Comprehensive Series
Scale Model Manual No. 4

Building & Detailing the Trumpeter 1/32 scale P-38 Lightning

by Mike Ashey

Reviewed by David Couche

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Mike Ashey has released a new eBook which is the 4th in the series of the Comprehensive Series Scale Model Manuals, this time the focus is on the Trumpeter 1/32 P-38 Lightning.  This book has 48 pages and over 260 sequenced colour photos. The book is available in either a paper version or as a set of PDF files. I have the PDF version which will comes as one file. You may opt for a paper version.

Here is a write up on the highlights of the P-38 manual supplied by Mike:
 
The comprehensive series aircraft manual titled “Building and Detailing the Trumpeter 1/32 scale P-38 Lightning” shows you how to assemble, improve, detail, paint and apply basic weathering. The manual also shows you how to prepare and apply decals. There are some challenging void issues with this kit and the manual shows you how to fill and contour these voids using plastic strips and super glue. The thickness of the kit’s plastic is thin for a 1/32 scale kit and the manual shows you how to add interior laminations of plastic sheet and strip to reinforce the main wing, the fuselage and the engine booms so that the seams will not crack due to flexing.  The manual shows you how to add weight to the engines and the nose area to properly balance the model. The cockpit was enhanced with the Eduard P-38 photoetch set and their pre-painted seat belts and the manual shows you how to prepare, bend and reinforce the photoetch parts. The kit represents a P-38 L-5-LO, however the model was back dated to a P-38J, which required omitting the rocket pylons and filling in the wing lights. This kit has two well detailed engines and the manual demonstrates how to remove and detail panels so that areas of each engine can be displayed.  The kit’s guns have a slight misalignment between the part halves so they were replaced with plastic rod and the propellers were replaced with a set from a Revell kit as they are more accurate in appearance and shape. The separate control surfaces and flaps also need some modifications and tweaking to achieve a better fit. The kit was painted with enamels and lacquers and minimal weathering was achieved with drybrushing techniques and a badger 200 detail airbrush.

Mike has developed his own unique and systematic techniques for building, detailing, painting, decaling and basic weathering which are documented step by step throughout the book. Mike not only provides helpful methods of building and detailing this kit but points out the problem areas in the kits construction and moulding, and how to correct or fix these.

I found the numerous photographs used and the brief but informative text used with each photo to be a clear and concise way to go through the build, detailing, painting, decaling and finishing of this large project. Although I am not a 1/32 scale modeller. This approach and the details and help Mike has given, would certainly be useful to those in the smaller scales, especially the 1/48 builders.

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Thumbnail panels:

I also really like the Modellers Notes page at the end of the book. Mike’s detailed list of paints and tools used, as well as aftermarket detail set and references used will prove useful to most modellers.

This book has been deliberately produced for builders of the Trumpeter P-38 Lightning, providing an absolute wealth of reference photographs and detail on modelling techniques. This is recommended to all builders of the P-38, large or small.

Thanks to Mike Ashey for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2020 by David Couche
This Page Created on 7 January, 2020
Last updated 7 January, 2020

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