<-- **** DONE: 1/48 P-38J Lightning - Twin Engined Aircraft of WWII

[Robert Porter]

Username: Robert Porter
First name: Robert
Category: Novice
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Revell Kit# 85-5479
Model Type: P-38J Lightning Fighter
accessory: VacuForm Canopy

*Edited to add the new canopy

I will be building option C of the kit which was piloted by Major Richard Ira Bong it was named Marge after his wife. Major Bong is a Medal of Honor recipient for his service. He was assigned to 5th Air Force, 49th Fighter Group, 9th Fighter Squadron. Aircraft serial number was: 42-103993.

The aircraft was passed on to another squadron and subsequently crashed at Yalau on Bau Plantation.

Bong watches as victory markings painted on in late 1944 by his crew chief.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Welcome to the Group Builds, Robert, and a nice choice.
Do you know if this is a 'new tool' or re-boxed kit, or the old Monogram kit ?
Haven't seen it in these markings from Revell / Monogram before now.

 

[Robert Porter]

Welcome to the Group Builds, Robert, and a nice choice.
Do you know if this is a 'new tool' or re-boxed kit, or the old Monogram kit ?
Haven't seen it in these markings from Revell / Monogram before now.

I believe its a re-boxed kit, the Copyright date on the box is 2015. The decals for Marge are fairly nice and should look pretty close to the actual plane. There are 3 possible versions that can be built out of the box. The kit database says this particular box was released in 2009. It appears to be from the 1964 tooling. I am basing this off the kit database and matching my Box Cover to their list.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Robert.
It's around thirty years since I built this kit, which I recall had a lot of 'extras' and options, including the twin-seat night fighter version.
Although perhaps not as 'refined' as more recent kits, such a the Academy P-38 (not the earlier Academy / Minicraft kit), memory tells me it is still quite a nice kit, quite advanced and detailed for the period when it was first released. Two areas I seem to remember needed attention were the tail booms, and the nose gun cowling, the latter being designed to be posed open or closed.Other than that it built up well.

 

[Robert Porter]

Thanks Robert.
It's around thirty years since I built this kit, which I recall had a lot of 'extras' and options, including the twin-seat night fighter version.
Although perhaps not as 'refined' as more recent kits, such a the Academy P-38 (not the earlier Academy / Minicraft kit), memory tells me it is still quite a nice kit, quite advanced and detailed for the period when it was first released. Two areas I seem to remember needed attention were the tail booms, and the nose gun cowling, the latter being designed to be posed open or closed.Other than that it built up well.

Here is a rather shaky photo of the decal set. It was damaged when I opened it so I have ordered a replacement from Revell. I have read some build reports that tell me the booms will be tricky as well. But looking forward to it!

 

[Crimea_River]

Good stuff Robert. Like Terry I built this kit many years ago. Unfortunately it is now land fill somewhere near Toronto.

Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

 

[JKim]

Welcome aboard Robert! It's great to see a new face and I look forward to seeing Marge come to life!

 

[Robert Porter]

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the welcome. Its my first ever group build so am rather excited. As you can tell I am not much of a photographer so will have someone else take the photos as needed!

 

[Wurger]

Also please resize down your photos to 800 or 900 pixels in the width before posting here . These large shots can cause page loading slower for all other members who use not too fast hardware or the net connection.

 

[Robert Porter]

Also please resize down your photos to 800 or 900 pixels in the width before posting here . These large shots can cause page loading slower for all other members who use not too fast hardware or the net connection.

Ooops! I knew that! Will do!

 

[Wurger]

THX.

 

[rochie]

Nice one Robert

 

[Robert Porter]

Here are the part trees from the kit, think I got the images sized right! The clear parts have had their future bath and are about to be covered while they dry. Not a lot of flash but some awkwardly located ejector marks. I have washed the trees with dish soap and rinsed and air dried them.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Robert Porter]

The following info is copied from a page at: Richard I. Bong - Biography of America's Top Ace in WW2, P-38 Pilot I knew Maj. Bong was a top ace, I did not know that he was THE top ace of the US. With 40 confirmed kills. He was known as the Ace of Aces during publicity tours.

RICHARD I. BONG - Medal of Honor Citation:
(Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Army Air Corps. Place and date: Over Borneo and Leyte, 10 October to 15 November 1944. Entered service at: Poplar, Wis. Birth: Poplar, Wis. G.O. No.: 90, 8 December 1944.


For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty in the Southwest Pacific area from 10 October to 15 November 1944. Though assigned to duty as gunnery instructor and neither required nor expected to perform combat duty, Maj. Bong voluntarily and at his own urgent request engaged in repeated combat missions, including unusually hazardous sorties over Balikpapan, Borneo, and in the Leyte area of the Philippines. His aggressiveness and daring resulted in his shooting down 8 enemy airplanes during this period.

The following paragraph is quoted from the Dick Bong article at the National Aviation Hall of Fame:

Bong described combat flying as fun and a great game that made life interesting. Some pilots were only concerned with their scores, almost to the point of recklessness. Bong relished in the actual flying of combat, not how many enemy aircraft he could shoot down. Bong often referred to his gunnery skills as being lousy, perhaps the worst in the Army Air Force, and this was after breaking Eddie Rickenbacker's record of 26 kills! However, his skills were very adequate, and estimates were that he had a 91 percent hit rate. Bong also knew how to get the most from the aircraft he was flying. He loved flying the P-38, and many pilots who flew with him commented on his mastery of it. He was not a flashy pilot, and knew the limitations of the P-38 and never pushed it beyond. His analytical nature was valuable when flying combat, and he always analyzed the situation before going in with guns firing. Most importantly, he felt no shame in breaking off an engagement when the odds turned against him.

After Bong scored his 40th victory, General Kenney sent him home, this time for good. He was America's "Ace of Aces," with 40 aerial victories, 200 combat missions, and over 500 combat hours behind him. By New Year's Eve, 1945, America's number 1 ace was back in the "Z.I.," headed for Washington D.C. to meet the dignitaries, including General 'Hap' Arnold. At the Pentagon, he met Bob Johnson, also there on a PR tour. Dick explained that he had been dragged around the country on War Bond tours and hated it. "I've got this coming out my ears, Johnson. I'm sure glad to see you. You can help me bear up under this nonsense. It's worse than having a Zero on your tail."

After his PR trip, he returned to Wisconsin, and married Marge on February 10, 1945. After their California honeymoon, he went to work at Wright Field as a test pilot, helping to develop the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. He studied jet propulsion theory and boned up on the engineering details of the new plane for two months, before getting a chance to fly one. After being checked out in the P-80, he flew it eleven times that summer.

 

[Robert Porter]

A couple of pictures I found in my research. This first one is I believe a replica built for an exhibit. His original plane crashed

This is also an replica exhibit not his actual plane.

This is the man himself in early 1944 with his plane. This is the one that crashed while being flown by another pilot.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Robert Porter]

This is probably going to sound a bit silly, but in reading about this craft and the pilot that flew it. Well it is a bit humbling realizing you are in a small way bringing a little bit of that history back to the forefront. Kind of makes you think as you are building of all the folks that worked on and flew that particular airplane. Everything I have read about him says he was a really great all around guy. He was well liked and very well thought of up and down the rank structure. Apparently he made it a point to know a little bit about everyone he worked with and was a real inspiration to those he worked with. Sad that he died on the same day the Hiroshima bomb was dropped here in the states working as a test pilot on one of our first jets, the P-80 shooting star.

 

[rochie]

Always thought the picture of his wife was amazingly well painted on the P-38's nose, like a photograph !