'Phoebe' compared to 'Miss Virginia'

[Curt B]

Hey All,

 

I'm making my way toward finishing my first Tamiya 1/48 P-38, the ubiquitous 'Miss Virginia'.  The only other F/G that I'm interested in is, from a historical perspective, "Phoebe', Thomas Lanphier's plane.  I know that from a camo and marking perspective, both "Miss Virginia' and 'Phoebe' are pretty boring planes, though I want to have both of them on my shelf.  I have painted my 'Miss Virginia' using MRP Lacquer paints.  And just today, I just got the entire range of Olive Drab paints in the AK Real Color line, which I plan to use on 'Phoebe', if for no other reason than it will provide what I'm sure will be a slightly different look, due to paint color differences.  I also got, today, my 'Phoebe' decals by Xtradecal, courtesy of Hannants from the UK.

 

The reason for my post is to ask what is known about 'Phoebe'.  We all know that 'Miss Virginia' is the plane that most people credit as the aircraft which shot Admiral Yamamoto's Betty bomber out of the sky, though I'm sure there are those who feel that 'Phoebe' was the plane that actually did the shoot down.  I have no opinion, as I"ve not done sufficient research.  However, both 'Miss Virginia' and 'Phoebe' flew on the mission which killed Yamamoto.  I'd like to know how much is known about 'Phoebe'.  I've only seen very small photos of that plane,  taken from a distance, and I am unsure if 'Phoebe', like 'Miss Virginia'. had the distinctive 'tape marks', the result of attempting to seal the panel joints to prevent water or corrosion from entering the fuselage and wings during the transport overseas.  Did 'Phoebe' look like that. too?  Does anyone know if there were paint or color differences between 'Miss Virginia' and ''Phoebe'?  I'd like to know, as I'd really like to be able to make my 'Phoebe' as accurate as possible, and of that includes anything that would really visually distinguish her from  'Miss Virginia', so much the better.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me any info as a starting point.