USAAF Major Bong's P-38 diorama (1 Viewer)

[Iron Brigade]

I went to the Old Toy Soldier in Schaumburg, IL, USA this afternoon and made my purchase of Figarti's new WW2 P-38 airplane model of one of the main P-38 planes that #1 ace Richard Bong flew which had the photo on the engine of his girlfriend "Marge" who he later married. I was unable to place this big model airplane that is a good 21 inches relative to it's wing spand and at least 15 inches long where I had first wanted to as it would not fit! However, I did some revising of my display areas and placed it on a 28 x 22 inch display area wall shelve. Actually it was my wife who gave me the idea of where to put it finally. In any case, this model WW2 P-38 looks splendid. The diorama has background of blue poster board paper, a Palm tree, some playbox sand to simulate a compacted dirt runway & in the far right the book "High Aces" about Dick Bong & Tommy McGuire the two top USA Aces of WW2. This was my only purchase at the OTS Show, but I am very happy with this one special set that has special meaning to me as I recall hearing about Major Bong since the 1950's when I was a boy growing up in the same state (Wisconsin)that Major Bong also was born in.
See #3 photos below.
"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[RedBaron]

That is one impressive plane!! Congrats on your purchase!

 

[Iron Brigade]

That is one impressive plane!! Congrats on your purchase!

Dear "Red Baron":

Thanks for your comments! Just this morning (9/26/2011) I placed a clumb of three palm trees to replace the two clumb palm tree set. I also added some bushes to simulate the edge of the jungle beyond the runway area. But of course the Figarti WW2 USAAF P-38 model plane is the big center of attention. See one extra photo with the minor update to this 22 x 28 inch diorama.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[lancer]

Splendid dio and what a beautiful aircraft. That is one great display you have put together. A big beast, Figarti sure produced a winner in this P-38. Fantastic purchase. What is the aircraft made out of? -- Al

 

[glossman]

Gary,

Congratulations on bringing home "Marge".

Raymond



(Credit: http://usfighter.tripod.com/bong.htm)

 

[Iron Brigade]

Splendid dio and what a beautiful aircraft. That is one great display you have put together. A big beast, Figarti sure produced a winner in this P-38. Fantastic purchase. What is the aircraft made out of? -- Al

Dear "lancer":

Per Steven Chong who was representing his friends at Figarti at the OTS Show where Figarti had all thier new sets on display advised me that the model P-38 is made of resin except for minor small parts which are made of regular plastic. Set box was well packed and the wings & propellers that are packed separtely were easy to attach and seem to fit well. There were no sales at the Figarti display area being made. I was directed to buy this model P-38 from "The Hobby Bunker" dealer's tables which I went to right away. This model has a retail price of $379.00 USD. The dealer sold it to me for $369.00 USD. Yes, I am happy with this sole purchase at the OTS Show yesterday.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[6th Wisconsin]

Congrats!! You have to love having that in your collection. I am trying to buy one myself and probably the ME-110 as well. What did you think of that model?

 

[Iron Brigade]

Gary,

Congratulations on bringing home "Marge".

Raymond

View attachment 76789

(Credit: http://usfighter.tripod.com/bong.htm)

Raymond:

Thanks for your "Congratulations on bringing home Marge" comment. Yes, she looks splendid! Also, thanks for the photo attachment of the real Major Bong & and his "Marge". I was amazed how the Figarti model was able to have the photo of Marge look just like the one on the real airplane!

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[Iron Brigade]

Congrats!! You have to love having that in your collection. I am trying to buy one myself and probably the ME-110 as well. What did you think of that model?

"6th Wisconsin":

I was just "gunning" for the P-38 model, but I was shown the other planes as well as thier new foot figure sets. The other plane models to the extent I looked at them briefly look just fine to me as well.

"Iron Brigade"

 

[lancer]

Dear "lancer":

Per Steven Chong who was representing his friends at Figarti at the OTS Show where Figarti had all thier new sets on display advised me that the model P-38 is made of resin except for minor small parts which are made of regular plastic. Set box was well packed and the wings & propellers that are packed separtely were easy to attach and seem to fit well. There were no sales at the Figarti display area being made. I was directed to buy this model P-38 from "The Hobby Bunker" dealer's tables which I went to right away. This model has a retail price of $379.00 USD. The dealer sold it to me for $369.00 USD. Yes, I am happy with this sole purchase at the OTS Show yesterday.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

Thanks for the info, Gary. I have one more question, if you don't mind. Does the P-38 sit correctly on the tricycle landing gear with out tipping or support? Thanks. -- Al

 

[Iron Brigade]

Thanks for the info, Gary. I have one more question, if you don't mind. Does the P-38 sit correctly on the tricycle landing gear with out tipping or support? Thanks. -- Al

Dear Al:

Happy to answer your 2nd question and any others you may still have later. And you asked a good question about how the model P-38 plane "sits" on it's "tricycle" landing gears. It sits in a acceptable manner. However, I did notice that if you did give the front of the nose of the model plane a good upward tickle it would rise up on it's tail section. But as long as you can resist doing what I just noted in the prior sentence you will have no problems with model plane sitting as it should for display purposes.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[lancer]

Dear Al:

Happy to answer your 2nd question and any others you may still have later. And you asked a good question about how the model P-38 plane "sits" on it's "tricycle" landing gears. It sits in a acceptable manner. However, I did notice that if you did give the front of the nose of the model plane a good upward tickle it would rise up on it's tail section. But as long as you can resist doing what I just noted in the prior sentence you will have no problems with model plane sitting as it should for display purposes.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

Many thanks for the answer, Gary. That is welcome news. -- Al

 

[Mitch]

Gary..

Superb aircraft. Can you tell me if the gloves for handling are obligatory someone mentioned fingerprints on the frame if not. I was wondering what it was painted designed with as I had not come across this before

Thanks also for the dimensions of this I prefer this version to the ETO variant. Thanks in advance
Mitch

I went to the Old Toy Soldier in Schaumburg, IL, USA this afternoon and made my purchase of Figarti's new WW2 P-38 airplane model of one of the main P-38 planes that #1 ace Richard Bong flew which had the photo on the engine of his girlfriend "Marge" who he later married. I was unable to place this big model airplane that is a good 21 inches relative to it's wing spand and at least 15 inches long where I had first wanted to as it would not fit! However, I did some revising of my display areas and placed it on a 28 x 22 inch display area wall shelve. Actually it was my wife who gave me the idea of where to put it finally. In any case, this model WW2 P-38 looks splendid. The diorama has background of blue poster board paper, a Palm tree, some playbox sand to simulate a compacted dirt runway & in the far right the book "High Aces" about Dick Bong & Tommy McGuire the two top USA Aces of WW2. This was my only purchase at the OTS Show, but I am very happy with this one special set that has special meaning to me as I recall hearing about Major Bong since the 1950's when I was a boy growing up in the same state (Wisconsin)that Major Bong also was born in.
See #3 photos below.
"Iron Brigade" / Gary

View attachment 76703

View attachment 76704

View attachment 76705

 

[Steven Chong]

Dear "lancer":

Per Steven Chong who was representing his friends at Figarti at the OTS Show where Figarti had all thier new sets on display advised me that the model P-38 is made of resin except for minor small parts which are made of regular plastic. Set box was well packed and the wings & propellers that are packed separtely were easy to attach and seem to fit well. There were no sales at the Figarti display area being made. I was directed to buy this model P-38 from "The Hobby Bunker" dealer's tables which I went to right away. This model has a retail price of $379.00 USD. The dealer sold it to me for $369.00 USD. Yes, I am happy with this sole purchase at the OTS Show yesterday.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

Dear Gary,

It was great seeing you and thanks for not calling me Rick. All during the show, I have strangers come up to me to offer suggestions on future vehicles they would like to see and to ask how my "father" was doing.

The P-38 is resin with metal or photo etched detail parts, not plastic. I got the Ken Osen diorama that Figarti used to introduce the P-38 so I have it displayed like you.:smile2:

Thanks for the info, Gary. I have one more question, if you don't mind. Does the P-38 sit correctly on the tricycle landing gear with out tipping or support? Thanks. -- Al

As Gary mentioned, I had no problem with tipping, even on top of a bed.:smile2:

Gary..

Superb aircraft. Can you tell me if the gloves for handling are obligatory someone mentioned fingerprints on the frame if not. I was wondering what it was painted designed with as I had not come across this before

Thanks also for the dimensions of this I prefer this version to the ETO variant. Thanks in advance
Mitch

The P-38 comes in a much smaller box than the He-219 because a section of the wing on each side needs to be inserted. The fit is tight and can be removed and inserted again without any problems (I tried :smile2. The assembly instruction s warn several times to wear the included gloves to avoid fingerprints on the shiny silver surface. Matt of Hobby Bunker had one displayed and it was obvious where people touched it with their finger tips, thought he said it would be easy to buff out with a soft cloth.:smile2:

 

[Iron Brigade]

Gary..

Superb aircraft. Can you tell me if the gloves for handling are obligatory someone mentioned fingerprints on the frame if not. I was wondering what it was painted designed with as I had not come across this before

Thanks also for the dimensions of this I prefer this version to the ETO variant. Thanks in advance
Mitch

Dear Mitch:

I was told by Steven Chong who was helping out at the Figarti display tables that gloves come with the set and should be used to avoid finger prints which could be hard to get off. It seems I saw a couple of very small finger prints on the model that I got. I used the gloves, so they were put on prior to my purchase of the set. However, these "markings" are diminimis and no one will notice it on display. Matt at Hobby Bunker where I purchased the P-38 set at the OTS show also made special note about the gloves that come with the set. So yes, use the gloves!

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[Terp152]

Great setup Gary. You've done justice to a beautiful piece and the first dio I've seen. Congrats on a great addition. Chris

 

[HobbyBunker]

I am glad you are happy with your purchase and the display looks fantastic.

 

[Iron Brigade]

I want to thank both "HobbyBunker" / Matt and "Terp152" / Chris for their kind comments!! Since the last (4th) photo I posted to this Thread I added two more palm trees to the diorama background of USAAF Major Richard Ira Bong & his P-38J airplane which makes the diorama look still better, but I will not post anymore photos as I already have good photos posted of the big center of attention, the Figarti model of Bong's P-38J from about early April 1944.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[Mitch]

Cheers for that. looks superb from your pictures
Mitch

Dear Mitch:

I was told by Steven Chong who was helping out at the Figarti display tables that gloves come with the set and should be used to avoid finger prints which could be hard to get off. It seems I saw a couple of very small finger prints on the model that I got. I used the gloves, so they were put on prior to my purchase of the set. However, these "markings" are diminimis and no one will notice it on display. Matt at Hobby Bunker where I purchased the P-38 set at the OTS show also made special note about the gloves that come with the set. So yes, use the gloves!

"Iron Brigade" / Gary

 

[Iron Brigade]

Hello:
I decided to post two more photos of Figarti's P-38J model airplane that USAF Major Richard Ira Bong flew back in April 1944 when he was protographed with his P-38J named "Marge" with #25 confirmed "kills" indicated on the plane. Overview photo shows the extra palm trees I added to the background & the close up photo now has the Major Bong figure having his left arm resting on the left propeller as is was on the WW2 photograph that this new set was based on. See photo attachment by "glossman" in his prior posting to this thread.

"Iron Brigade" / Gary