Lockheed P-38 Lightning 1/72 Scale Diecast Metal Model by Oxford
$ 26.99
Oxford 1:72 Scale Diecast Metal - Lockheed P-38 Lightning – Length: 6.25" Wingspan: 8.5”
The Lightning model is single seat plane. The cockpit is glue shut. It has no pilot/crew figures included. The landing gear is modeled in the retracted position. A display stand is included.
This is really a "no-play" model or a "display-only" model. It is mostly metal and very heavy. It also has a number of antennas which look great but are very fragile. If you have small kids that like to play with your models, save yourself some frustration (and money) and wait till later to get a model like this one. The box is labeled as not suitable for children under 14.
The maker of this model, Oxford, did a good job with this model, specifically the color scheme and the markings are very crisp and clear. The panel lines and hatches are very nicely done (engraved).
The box measures at 9.5 inches by 9.5 inches by 4 inches.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is a World War II American fighter aircraft. Developed to a United States Army Air Corpsrequirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Named "fork-tailed devil" (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" (2飛行機、1パイロット Ni hikōki, ippairotto?) by the Japanese,[6] the P-38 was used in a number of roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground-attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance missions,[7] and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped withdrop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the aircraft of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). In theSouth West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.[8][9]
The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving, and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter.[10]The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day. At the end of the war, orders for 1,887 were cancelled.[11]
