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Some times, when I pay a visit to a our cellar with a view of trying and find spare pieces for old kits that I am restoring, I find something interesting; be it some piece or some whole kit. Unfortunately, most of the old kits piled up in a cardboard box are in such deplorable conditions (missing so many pieces, and even burnt) that they have no possible salvation from been taken out from home and been thrown to a trash dump after decades abandoned in the darkness.
The last old kit that I could rescue, restore and save was this one: Revell´s 1/72nd P-38J Lightning.
It has an awful second incomplete and random coat on (matt) dark green and (glossy) sky blue applied on the original overall natural metal, painted as Revell´s original kit ("Ding´Hao", from the 367th FG, 9th AF), apart from missing one wheel and at least four out of the six propeller blades. The canopy frame was roughly painted on with black permanent pen, and the (surviving) wheel hubs were childishly painted red.
Back then (I was just a child when I built the kit, back in the late 80s or early 90s) I ignored about balancing kits, and added all the pieces from the kit (nose guns set and engines) even if it remained a tail-sitter. The kit was thus pretty much complete, yet rather badly painted on (the nose guns were painted in satin black and... gold!- ???, and the engines finished in silver
)
To prevent that the kit remained a tail-sitter, I removed the nose guns sets and engines, and replaced them with my usual mixture of modeling paste and rounded bullets for balance. This way, the kit is not as complete as it used to, but at least it rests the correct way, on its three wheels.
By the way, since it missed a wheel at first, I was lucky enough to find a spare wheel which I am unsure on whether it belonged to Heller´s P-38H or even to Italeri´s Panavia Tornado ADV, but anyway, it was of the same diameter and width from the surviving back wheel.
Repainted in the colors of Major Richard I. Bong Lightning "Marge" (a kit from Hasegawa), from the 9th FS, 49th FG, 5th AF (and anything else, sires???... ) in the Pacific theatre, I did some research on the P-38 panelling all over the aircraft and retraced the pieces with a black thin pen, of which results I am not so sure now...
To leave it complete, I had to remake some pieces out of Evergreen stuff, like the propellers blades and the nose guns.
The last old kit that I could rescue, restore and save was this one: Revell´s 1/72nd P-38J Lightning.
It has an awful second incomplete and random coat on (matt) dark green and (glossy) sky blue applied on the original overall natural metal, painted as Revell´s original kit ("Ding´Hao", from the 367th FG, 9th AF), apart from missing one wheel and at least four out of the six propeller blades. The canopy frame was roughly painted on with black permanent pen, and the (surviving) wheel hubs were childishly painted red.
Back then (I was just a child when I built the kit, back in the late 80s or early 90s) I ignored about balancing kits, and added all the pieces from the kit (nose guns set and engines) even if it remained a tail-sitter. The kit was thus pretty much complete, yet rather badly painted on (the nose guns were painted in satin black and... gold!- ???, and the engines finished in silver
)To prevent that the kit remained a tail-sitter, I removed the nose guns sets and engines, and replaced them with my usual mixture of modeling paste and rounded bullets for balance. This way, the kit is not as complete as it used to, but at least it rests the correct way, on its three wheels.
By the way, since it missed a wheel at first, I was lucky enough to find a spare wheel which I am unsure on whether it belonged to Heller´s P-38H or even to Italeri´s Panavia Tornado ADV, but anyway, it was of the same diameter and width from the surviving back wheel.
Repainted in the colors of Major Richard I. Bong Lightning "Marge" (a kit from Hasegawa), from the 9th FS, 49th FG, 5th AF (and anything else, sires???...
) in the Pacific theatre, I did some research on the P-38 panelling all over the aircraft and retraced the pieces with a black thin pen, of which results I am not so sure now... To leave it complete, I had to remake some pieces out of Evergreen stuff, like the propellers blades and the nose guns.
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© 2015 - 2024 Alan-the-leopard
Comments5
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That is what I call an big improvement and impressive you could save it and make it look like that now. 
When I try to repaint one of my models the old paint will cause problems: the new layer covers details and all the amounts of layers of colors get thick and looks bad.
When I try to repaint one of my models the old paint will cause problems: the new layer covers details and all the amounts of layers of colors get thick and looks bad.