Thanks for the feedback everyone! Glad you enjoyed the pix.
Doogs: You’re right about the gun ports. I have a super-small bit set and some tubing that I plan on using on my next Mustang. This was my first Tamiya Mustang and I wanted to get some experience before I pulled out all the stops. I know about the Mustang’s wing panels, but I don’t worry too much about that stuff. For me, close enough is usually good enough. Besides, I like to look of the panel lines on the wings. Overall, I enjoyed the Mustang. After hearing so many things about the kit, I’d have to say that it lived up to my expectations. As far as the Ultracast exhausts go, I’ll have to look into those. Honestly though, I have a fairly tight modeling budget so I don’t concern myself too much with aftermarket goodies.
JOE RIX: I exclusively used Alclad’s white aluminum for the airframe, and their Duraluminum darkened with some Titanium for the panels around the exhausts. The kit was primed with Alclad’s White Primer, but I have mixed feelings about the stuff. My experience with it wasn’t great, but it could’ve been user error. It dried rock hard and was easy to sand, but I found spraying it a little challenging. Unless you get it just right, you end up with a pebbly surface. Not the best for NMFs, ya know? The cool thing about the stuff was that it filled in a lot of the scratches that I missed during my prep work, and it seems to be self-leveling too; although, it is easy to lay on a little too thick. On a different build, I’m also using Alclad but without the primer. I’m just spraying it on over polished plastic and it seems to be laying down just as well. I think I’ll go the polished plastic route on my next NMF build and save myself a step. All in all, this first experience with Alclad has been a good one. I’ll use it again. As far as overcoats go, I used MM Metalilzer Sealer over the NMF and the decals before spraying the whole thing with MM Dull Coat.
Wabashwheels: The MM sealer really dulled the Alclad down a bit. The Alclad goes on nice and glossy, and the sealer and dull coat do a good job of toning it down. The dull coat straight over the Alclad without the sealer as a barrier really gives the Alclad a more pronounced oxidized look, so if you were looking for a more worn look, that might be a way to go. Once I had a dull surface, I used some pastels to give some panels an even more worn look. I find pastels a little easier to control versus using my airbrush for weathering.
Anyway, thanks again for the kind words everyone. I appreciate you looking at my build.
Happy New Year!
-O