INTERMEDIATE BUILD
P-38J LIGHTNINGINTERMEDIATE BUILD
P-38J LIGHTNING82 Airfi x Model World
Lovely Lightnings
During World War Two, aircraft nose art was a way for crews to personalise their
aircraft; the P-38’s twin-engine nacelles and large fuselage pod provided a large
canvas for artists. Kagero’s TopColors 33 P-38 ‘Lightnings at War’ provide eight
colourful schemes for mostly late-war Lightnings, with a two-page spread devoted
to each, comprising a profile, plus short history on the specific airframes. It
also included beautifully printed decals by Cartograf for these machines in 1/72,
1/48 and 1/32 scales, with vibrant tones and perfect register. Just basic serials
and artwork were supplied, so the national insignia, identification markings and
stencils must be either painted or obtained from elsewhere. The schemes are:- P-38J-10-LO, 42-67916/KI-S ‘California Cutie’, Lt Richard O Loehnert, 55th FS,
20th FG, RAF King’s Cliffe, England, June 1944 - P-38G-13-LO, 42-2197 ‘Nulli Secundus/X-Virgin’, Lt Kenneth G Ladd, 80th FS,
8th FG, Dobodura, New Guinea, winter 1943/1944 - P-38J-15-LO, 42-104107/47 ‘Jewboy’, Lt Philip M Goldstein, 49th FS, 14th FG,
Triolo, Italy, May 1944 - P-38L-5-LO, 44-26176/A ‘Vagrant Virgin’, Lt Peter Macgowan, 36th FS, 8th FG,
Ie Shima, September 1945 - P-38J-15-LO, 43-28444/E6-T ‘Vivacious Virgin II’, Lt Ian B Mackenzie, 402nd FS,
370th FG, Florennes/Juxaine, Belgium, winter 1944/1945 - P-38L-1-LO, 44-23852/B7 ‘Beautiful Bitch’, Lt John J Kane, 96th FS, 82nd FG,
Vincenzo, Italy, March 1945 - P-38L-5-LO, 44-26176/A ‘Vagrant Virgin’, Lt L V Bellusci, 36th FS, 8th FG,
San Jose, Mindoro, late 1944/early 1945 - P-38L-5-LO, 44-26568/W ‘Wicked Woman’, Lt Richard C Livingston, 36th FS,
8th FG, Ie Shima, August-September 1945.
interior to be seen. Dymo tape was
affixed to the side windows as a
guide for removing the top portion
to replicate the appearance of
lowered frames. All that was
needed for the upper glazing
component was to sand the rear-
mounted hinges at an angle to
be glued to the rear canopy. All
clear parts received a dip into
Johnson’s Klear before being
protected with a combination of
Eduard (EX072) and Montex (SM
48051) pre-cut masks.Let’s see your ‘war-face’
After all major assembly was
completed, the wheel wells were
masked and a coat of Tamiya Fine
White Primer applied. This also
assisted with painting of the D-Day
stripes, leaving just the black
sections to be added, which was
done with XF-69 NATO Black. For
the invasion, twin-engined aircraftwere specified to have
24in (61cm) stripes, which in
scale terms is 0.5in or the not-so-
easy-to-measure 12.7mm. Masking
tape was duly cut into correctly
sized strips and, after the first was
attached, all subsequent pieces
were just butted against each
other, to provide proper spacing.
Tape over white sections was left
in place, while those covering black
areas were removed.
Kagero’s decals didn’t provide
any white triangles for the tail, so
a photocopy of the painting guide
was used to determine their size,
before masks were cut and applied
to the vertical tails. The white
noseband was also covered at this
time. Quickboost’s aftermarket
propellers and spinners (48381)
replaced the kit parts; a handy
alignment jig ensured the correct
blade alignment and angle. After
a coat of white primer, XF-3 Yellow
was sprayed onto the spinners
and nacelle fronts. The propeller
blades received XF-69 NATO
Black, followed by 1708 Insignia
Yellow FS 33538 on the tips, but
before the latter had dried, theLovely Lightnings
During World War Two, aircraft nose art was a way for crews to personalise their
aircraft; the P-38’s twin-engine nacelles and large fuselage pod provided a large
canvas for artists. Kagero’s TopColors 33 P-38 ‘Lightnings at War’ provide eight
colourful schemes for mostly late-war Lightnings, with a two-page spread devoted
to each, comprising a profile, plus short history on the specific airframes. It
also included beautifully printed decals by Cartograf for these machines in 1/72,
1/48 and 1/32 scales, with vibrant tones and perfect register. Just basic serials
and artwork were supplied, so the national insignia, identification markings and
stencils must be either painted or obtained from elsewhere. The schemes are:- P-38J-10-LO, 42-67916/KI-S ‘California Cutie’, Lt Richard O Loehnert, 55th FS,
interior to be seen. Dymo tape was
affixed to the side windows as a
guide for removing the top portion
to replicate the appearance ofwere specified to have
24in (61cm) stripes, which in
scale terms is 0.5in or the not-so-
easy-to-measure 12.7mm. Masking
tape was duly cut into correctly
sized strips and, after the first was
attached, all subsequent pieces
were just butted against each
other, to provide proper spacing.
Tape over white sections was left Facial tissue was applied onto the coaming with a mixture of white glue and water to
simulate the canvas covering on many P-38s.