Buffie's Best

Restorations Illustrated

Volume 2: P-38 Lightning

Reviewed By Charles Landrum, #26328

MSRP: $23.00 USD

System requirements: none specified, should run on most current machines. MAC users read the enclosed special instructions. The DVD can be viewed in your DVD drive or DVD player.

Review Copy provided by Derek Brown, creator and owner of:

BUFFIE’s BEST

8716 East Frontier Place

Denver, Colorado 80237

(720) 200-9122 (phone, fax)

email: Buffiesbest@comcast.net

www.buffiesbest.com

A year ago Derek Brown released the first CD in his series on restorations illustrated. The inaugural CD was on the BF-109 G10 and it was an impressive first offering. Well Derek and the team at Buffie’s Best have not been idle and with this latest offering they have out shone their earlier release. This time it is a two-disk set on the P-38. The first disk is loaded with over 350 mb of information on the P-38 focused on surviving airframes and restoration efforts, prominent amongst them the miraculous and immaculate Glacier Girl. The second disk is actually a DVD with first hand accounts from eleven veteran P-38 pilots. But there is a lot more. 

The CD self loaded when I inserted in the drive; it worked on my Windows XP machine without any problems. Startup begins with a beautiful animation of a P-38 flying a low level attack run into a Pacific atoll harboring Japanese ships (which is used to also open the DVD). It is a dramatic opening to this well crafted disk. You can’t duplicate that in a book. The animation then gives way to an interactive table of contents page. The table of comments page is in a split frame format, with an adjustable divider. As you navigate around the CD, the table remains in the left window allowing to you to easily navigate to another chapter. The text and chapter contents are displayed on the right, with all texts in an easy to read font and point size.

There are 9 chapters on the CD.
  • Chapter 1, Development of the P-38, provides a brief history and evolution of the airframes, listing the major types. Vintages images are provided. It also includes artwork of unit insignias and vintage WWII artwork of the P-38 in the form of magazine advertisements and patriotic posters. There is even a section on race cars built from P-38 drop tanks in car crazy California during the early 60’s.
  • Chapter 2, P-38 Survivors, provides an overview of the known 40 surviving airframes, either wrecks, restored or awaiting restoration. This includes images from the recently discovered wreck of French author Antoine de Saint Exupery (The Little Prince) who disappearance was as mysterious to the French as was Amelia Earhart’s in the States. 
  • Chapter 3, Heroes and Memories, has interviews clips with 11 P-38 pilots. This is a fascinatingly engineered chapter. Each vintage picture is a hot link to the video clip of from that pilot, but as you move the cursor over the photograph it reveals each pilot’s current likeness – a neat trick!  The longer interviews are provided on the DVD. The audio and video is perfectly clear.
  • Chapter 4, Models, Books and Decals, is lists resources available to the modeler for building a P-38.
  • Chapter 5 – WWII Manuals and Photos – This section is worth the cost of the CD alone. You get scanned copies of the Allison Engine Service Handbook (in color), The F-4 & F-5 Manual, P-38 Pilot Manual and miscellaneous pages from other manuals. Also included are high quality images from the James H. Buckley Collection and other sources.
  • Chapter 6, Restoration Photos, has a nice collection of photos taken during restoration of P-38s. The photos are of high quality and are accessed by either at hot button at the top or by clicking on the appropriate section of an interactive side view color profile of the P-38. Here are some samples -
  • Chapter 7, Interview – Recovery and Restoration, are two slides shows with high quality photos and audio that highlight the efforts to recover and restore Glacier Girl and a 475 FG, 432 FS’ P-38 by Classic Jets Fighter Museum (Adelaide, Australia’s).
  • Chapter 8 highlights other CDs available or forthcoming in the series. 
  • Chapter 9, Acknowledgements.

As I alluded to above, the accompanying DVD has lengthy interviews with each of the 11 pilots highlighted in Chapter 3. A large cross section of P-38 experience is represented, from the Pacific to the Mediterranean, from fighters to recon. The sound and video quality is first rate and the pilot’s stories, captivating. It is so much better to hear these first person accounts than read them.

This set is better engineered and of higher quality than the BF-109 release. Again Buffie’s Best have delivered another high quality project. If I have a criticism it is that I would love to see a slide show format, controlled by a click of the mouse, available for viewing the photos and manuals. You may have all available references on the P-38, but even so, I think that you will find this disk and DVD an excellent companion reference. It is a treat for hobbyist and enthusiast alike, especially at such a reasonable price. I can’t wait for the next release. Highly recommended.

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