While I haven’t done a big custom build in a while, I was recently inspired by a build here that joined two CoD P-51 sets at the wing, basically creating a WWII Bespin cloud car with two cockpits. Interesting concept, but it made me realize that a pair of these sets would make a P-38 Lightning (one of my favorite WWII aircraft) custom build very possible. So I printed a bunch of P-38 guide images and was lucky enough to pick up discounted Air Strike Ace sets from Amazon Warehouse Deals and Ross. After gathering additional bits from Halo Shortswords, Minion Cars and various older ProBuilder sets, I got started.
Built the wing first, leaving spaces for the cockpit and engines. The center of the fuselage was a challenge, especially finding a way to have 5 guns coming out of what is supposed to be a smooth nose. Had to rebuild how the wings connected to the engines (much higher than on the P-51) and build housings for the shortsword landing gear. Once the engine housings extended past the wing, I could tell how wide the tail would need to be and built that separately… turned out the quarter-circles from the minion car roof were key to getting the right look.
Joining the tail to the fuselage was probably the trickiest part of this build, and I ended up using a bunch of long, slim, tapered bloks to get close to the look I wanted. The 4 side air scoops were a good place to blend the different construction styles together. And while I try very hard to build my customs using only “stock” Mega Bloks, the only way I could find to turn a 4-blade propeller hub into a 3-blade propeller hub, was liberal use of a Dremel tool, 5-minute epoxy and flat black paint…
Had to make a number of compromises to finish this custom, but I think overall it captures the look and feel of the plane that was nicknamed the “Fork-Tailed Devil” by the Germans and “two planes-one pilot” by the Japanese. Any other fans of the P-38 Lightning out there?
Built the wing first, leaving spaces for the cockpit and engines. The center of the fuselage was a challenge, especially finding a way to have 5 guns coming out of what is supposed to be a smooth nose. Had to rebuild how the wings connected to the engines (much higher than on the P-51) and build housings for the shortsword landing gear. Once the engine housings extended past the wing, I could tell how wide the tail would need to be and built that separately… turned out the quarter-circles from the minion car roof were key to getting the right look.
Joining the tail to the fuselage was probably the trickiest part of this build, and I ended up using a bunch of long, slim, tapered bloks to get close to the look I wanted. The 4 side air scoops were a good place to blend the different construction styles together. And while I try very hard to build my customs using only “stock” Mega Bloks, the only way I could find to turn a 4-blade propeller hub into a 3-blade propeller hub, was liberal use of a Dremel tool, 5-minute epoxy and flat black paint…
Had to make a number of compromises to finish this custom, but I think overall it captures the look and feel of the plane that was nicknamed the “Fork-Tailed Devil” by the Germans and “two planes-one pilot” by the Japanese. Any other fans of the P-38 Lightning out there?