Attention all model plane builders .
Be careful with your panel lines ! Just saw the Collings Foundation's P-51 Mustang T.D. . Whatta plane .Guess what ? the panel lines , Such as there were , are tiny . Can you say no thicker where present that the back of a thin notepad cardboard .
Panel lines on the B-24 Not present in large amounts , But my gosh all those rivets . Yes rivets . Not flush but sticking up all over the place. Guess what , walk ten feet from any of the planes ( A B-17 , B-24 and P51 - T.D. .And you can't see squat !
Now the gear doors and bomb bay doors etc , yes , very prominent panel lines . Also no smooth surface except for the P-51 . Metal that looks like it was put on in High School shop class . Wrinkles everywhere . Warts and Dents too . Smooth ? No Way . Dirty in places you would expect , you bet ! Air worn paint at leading edges and prop edges ?You Bet .
Now , Did you know ? there were no handholds inside the Bombers ? Yep , grab wrong and you have a handful of flight control cables . Here's the kicker . Paint was about four or five different shades of Zinc Chromate where it wasn't worn off . The tops of both the Ball turrets and the back of the nose turret( B-24 ) were aluminum in color . The Guns and my goodness they were the real thing without the ability to shoot . Black with aluminum handles and Bullets everywhere .
Gear was smooth Aluminum with Hydraulic stains at all joints . The gear wells were medium light grey . Now even the seams at the cowl edges were fairly tight except where they contacted each other at the joints .The air intakes in the wings were rough and bent a lot .There were wrinkles in the Join between the wings and fuselage .
Much of the Plexi was fatigue and solar starred . It was , I was told , All original except a few pieces needed for safety . i.e. Cockpit windshields .
Now , that said , Please let me see less Panel lining in models at shows . In that size you wouldn't see them . Of course the molder is going to do it to make the surface look interesting . Get your model . Go to a show and then build .You would be surprised how wrinkled and worn some of even the most modern look !