1/48 Eduard P-51 D 4th FG "Donald Emerson" (Finished)

Yes, that worn wood effect does look great.

I mean... what else can I add to this..? I'm so excited about this Eduard kit. The clear windshield piece that fits snug into the fuselage has me pumped too.  And that pesky radiator seam won't be such a hassle anymore. 
=D

 Your not going to be able to put this thing down I bet. Lol. 

MAKE DONALD PROUD!!

tempestjohnny

Geez. Hey Joe have you done the new Airfix kit yet? Thoughts? I've got one in the stash and I've seen they also have an early Mustang too.

 

I have. I like that one too  Heres my take on that turkey. 

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/177231.aspx

Chemteacher

Super job on the cockpit. Looking forward to the final reveal.

 

Thanks!

Mopar Madness

Yes, that worn wood effect does look great.

 

Thanks!

bvallot

I mean... what else can I add to this..? I'm so excited about this Eduard kit. The clear windshield piece that fits snug into the fuselage has me pumped too.  And that pesky radiator seam won't be such a hassle anymore. 
=D

 Your not going to be able to put this thing down I bet. Lol. 

 

I have a few little annoyances, but it's been quite good so far and I do like the windscreen design. 

bvallot

MAKE DONALD PROUD!!

 

I'll try

Good looking 'Stang you have going there.

But dadnabbit, with 5 already in my display cases and 4 more (1 - 1/72, 1 - 1/48, and 2 - 1/32) in my stash, I really like that angry Donald Duck nose art.  May have to add another 'Stang to the stash.

Aggieman

Good looking 'Stang you have going there.

But dadnabbit, with 5 already in my display cases and 4 more (1 - 1/72, 1 - 1/48, and 2 - 1/32) in my stash, I really like that angry Donald Duck nose art.  May have to add another 'Stang to the stash.

 

I've got 13 built 10 more in stash and one almost ready for decals

Looking great so far. Particularly awesome office!

Aggieman

Good looking 'Stang you have going there.

But dadnabbit, with 5 already in my display cases and 4 more (1 - 1/72, 1 - 1/48, and 2 - 1/32) in my stash, I really like that angry Donald Duck nose art.  May have to add another 'Stang to the stash.

 

Thanks Aggie, I have at least ten myself, Tamiya, Hasegawa, Airfix......

tempestjohnny

 

 

Aggieman

Good looking 'Stang you have going there.

But dadnabbit, with 5 already in my display cases and 4 more (1 - 1/72, 1 - 1/48, and 2 - 1/32) in my stash, I really like that angry Donald Duck nose art.  May have to add another 'Stang to the stash.

 

 

 

 

I've got 13 built 10 more in stash and one almost ready for decals

 

Now I'm curious. I need to go down there and count mine.

Hoss WA

Looking great so far. Particularly awesome office!

 

Thanks Hoss

Dammm Joe, another stella build in progress.

All the best.

damouav

Dammm Joe, another stella build in progress.

All the best.

 

 

 

Thanks Damian.  Nice to see you back.  It's been awhile.

I'm slowly getting some work in on this turkey.  The airframe went together very nice.  I did have an issue with the fit of the starboard gun insert which didn't fit that great. It needed some putty.   I don't remember fit problems here last time, so it's probably something I did.  It's been a while since I've done a NMF, so I had to reteach myself.  After some Grey Alclad primer (I only primer NMF subjects), I sprayed the whole thing Alclad duraluminum then just the wings straight aluminum to simulate the factory aluminum lacquer color.  I was hoping for more contrast but I can live with it.  (No, I will never putty the wing panel lines of a P-51, accurate or not. It looks stupid to me.  We all have our vices.)  I then added some different shades of aluminum to various panels on the fuselage.  

Next I sprayed some panels with AK Extreme Metal for even more variations of aluminum.  This paint goes down nice and smooth, but personally I don't think it's as durable as Alclad and it dries much slower.  

I always liked the rivet detail on the Tamiya kit's gun access doors.  Eduard's kit does not have this detail.  I replicated it with a rivet tool. The line of rivets were taped off then the doors were sprayed dark aluminum so they are noticeable.  It's the little stuff sometimes.....

After the NMF was fired down, it was time for OD anti glare panel, red 4th FG nose and D-Day stripes.  I paint my NMF subjects in the conventional manner, that being metal application then paint.  If you do this the other way around, such as painting invasion stripes then taping them off, when you add the NMF it will leave a "step" when you remove the tape.  It has something to do with the properties of the lacquer paint I guess.  This is my experience, but your mileage may vary.

At this point, for ease of painting, I added the masked windscreen to await the OD anti-glare panel.  I had a fit issue with gaps where it met the fuse on both sides which required a touch of putty.  Again I don't remember this before, so it might be operator error.  I got busy taping and painting.

Out came the Montex masks and I added the stars and bars.  I had no issues with these. 

While I was at it, I painted in the red no step "L" at the port flap corner.  Much better than a decal. 

Montex mask are way better than decals. 

I look forward to griming this turkey up a bit....but I gotta add decals first.

Hey Joe,

You've outdone yourself again! Sensational work mate, truly sensational.

I've been around, lurking in the background...

In fact, I have been looking at some of your old posts. Especially your Tamiya P-47 "Jug", which I'm using as a guide for when I start my build. 

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”

All the best, take care.

lawdog114

These were real men folks.....

That's a sad truth, especially right now.

He looks so young, it's shocking. RIP, young man.

Looks like you're having fun with those AK paints and they look really good, but the 'less durable than Alclad' doesn't sound so good.

How long have you been using packing foam to mask gear wells? That's a neat idea. The cutting/fitting looks a little intensive, is it?

Seems you've been having more fun with some of your recent kits, Joe. That's really good to see.

Greg

 

 

lawdog114

These were real men folks.....

 

 

That's a sad truth, especially right now.

He looks so young, it's shocking. RIP, young man.

Looks like you're having fun with those AK paints and they look really good, but the 'less durable than Alclad' doesn't sound so good.

How long have you been using packing foam to mask gear wells? That's a neat idea. The cutting/fitting looks a little intensive, is it?

Seems you've been having more fun with some of your recent kits, Joe. That's really good to see.

 

tempestjohnny

Greg he was only 21 when he was KIA in 44

My goodness.

damouav

Hey Joe,

You've outdone yourself again! Sensational work mate, truly sensational.

I've been around, lurking in the background...

In fact, I have been looking at some of your old posts. Especially your Tamiya P-47 "Jug", which I'm using as a guide for when I start my build. 

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness”

All the best, take care.

 

Thanks Damian.  I'm glad your doing well.  I look forward to seeing that Jug.   

Greg

 

 

lawdog114

These were real men folks.....

 

 

That's a sad truth, especially right now.

He looks so young, it's shocking. RIP, young man.

Looks like you're having fun with those AK paints and they look really good, but the 'less durable than Alclad' doesn't sound so good.

How long have you been using packing foam to mask gear wells? That's a neat idea. The cutting/fitting looks a little intensive, is it?

Seems you've been having more fun with some of your recent kits, Joe. That's really good to see.

 

Indeed Greg, none of these ungrateful kids today could hold a candle to these real men, but I'll leave it there....lol.  

The sponge is the packing material from Eduard Brassin stuff. Just cut it to the relative close size then push it in there with tweezers.  It's pretty painless.  I saw someone on You Tube using it so I gave it try.  It works great.  It's also good for sponging on paint for weathering.  I've done it on bombs.     

tempestjohnny

 

 

Greg

 

 

lawdog114

These were real men folks.....

 

 

That's a sad truth, especially right now.

He looks so young, it's shocking. RIP, young man.

Looks like you're having fun with those AK paints and they look really good, but the 'less durable than Alclad' doesn't sound so good.

How long have you been using packing foam to mask gear wells? That's a neat idea. The cutting/fitting looks a little intensive, is it?

Seems you've been having more fun with some of your recent kits, Joe. That's really good to see.

 

 

 

 

Greg he was only 21 when he was KIA in 44

 

 

Imagine a 21 year old competent enough to fly a P-51 now, much less shoot down 7 aircraft.  Thank god for that generation. 

It's a wrap on this turkey...er duck.  To recap, it's in the markings of 4th FG Donald Emerson's fighting duck machine.  He was a 7 kill ace who was KIA in this machine on Christmas 1944. I plan to do more 4th FG machines in the near future, paticularly Gentile's Shangra La and Hofer's Salem Reprsentaive.    

What more can I say about this kit.  Eduard hit a home run and having built every kit in this scale, I can confidently say now it's the best in 1/48.  I had a few minor fit issues (as I said earlier) but I'm sure they were mostly my doing. I suppose my biggest grip is Eduards need to overcomplicate things and alot of the parts are "to scale", which translates to "fragile" and or easily lost to the floor monster.  I lost one of the gear scissors and had to raid my other kit for a new one.  The finished product is well worth it.  Additions were Eduard Brassin wheels and main markings were painted.  The Eduard decals were great as well.  It got an AK Interactive oil wash.  I was going for well used.   

I normally use the 75 gallon droppers, but the guy I built it for wanted the 108s, which I don't particularly like.  Eduard dropped the ball here and offer lousy PE braces to attach them to the pylons.  I scratch built new sway braces with rod styrene and then plumbed the tanks.  They turned out ok.  Next time 75 gallons........ 

Maybe we'll get a B model soon?.......

Wow

That's one commision build I think I'd have a hard time parting with. It looks really good, Joe.

Thanks for getting back with me on the foam from Eduard/Brassin re the wheel well masking/packing.