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1/48 Eduard P-51D 55th FG “The Millie” (Finished)

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  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
1/48 Eduard P-51D 55th FG “The Millie” (Finished)
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 3:16 AM

I got this turkey on my doorstep the other day from Hobby Link Japan and the temptation was too much.  I figured you guys would like to see how it builds up so I'll share. Of course I'll compare it to the others and advise accordingly.  

I'll be doing Edward Giller's "The Millie P" from the 55th FG.  Giller scored three kills to include an Me 262. 

I started with the pit.  It's by far the best in the scale, no question about it. There' no comparison to the others.  I wanted to simulate the wooden floor and some wear on the rubber coating.  I sprayed it XF-59 Desert Yellow then X-26 Orange Clear. This makes a nice wood color to my eye.  Next I sprayed AK worn effects. Once dry I sprayed the floor flat black and scraped off some of it with wet Testor's paint brush (old shool).  This revealed some of the wood  color. 

I painted the back fuel cell XF-24 Dark Grey as it was rubber coated then everything else was sprayed in my mix of Interior Green.  I used the included PE seatbelts.  I'll tell ya, Eduard's PE is quite impressive as of late. Look at that detail. Here's how it all turned out.  

  

Port...

Starboard...

Check out the detail on the rear deck.  Eduard did a nice job here.

You have the choice between a decal for the IP, or the included PE version. Again, Eduard's PE technology is improving vastly, so I took the lazy route and used it here. They even simulated glass dials.  

A test fit.  I don't see any issues yet.  I built up the lower radiator at this time too.   

I then glued it on there. 

I ran out of time but I should be closing it up soon. 

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    May 2013
  • From: Indiana, USA
Posted by Greg on Thursday, September 12, 2019 7:55 AM

Ads for this kit seem to pop up at various sites I visit, and it caught my eye right off the bat.

Nice to be able to see it get built by a master. Thanks for posting this, looking good so far as usual. Between you cockpit methods and Eduard's detail, sure does look good, Joe.

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • From: Hatboro, PA
Posted by Justinryan215 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 8:05 AM

While I do like a good mustang, I almost feel as some Brits do about the Sptfire....way overdone...too ubiquitous.  But, seeing this makes me want to get my hands on a box and build one up!

I like the scheme you chose as well!

 

Nice work so far...I'll be checking in!

"...failure to do anything because someone else can do better makes us rather dull and lazy..."

Mortal as I am,I know that I am born for a day.  But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the Earth...

 

  • Member since
    July 2019
Posted by Hoss WA on Thursday, September 12, 2019 9:26 AM
Awesome work as usual so far! I’ll be following along.
  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Thursday, September 12, 2019 9:33 AM

I've always wanted to do Gun Fighter as I think the scheme is stellar. This must be a sister plane cuz it's identical to GF. Excellent, this will be super cool.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Thursday, September 12, 2019 2:53 PM

Your quality of work constantly astounds me Lawdog. And the kit is great. 

The first kit I ever built was a P51D big beautiful doll and after the curret builds it's something I want to revisit so this would be a perfect kit. Thanks for the opportunity to watch yours come together.

Josh

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 10:45 PM

Greg

Ads for this kit seem to pop up at various sites I visit, and it caught my eye right off the bat.

Nice to be able to see it get built by a master. Thanks for posting this, looking good so far as usual. Between you cockpit methods and Eduard's detail, sure does look good, Joe.

 

Indeed Greg, great cover art.  Sucks you right in.  Master? Hardly, just average, but thanks... 

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 10:55 PM

Justinryan215

While I do like a good mustang, I almost feel as some Brits do about the Sptfire....way overdone...too ubiquitous.  But, seeing this makes me want to get my hands on a box and build one up!

I like the scheme you chose as well!

 

Nice work so far...I'll be checking in!

 

Thanks Justin.  Agreed, somewhat overdone, but I think it's because there are so many options for schemes......and it was legendary like the Spit.  

The scheme wasn't my choice. I personally would have gone with something different.  I have two of these, so I just ordered decals for Glenn Duncan's 353rd FG Dove of Peace for the second.  It has a skeleton with a Gatlin Gun on the nose somewhere........lol.      

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 10:56 PM

Hoss WA
Awesome work as usual so far! I’ll be following along.
 

Thanks Hoss, glad to have you.

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 11:00 PM

BrandonK

I've always wanted to do Gun Fighter as I think the scheme is stellar. This must be a sister plane cuz it's identical to GF. Excellent, this will be super cool.

BK

 

Thanks Brandon.  I'm not familiar with Gunfighter.  Pretty cool name though.  Truthfully, I don't know all that much about the 55th FG.  I know they originally had P-38's and were the first touse them in the ETO. 

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 12, 2019 11:02 PM

Josh_the_painter

Your quality of work constantly astounds me Lawdog. And the kit is great. 

The first kit I ever built was a P51D big beautiful doll and after the curret builds it's something I want to revisit so this would be a perfect kit. Thanks for the opportunity to watch yours come together.

Josh

 

Thanks Josh.  You'll definitely want to revisit Doll with this kit.    

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Friday, September 13, 2019 12:52 PM

lawdog114

 

 
BrandonK

I've always wanted to do Gun Fighter as I think the scheme is stellar. This must be a sister plane cuz it's identical to GF. Excellent, this will be super cool.

BK

 

 

 

Thanks Brandon.  I'm not familiar with Gunfighter.  Pretty cool name though.  Truthfully, I don't know all that much about the 55th FG.  I know they originally had P-38's and were the first touse them in the ETO. 

 

Strikingly similar.. Gunfighter.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Cleveland, OH
Posted by RadMax8 on Friday, September 13, 2019 11:37 PM

I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to crack this one open... I saw a completed kit not even a week after the IPMS Nat’ls!

Looks like you’ve got everything under control here. Glad to see it’s a great kit. So, I’m guessing there’s going to be a ton of Airfix kits to be had at the model show this year?

  • Member since
    April 2013
  • From: Eleva, Wisconsin
Posted by Greatmaker on Saturday, September 14, 2019 3:01 PM

Cockpit work fantastic as always Joe Really like the simulated wood floor.  Looking forward to see ye ole Lawdog touch on this one

 

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Naples, FL
Posted by tempestjohnny on Sunday, September 15, 2019 6:59 AM
BK there is also Miss Marilyn which is again the same color scheme

 

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Naples, FL
Posted by tempestjohnny on Sunday, September 15, 2019 7:06 AM
Joe, gorgeous pit as usual. You're right on why there are so many new Mustangs coming out. Could spend your life building nothing but and still not put a dent in the number of cool schemes.

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:00 AM

BrandonK

 

 
lawdog114

 

 
BrandonK

I've always wanted to do Gun Fighter as I think the scheme is stellar. This must be a sister plane cuz it's identical to GF. Excellent, this will be super cool.

BK

 

 

 

Thanks Brandon.  I'm not familiar with Gunfighter.  Pretty cool name though.  Truthfully, I don't know all that much about the 55th FG.  I know they originally had P-38's and were the first touse them in the ETO. 

 

 

 

Strikingly similar.. Gunfighter.

 

BK

 

Sweet!  Indeed, it's identical. Built it!

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:02 AM

RadMax8

I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to crack this one open... I saw a completed kit not even a week after the IPMS Nat’ls!

Looks like you’ve got everything under control here. Glad to see it’s a great kit. So, I’m guessing there’s going to be a ton of Airfix kits to be had at the model show this year?

 

I got on it as soon as I got it.  Ha!  It's pretty nice indeed.  I've had a few hiccups but I think they are my doing. 

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:03 AM

Greatmaker

Cockpit work fantastic as always Joe Really like the simulated wood floor.  Looking forward to see ye ole Lawdog touch on this one

 

Thanks Robert.  

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:04 AM

tempestjohnny
BK there is also Miss Marilyn which is again the same color scheme
 

Yep, It's one of the choices in the Monogram kit I believe.

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:05 AM

tempestjohnny
Joe, gorgeous pit as usual. You're right on why there are so many new Mustangs coming out. Could spend your life building nothing but and still not put a dent in the number of cool schemes.
 

Indeed Johnny.  I plan to do as many as possible!

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 3:36 AM

I'm moving along on this one and have put the P-40 on the back burner temporarily, mostly because I want to see how this one builds up badly.  I built the gear bay.  It's very well detailed but mine was quite warped and I had a lot of trouble gluing it down.  I believe this contributed to some fit issues, but more on later.

Vey well detailed.  Per my research, this is the correct way to paint the P-51 bay.  Only the back wing spar should be ZC, at least as they left the factory.

I eventually got the airframe together.  I had trouble joining the wing leading edges because the gear bay was too tall.  I had to sand/Dremel off the top (inside) off the bay piece a bit to make clearance Clarence.  I must have messed up slightly in the positioning of the bay somehow.  I also had some slight wing root gaps (see the putty).  It was probably attributed to the bay as well. A chain reaction if you will.  It was nothing insurmountable and I got it done. Also, the machine gun inserts fit nice and they are nicely done.

 

I added the flaps in the down position. Like the Tamiya kit, I had some slight issues with alignment of the lower radiator seam and the resulting sanding cost some detail.  They should have followed Airfix's lead here and made this area a separate piece.   

 

Seams were checked then it was time to start painting. I figured I would knock out the 55th FG nose checkers first.  I used XF-26 Deep Green and sprayed the nose and prop hub.  

 

I used one of the "checkers" from the kit decals (which has a 357th FG bird as an option) and cut it out.  I then cut the checkers out of Tamiya tape and added them.  This is the 357th FG plane I did last year which will show the gist of how I did it. Yeah, I know, I should replace that mirror.  It's seen better days.  

Looks like this when done.  On a side note, I scribed in the top cowl panel line and added the fasteners that Eduard completely forgot with a needle chucked into a pin vice.  I recall having to do this on the Hasegawa kit too.  I think they dropped the ball here and should have followed Tamiya's lead with a separate top piece.  I know, nit-picking, but this isn't exactly a cheap kit. 

Next I sprayed XF-4 Yellow with a drop of XF-7 Red.  After the tape is removed it turned out like this. It will be taped off where appropriate for the rest of the painting.  Fortunately I have a decal from a 357th FG sheet for the prop hub stripe.  I've tried to paint this on in the past and failed miserably. This is a surprisingly difficult task, at least for me.      

Next it will be primed and I will fire down some Alclad.

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2005
  • From: Cleveland, OH
Posted by RadMax8 on Thursday, September 19, 2019 10:42 PM

Wow this is the first mention I’ve seen of any shortcomings on this kit. Glad to see an honest assessment, as you’re right it ain’t cheap, and it’s being touted as the final word in Mustang models. 

That said, I still probably want to find one as soon as I can get my grubby little mitts on it Stick out tongue

Still looks good from where I’m sitting though. I like your paint on the nose... certainly looks sharp!

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Friday, September 20, 2019 7:01 AM

Yeah, I‘m also surprised to hear about these fit/finish problems.  Sweet paint on that cowl! 

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Friday, September 20, 2019 2:43 PM

You're making me want to pull out one of my Monovell Mustangs.

Of course, this is gorgeous work. As always with you lol.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Friday, September 20, 2019 3:51 PM

lawdog114

 

 
Josh_the_painter

Your quality of work constantly astounds me Lawdog. And the kit is great. 

The first kit I ever built was a P51D big beautiful doll and after the curret builds it's something I want to revisit so this would be a perfect kit. Thanks for the opportunity to watch yours come together.

Josh

 

 

 

Thanks Josh.  You'll definitely want to revisit Doll with this kit.    

 

Im in my shed supposed to be prepping 38 buick parts for paint but instead I find myself pulling the trigger on 2 of these through hobbylink japan. Your a bad influence lawdog!

Nice work on the checkers. I was interested in the tamiya tape? It looks like a rice paper tape in the photo? Generally I just mask with vinyl tape/ fine line as I have rolls of it sitting around and am no stranger to having to achieve fine masking. I like to stay open minded however for products that I can use for work as well. 

Josh

  • Member since
    August 2009
  • From: Borlando Fla home of the rat
Posted by TREYZX10R on Friday, September 20, 2019 9:01 PM

Joe great looking office as always! Nice clean masking on those nose checkers too!

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 26, 2019 12:11 AM

RadMax8

Wow this is the first mention I’ve seen of any shortcomings on this kit. Glad to see an honest assessment, as you’re right it ain’t cheap, and it’s being touted as the final word in Mustang models. 

That said, I still probably want to find one as soon as I can get my grubby little mitts on it Stick out tongue

Still looks good from where I’m sitting though. I like your paint on the nose... certainly looks sharp!

 

Thanks Max. I'm sure alot of it is my own doing.  Intend to build the early filletless version when that comes out next month.  I'm curious to see if that build goes smoother. 

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 26, 2019 12:12 AM

Mopar Madness

Yeah, I‘m also surprised to hear about these fit/finish problems.  Sweet paint on that cowl! 

 

Thanks Mopar

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2012
  • From: Olmsted Township, Ohio
Posted by lawdog114 on Thursday, September 26, 2019 12:12 AM

M. Brindos

You're making me want to pull out one of my Monovell Mustangs.

Of course, this is gorgeous work. As always with you lol.

 

Thanks Mike

 "Can you fly this plane and land it?...Surely you can't be serious....I am serious, and don't call me Shirley"

 

 

 

 

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