Tamiya P-38J "Marge" (#123)

[Edbert]

Is that a Bradley's on the bench too?

Yessir. I have a problem, with 6 kits in various stages of completion at a time. That is down from 9 having recently finished a Spitfire, a Corsair, and a Mig, but my ability to keep blaming the squirrels is fading.

 

[Si B]

Yessir. I have a problem, with 6 kits in various stages of completion at a time. That is down from 9 having recently finished a Spitfire, a Corsair, and a Mig, but my ability to keep blaming the squirrels is fading.

I wouldn't say that was a problem, I always have several on the go….keeps it interesting
I found your Bradley's blog so I'm off for a look through

 

[Rimmer]

Really nice looking build. I have this kit kicking around in the stash - I think I started painting up the cockpit about two years ago and kind of forgot about it - I really must pick it up again.

 

[Edbert]

This is three (very) thin coats of AK Extreme Metal, I think any more will not help. I am seeing some fluctuations that I intended like leading edge and ailerons, but other inconsistencies that I cannot explain, like what would be the wing-roots of a normal monoplane.



I'm wanting to apply the olive drab (anti-glare) parts, but playing it slow to decide if I need to address the inconsistent silver. Here are some better pics of what I mean.

Underside of starboard wingtip, there's an unevenness of the plastic that looks like tiny waves, hard to photograph. But the more obvious issue is towards the leading edge. Those look like finger-swipes, maybe with residual thinner or glue? However small, the silver/aluminum paint really makes it show.


That small circle is part of the molding, but the 5 or 6 "ticks" on the trailing edge are...who knows what I did there.

 

[Edbert]

Follow-up...

Would you do a gloss coat to protect the silver BEFORE applying olive drab and red wingtips?

Part of me thinks yes, the masking might alter the silver, even without a bleed.

But I'm always worried about too many layers.