical stabilizers were painted black.

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Wow, that's shiny. I love it. Pantherman

My problem is that I tend to do too many layers of paint. The effect was rather prominent at first, but diminished with each application of paint. I just hate spraying a model, only to discover later that I missed a place or perhaps it appears uneven in other areas.

FSM… that POS of a magazine. FSM is certainly isn't what it used to be back in the 90s and early part of 2000s. Now it's the same old same old articles. FSM is starting to get really stale and won't be a bit surprised the magazine ends its publication. They're asking to much $$$ for 6 THIN issues. Not worth it anymore. Let's not forget their forum is getting pretty dismal and pathetic - nobody posting as much as it used to be. The mods worrying about folks posting "offensive" posts when they were never offensive to begin with. I should know… I was banned three times there, the last one I ripped a new one directly at the Aaron and Tim of their moderation of FSM forums.

It's sad really. A good number of members have left because of them. A few handful are still there. Tanker builder still rambles on posting useless stuff to keep the forums active. Missleman hardly posts anything. GMorrison…. well, let's poke the bear on that one. LOL!

BlackSheepTwoOneFour said:

FSM… that POS of a magazine. FSM is certainly isn't what it used to be back in the 90s and early part of 2000s. Now it's the same old same old articles. FSM is starting to get really stale and won't be a bit surprised the magazine ends its publication. They're asking to much $$$ for 6 THIN issues. Not worth it anymore. Let's not forget their forum is getting pretty dismal and pathetic - nobody posting as much as it used to be. The mods worrying about folks posting "offensive" posts when they were never offensive to begin with. I should know… I was banned three times there, the last one I ripped a new one directly at the Aaron and Tim of their moderation of FSM forums.

It's sad really. A good number of members have left because of them. A few handful are still there. Tanker builder still rambles on posting useless stuff to keep the forums active. Missleman hardly posts anything. GMorrison…. well, let's poke the bear on that one. LOL!

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I don't know about the forum since I've only looked on there a few times while doing a web search for some information, but the current state of the magazine is a sign of the times. Heck, Scale Model Addict used to be a print magazine, right? FSM had separate magazines for armor and cars, but those are now gone AFAIK (I haven't lived in America for over 12 years). People just go online for how-to articles rather than buying magazines.

On top of that, the hobby isn't as respected in the USA as it is in Japan. Unfortunately it has a stigma for being "something that kids do" even though kids typically don't even build models anymore since they'd rather play video games. They'd rather build Gundams than Spitfires or whatever. Plus there is the whole IPMS mindset that values competition and endless rows of models built the way they are supposed to be built rather than just having fun with the hobby. Having attended the Shizuoka Hobby Show several times, the private exhibition hall is huge and there is no judging. There are modeling clubs displaying their creations and it's a celebration of the hobby rather than grown men throwing temper tantrums because they didn't get at least 3rd place (like my friend unfortunately has witnessed).

May i add that the adds are so overwhelming it causes my iPad to freeze up and long wait times for a page to load up. I'm not a member here yet but I'm definitely looking to plant somewhere else. As an annual m,beer i should have unlimited acces to the sight but don't and the mods are useless.