1/48 Monogram P-51D "Detroit Miss"

Hi Mike, Your Monogram Mustang is looking good.  I did this kit in box markings 4 or 5  years ago... I have to dig up the pictures somewhere... It was the first time I re-scribed an entire model. I filled all the open panels, lengthened the spinner, replaced he guns, you name it.  Just could not bring myself to use the main canopy though.. Had to get a Vac replacement. Did use the windscreen though as I try to keep as many of the original parts that i can when I build these old kits.  Keep us updated. Will be following this build closely !

Great work Mike on that old mold, all the work will pay off once the paint goes on.

Will you be deleting the panel lines on the wings?

cbaltrin

Hi Mike, Your Monogram Mustang is looking good.  I did this kit in box markings 4 or 5  years ago... I have to dig up the pictures somewhere... It was the first time I re-scribed an entire model. I filled all the open panels, lengthened the spinner, replaced he guns, you name it.  Just could not bring myself to use the main canopy though.. Had to get a Vac replacement. Did use the windscreen though as I try to keep as many of the original parts that i can when I build these old kits.  Keep us updated. Will be following this build closely !

 

If you dig up those picture you're more than welcome to post them in this thread. I'll admit the kit canopy is a bit sloppy but I'm also big on using as much of the kit as possible and the kit piece is acceptable. I did get a bit of glue on it, but I've got the other kit for a second try if I can't clean it up.

plasticjunkie

Great work Mike on that old mold, all the work will pay off once the paint goes on.

Will you be deleting the panel lines on the wings?

 

No, I'm not deleting the wing panel. It's kind of part of my attraction lol.

I'll be getting my hands on one of those new Airfix P-51's soon. That'll be the one I go for the gold standard with lol.

M. Brindos

 

 

plasticjunkie

Great work Mike on that old mold, all the work will pay off once the paint goes on.

Will you be deleting the panel lines on the wings?

 

 

 

 

No, I'm not deleting the wing panel. It's kind of part of my attraction lol.

 

Ok cool. I sanded mine off when I built it and used Floquil Old Silver enamel. Why not leave the canopy open since it has a fairly decant pit oob? 

I have the 1/32 Revell new tooled Mustang in the stash and the work was done for me by having smooth wing surfaces.

Spinner/prop look great!  I can never get yellow to lay down that nice

plasticjunkie

 

 

M. Brindos

 

 

plasticjunkie

Great work Mike on that old mold, all the work will pay off once the paint goes on.

Will you be deleting the panel lines on the wings?

 

 

 

 

No, I'm not deleting the wing panel. It's kind of part of my attraction lol.

 

 

 

 

 

Ok cool. I sanded mine off when I built it and used Floquil Old Silver enamel. Why not leave the canopy open since it has a fairly decant pit oob?

I have the 1/32 Revell new tooled Mustang in the stash and the work was done for me having smooth wing surfaces.

 

Lol. Half of my Monogram and Revell builds either had the function or I made the canopies functional. Both my Spitfire and my P-40 have sliding canopies. The Zero and the Corsair do not. But I've also painted over the clear parts on those lol.

keavdog

Spinner/prop look great!  I can never get yellow to lay down that nice

 

My trick is to spray desert yellow or tan first so I don't have to build up a thick layer of yellow to get the color saturated. Try that trick, it makes yellow much easier to use. Also, spraying a light grey does the same for white which can sometimes be just as difficult.

It may mean an extra color change for the AB, but it saves you time and frustration later.

I really love to see these old classics come together!

So do I! 

I had a Mighty Ducks marathon with my wife today before taking a nap and I didn't get anything done on the kit today except letting sprue glue dry.

I had to fill in one of my scribes because it wandered noticibly in the middle. It wasn't easy keeping those lines straight, but I found that my sanding sticks are flexible enough to use as a guide. I wish I'd thought of it before I got half of the panel lines rescribed.

Only a minor setback. I mean, who wants wobbly panel lines? I'm not putting that kind of work into keeping those panel lines if they're not going to be straight. I'm glad it was just one lol. 

Mike,  I posted pictures of my Detroit Miss on  the old  Show us Your Revell Monogram Builds Thread. You can check it out over there.  There seems to be an issue with that thread though as it always gives you an ERROR message at first, but if you Click on the Order by Decending Tab, it seems to fix the issue.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/p/134679/2152733.aspx#2152733

Also,  Wobly panel lines are definatley not copacetic! 

Great project, Mike!  I think this kit still holds up well today.  This was from Monogram's golden age.

Yeah, the canopy.  It's like the canopy on their P-47D bubbletop, too.  I use the kit canopies but I pose them open.  Then the fit isn't really that noticable.

Speaking of undercoating yellows, I use white, myself.  I do that for reds, too.  Whatever we use, it really does help to base first.  I've never had a red or yellow paint that didn't benefit from an undercoat.

the Baron

Speaking of undercoating yellows, I use white, myself.  I do that for reds, too.  Whatever we use, it really does help to base first.  I've never had a red or yellow paint that didn't benefit from an undercoat.

 

I also undercoat yellows and reds. White will brighten both while tan will deepen the shade specially yellow.

My hat goes off to you for tackling these older kits Mike. Great work so far.

That does bring back youtful days lol 

She’s looking great. That was one of my favorite kits when I built as a teen. Great tip on the undercoating with tan for the yellow. Never thought of that. Thanks so much.

cbaltrin

Mike,  I posted pictures of my Detroit Miss on  the old  Show us Your Revell Monogram Builds Thread. You can check it out over there.  There seems to be an issue with that thread though as it always gives you an ERROR message at first, but if you Click on the Order by Decending Tab, it seems to fix the issue.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/p/134679/2152733.aspx#2152733

Also,  Wobly panel lines are definatley not copacetic! 

 

Gawd, now thats a beautiful build! I keep forgetting about that thread lol. Thank you for sharing that!

the Baron

Great project, Mike!  I think this kit still holds up well today.  This was from Monogram's golden age.

Yeah, the canopy.  It's like the canopy on their P-47D bubbletop, too.  I use the kit canopies but I pose them open.  Then the fit isn't really that noticable.

Speaking of undercoating yellows, I use white, myself.  I do that for reds, too.  Whatever we use, it really does help to base first.  I've never had a red or yellow paint that didn't benefit from an undercoat.

 

I always make sure my canopies line up and I've developed techniques that help make that possible. For example, I'm finding that when I modified the canopy on the Banshee that I now have a very large area to cover over the pilot. Ive got some clear acetate that will do the job, but its a much larger opening than the orriginal piece I cut out. I may have to compensate somewhere else to get the dimensions corrected. These are puzzles I enjoy lol.

Now, see, I have issues with getting white to cover properly and thats why I prefer to lay down a light grey first. We all have our little tricks lol.

And youre right, this kit can still hold its own if you give it the effort. I can hardly wait to see how the Airfix kit builds up. Im looking forward to that! lol

mustang1989

My hat goes off to you for tackling these older kits Mike. Great work so far.

 

They're perfect for skill advancement. Such kits make us all better at building the newer and easier kits that have been released in recent years. I enjoy them a lot.

crown r n7

That does bring back youtful days lol 

 

Oh, very much so, yes.

Chemteacher

She’s looking great. That was one of my favorite kits when I built as a teen. Great tip on the undercoating with tan for the yellow. Never thought of that. Thanks so much.

 

My top favorite is still the P-40, but this kit in peticular is a close second. I've got the Stuka and the Confederate Airforce release of the Airacobra too. 

And when I get my butt over to Dad's this weekend I'll have the old light blue box release of the Me 109 and the white box release of the 190 to enjoy as well.

You're more than welcome for the painting tip. Anything I do and share is up for grabs lol.

Well I've made a right, proper mess of things. lol!

Monogram P-51D by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Monogram P-51D by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Commence hours of sanding...

Next time I would modify those exhaust stacks so they can be inserted after fuselage buttoned up. I think they're going to take a beating 

I'd like to find a clever way to handle exactly that, but they designed the exhaust stacks the same way they did for the P-40 where they get inserted early in the build because the tip of the nose goes on after the fuse halves are closed up. 

That wouldn't be a problem if the nose tip fit without sanding.

I found a way. You have to first create some sort of jig/bracing inside the nose  to hold the exhaust in their proper position.  Then you trim away all the excess backing on the exhaust so it can be inserted from the outside.  

BTW, Do you feel a Monogram P-51D group build coming in 2022?  

I suppose I should have thought of that. It's the easiest solution and kind of a "duh" answer. I will remember that for the next one. 

I wouldn't mind getting into a Monogram Mustang build group. That sounds pretty cool.

That is an excellent idea, regarding the exhausts, both for this kit and for the P-40.  I never thought of it, but that simplifies things.  And that's the best kind of solution-simple.

Looking forward to watching you smooth all that out Mike. 

mustang1989

Looking forward to watching you smooth all that out Mike. 

 

I think I've got it almost ready. One more shot of primer should do. I did get stuck playing with one of the kits I got for my birthday, a Monogram Me 109E in the old light blue "quarter scale" box. I'm finding the kit is a joy to build and I'm mostly done and almost ready for primer. 

I also received an old "quarter scale" Hawk P-51D coated in an Aluminum finish that is only missing the nose tip, but came with extra decals and an Aires resin cockpit. I'm not so sure the kit needs the Aires upgrade, but it's beautiful and I may just build it for display along side my mustangs.

I will be uploading pictures later.