Eduard are releasing a
special limited edition P-38 kit in 1/48th scale and it look like it
will be a cracker! Several parts of the kit are to be improved by Eduard’s “Brassin”
accessories and with the choice of six different markings this looks promising,
let’s have a look at what we know so far…
Great box design for the next month’s limited edition of
P-38J over ETO, featuring Academy plastic, Eduard designed decals with amazing
nose arts worn on Lightnings in 8th and 9th USAAF, Eduard Brassin complete
cockpit, wheels, superchargers and their accessories.
The kit promises:
Large 1/48th scale kit with many extras
·
“Brassin” high quality wheels and tyres
·
New “Brassin” supercharger unit
·
Six different marking choices from the European
theatre of operations
·
Brand new Eduard “Brassin” super detailed cockpit
including Photo etched details and pre coloured sets
In these photos you can see the whole collection of this
particular set (resin and PE symbiosis). Note the gun-sight and its supports
made from clear resin.
Sidewalls easily fit
to the cockpit floor locks – no fit problems here!.
This is a plate with several photo-etched and colorized
frets that are waiting to be checked, cut, packed and delivered to you as a
part of the P-38J over Europe. This is just one of more frets which will be
included in this limited-edition kit. As you may understand, these are part of
the Brassin bonuses for this kit
Details on the floor and wing structure behind pilots seat.
Note also the radio equipment supports designed on way to help the modeller to
place the radio boxes easily…
Complete breakdown to particular resin parts. The PE details
are not shown on this picture.
Note the design philosophy giving you easiest assembly and
by the same way a great accessibility for painting every detail…
“Brassin” wheel and
Tyre set
This Brassin set attached to the P-38J over Europe 1/48
limited edition kit includes nicely designed wheels for this wonderful bird.
The front wheel
consists from tire and two separate discs.
The main wheel (2 pcs) consists with the tire that includes
the internal structure and from the disc and a brake wheel.
Superchargers are third and final Brassin set included in
our limited edition of P-38J over Europe in 1/48 (Academy moulds).
New “Brassin”
supercharger unit
Eduard Brassin superchargers replacing original plastic
parts from the academy base kit. This set consist of the main superchargers,
exhaust tubes and photo-etched metal plates (originally on the plane made from
stainless steel) covering the surrounding area. There are also two pairs of air
intakes for each engine. So this set consists of 8 Brassin and two PE parts.
Six different Markings:
Six amazing nose-arts feature on these 8th and 9th USAAF
serving in Europe during 1943/1945.
The text by Martin Ferkl will introduce you the particular
plane in an advanced detail.
Livingston´s
Lightning wore D-day stripes on upper surfaces formerly. The photos show
that the stripes were applied by hand and the lines between black & white
are not straight. The black and white paints were not applied directly on the
natural metal surface but on the Olive Drab paint to improve the adhesion of
the b&w paint. The D-day stripes were removed from the upper surfaces later
on. Note the unpainted area surrounding the individual code letters. Livingston
also took part in the aerial battle with Focke-Wulfs from II. Gruppe of JG 6
over Clastres on August 25, 1944. He was awarded with one confirmed kill and
one probable kill. US forces lost 17 Lightnings from 367th FG, Luftwaffe had to
write off 17 destroyed and 2 damaged Fw 190s.
There is a very interesting story behind this nose art. The
artwork was based on the picture taken on the beach. The artist didn’t forget
to depict the ball and the steam boat floating in the background. After the war
Sam Plotecia married the girl from the picture and they lived together till his
death in 2004. Nowadays Anastassia Plotecia (her maiden name was Koza) lives in
Maryland. Despite of the help coming from the pilot´s family side we didn´t
managed to fully restore the appearance of the aircraft – the individual code
letter is chosen randomly. Only first two letters – Ni…- from the female name
on the left engine are known. Nicol has been chosen. Sam Plotecia was one of
the participants in the aerial battle over Clastres airfield on August 25,
1944. He is credited with one Focke-Wulf damaged. The 367th FG was awarded with
Presidential Unit Citation for this battle, the highest award for the combat
unit.
The shark mouths are to seen on the single-engined fighters
more frequently than on two-engined Lightnings, especially in ETO. This kind of
artwork was perfectly visible on the Olive Drab / Neutral Gray camouflage on
Capt. Scruthfield´s personal aircraft. The white triangles identified 55th FS
within 20th FG. You can see temporary Scruthfiled´s score on the nose – a dozen
of bomber escort missions (tophats), two top cover missions (umbrellas) and
three sweeps (broomsticks).
Lt. Jack M. Jarell
died on December 14, 1944 being shot down during the aerial clash near
Wiesbaden. He managed to bail out from his airplane but his fate remains a
mystery and has been noted as missing in action. He fell victim to Oblt. Lothar
Wolff (min. 6 kills) from 14./JG 4 who flew Bf 109 fighter. The black&white
D-day stripes were removed from the upper surfaces of his personal P-38 but the
remains are still visible. The individual letter „M“ was painted on the inner
side of both tails.
This Lightning was flown by Maj. R. C. Rogers, CO of 392nd Fighter Squadron. Five swastikas
beneath the cockpit symbolize five Junkers Ju 52s destroyed on the ground
during attack on French airfields on August 25, 1944. Rogers served with USAF
though many years after the war, he became the air attache in US embassy in
Brazil also. He passed away on March 2, 2010.
Joe Myers was
awarded with three confirmed and two probable kills during WW2. He downed three
Bf 109s and damaged one Fw-190 and one Ju-88. The aircraft depicted was flown
by this pilot by January 4, 1944. Myers crashed this Lightning during the take-off
that day. Besides the aircraft he destroyed 2000 ltr. fuel tank also. Myers´s
P-38 wore camouflage scheme of Olive Drab / Neutral Grey. The white triangle identified
the 38th FS within the 55th FG. The nose-art is in the interesting contrast
with pin-up girls. Note the author´s, Mr. Robert T. Sand´s sign. The individual
code letter „O“ was present on the both inner sides of the tail. The serial
numberon the tail is not photographically documented. Mission symbols in the
form of broomsticks, sometimes with red umbrella are visible on the nose.
The full story of our research focused on this aircraft is
available in Info No. 7 Vol. 12 on www.eduard.cz.
Thanks to JanZ for the info – and keep an eye on the Eduard Facebook page for
more info as well!