Richard,
Just trying to catch up as life has been spiraling out of control lately.
The Tamiya masks in their later car kits are pre-cut, so I’m assuming that they’ll go that way with their aircraft masks as well. Still, it’s pretty easy with cuticle scissors to cut out those masks. I did find that one had to stay on the outside of the line for a tighter fit.
Looking forward to seeing how those wet transfers worked out. So far they look fantastic.
Gotta completely agree with you about Tamiya’s decal issue, there’s just no excuse for it these days. In their better (more expensive race car kits), the decals are printed by Cartograf. Thinner and there’s just no bleed through of base colors.
So far I’d say that this build is right up there with your standards. Looking forward to your next update.
Hi Greg - Thanks for the input and you may be correct in that Tamiya is concerned with opacity.
I use aftermarket decals from Lifelike among others and opacity has never been a problem ( for me )
Decals largely done now - a couple of stencils here and there remain.
The HGW wet transfers worked beautifully as far as installation goes - a little learning curve to negotiate but nothing too difficult. The removal of the film went without a hitch. The only negatives to speak of are fit and color . The lower fuselage camo below the blue stripe overlapped the wing camo at the root in a few places. The green blotches are slightly translucent and where they overlap it looks like a black blotch. I was able to correct this to some degree by over painting the entire blotch in question with a similar green. The other issue is the color itself. To the best of my knowledge the blotches should be IJA Dark Green or Olive Green - both of which are more brown in tone . The color on the wet transfer is a bright emerald blueish green.
That being said I am still pleased with the outcome.
Calling this one done . I will add the antenna and mast at a later date because I have to box the model up until I get a bigger display cabinet - current one is full.
This was a very enjoyable build - as I have stated earlier , the engineering and its attendant fit is just superb . The wet transfers were a new experience for me and I will certainly look to using them again - thinking of doing something with a BMF using foil .
The wet transfers may be just the thing . Now if we could convince Tamiya to thin down their decals a bit …
Starting on their new P 38 shortly. ( what … stars & bars ? No red circles? )
Thanks everyone for their interest.
Cheers- Mr. Redcircles
Richard,
Once again you managed to kick up your build a few notches. Just super impressive everywhere I look. The cockpit is up to your usual high standards, as is the paint, and decaling. As for those wet transfers, I’d say that you really nailed them.
I still can’t believe that you’re actually building a USAAF P-38. So I’ll be following your build adventures for sure.
Richard, glad to see your airplane complete…and a great job it is, too!!! I wish I was in a position to begin mine, but I’m still held back by other models in progress. You’ve inspired me to try the wet transfers, never having done so before. You’re got a beautiful ship there…thank you for showing us!!!
richard i really love this build. where did you get the camo decals? i have the hasegawa hein kit and been looking for them in 1/48. i see them for 1/72 and couldn’t understand why know one hadn’t made them in 1/48. are they made for the tamiya kit or are they generic?
Hi Joe - the camo decals are from HGW and are engineered for the Tamiya kit - I don’t know if the would fit the Hasegawa Hein - likely not .
I ordered the direct from HGW as no retailers seem to carry them . hgwmodel.cz
