P-38 Lightning

[Skyraider3D]

I just overlaid your profile's cowling and spinner onto the one from Glacier Girl and indeed the length is correct. It's the diameter! Your spinner is about 10% too wide at the back plate. Of course that will make it look too short as the cone angle gets too wide.

The photo you linked is perfect for the cowling and spinner as they are shown side-on. I have compared this with your profile drawing and created a little animation to clearly illustrate where your profile is off. I hope it's of help.

[BLOWHARD]

Cool, it's like watching TV

[gamary]

Thanks, Ronnie. I appreciate your taking the time to do this.

Trouble is, the initial shape perfectly matched several other photos. I'm currently using three good side shots of Glacier Girl and another P-38 (Red Bull P-38L, which was converted).

I had the same trouble with the Spitfire. Using several good side-shots, I had conflicting information on all of them. Pictures of the same aircraft, taken from almost exactly the same angle, but a slightly different height or distance will give surprisingly different results... Sometimes I think the only way to get the exact shape would be to laser-scan the real McCoy...

So I worked on this based on my instincts more than anything else. Here is the new result:

I've reduced the overall height of the spinner and engine cowling a little, and also extended the tip of the spinner a tiny bit, making it more pointy.

I think it's better that way, although the more I try to be accurate, the more I feel I'm not. The more you learn, the more you realize your lack of knowledge...

What do you think?

[BLOWHARD]

I like it But what do I know from P-38s. I always though it was a can opener
File:P-38 can opener.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

[gamary]

More progress. I had to redraw the entire fin and stabilizer.



I've also raised the entire boom/engine section (thank you CS5, for sub-groups ). As it was, it was a bit too low.

Oh, and I still find the spinner looks to short.

But then, it was always an odd thing on the Lightning. I'll let my brains cool off a bit and try to look at it with a fresher look later on. I have plenty left to do in the meantime.

[JMSmith]

i thought a P38 was a car body filler made by David's Isopon

[inkworm]

Isn't p38 in the Sun the letters page, try p3 next time.

What's the cross section on the boom, looks like it could do with a little more rounding towards the tail.

[gamary]

Fools. The P38 is a German handgun.

[gamary]

Another update:


I'll probably start the wings next.

[Skyraider3D]

Here's is a pretty accurate looking drawing of the P-38H version. Maybe it's of use:
http://www.digitalaviationart.com/fo...8H_profile.jpg

Attached a comparison with your profile. There's some discrepancies but apart from the cockpit area you're pretty close! (or the drawing is pretty close, I don't know which is the more accurate! )
Wrt. the spinner, blunt off the extreme tip a little and you're there I think.