1:72 Lightning P-38J/L

Lightnings of the 392nd Fighter Squadron

In 1944 a new role was found for the twin-engine Lockheed over Europe. In place of long-range escort, where single-engine Mustangs took over from it, came attacks on ground targets behind the front, and that is exactly what the 367th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force was committed to. Its 392nd Squadron marked its machines with the code H5, which you will find here on both subjects.

The older machine is the J version with the serial number 43-28677, the individual letter B and a name that means a little cowboy. The younger subject is the L version with the letter C, which carried a battle cry taken from the Pacific theater. The L version was the most advanced development stage of the type, and you can tell it from the J series by details of the cooling and the cockpit equipment, though the silhouette stayed the same.

Recommended sequence of work

• finish and polish both booms before the first element goes on
• line the codes on the fuselage nacelles up with the leading edge of the wing
• apply the names on the noses last and check the symmetry at once
• on a twin-boom machine, check that the codes sit at the same height on both sides

The sheet contains printed elements for the two subjects named and nothing else. A model of the twin-boom fighter itself has to be bought separately, and the markings will fit ordinary kits of both versions. After a final matte overcoat the thin carrier film practically disappears, so the lettering will look as though it had been sprayed through a stencil.