Hello folks. I figured I would drop in for an update. I did decide on John England's "Missouri Armada" of the 357th FG. I have three reasons. The first, I've never built a P-51 that wasn't a natural metal finish. I know, this is usually the opposite with modelers who tend to shy away from NMF. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy them, especially after discovering Alclad II. The second reason? I happen to be a huge fan of the 357th FG, having built Chuck Yeager's and Bud Anderson's birds in the past. The third, well... I already have Eagle Cal's sheet with England's bird on it.
Whenever possible, I paint ID markings, such as nose checkers or ID/invasion stripes. I've done this on previous 357th planes (one on commission) and was pleased on how it turned out. It just looks more realistic to me and the area is that much easier to weather later by means of a panel line wash. On the Armada, I started by painting the nose and prop hub in Tamiya flat red. I then used the Eagle Cal checker nose strip as reference and cut out squares in Tamiya tape afixed to an old mirror. After a bit of fiddlling to get them shaped right, they were placed down according to the reference profile supplied by Eagle Cal. Its not perfect, but I suppose there weren't perfect on the real aircraft either. I then sprayed Tamiya flat yellow. I will reluctantly use a yellow spinner decal I have from another Eagle Strike sheet. I'm man enough to admit I'm just not savvy in taping off the 357th FG prop stripe. I've tried in the past and failed, always coming out looking ridiculous. Any suggestions here folks?
After taping off the nose checkers, I then tackled the lower fuselage invasion stripes by painting the general area Tamiya flat white then taping off the white stripes by using the kit decal as a width reference, which came out to roughly 3/8th of an inch in width. The "open" stripes were then sprayed Tamiya flat black. Once the stripes were complete, I remove all inner tape,but left the outer tape in place to outline where the stripes start and end. The area was then taped to be removed later after the paint scheme is completed.
My research indicates that 357th birds were painted in RAF colors, since these were apparently readily available. Its also been argued that some were done in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. The first sounds more logical to me since they were reportedly painted in Yoxford. I've seem pictures of Armada and the green does seem to be quite dark. I decided on Tamiya's version of RAF Dark Green (XF83) over Medium Sea Grey (XF81) which I previously bought for a Spitfire Mk IX. I'm told these are new to the market, released on the heels of their 1/32nd scale Spitfire. Hopefully Tamiya keeps this trend going....some new Luftwaffe subjects?.......one could only wish.
I sealed the gear bays with the kit parts (convenient) and then sprayed the lower surface with the Medium Sea Grey. Tamiya paint is like silk when cut with their lacquer thinner. I will never revert back to 91% Iso for my main paint schemes. On small stuff, its still economically feasible to use Alcohol though. That thinner is expensive. This was then lightened with white, thinned and streaked. Once done, I dirtied it up with a diluted mix of Tamiya red brown and NATO black. I keep this concoction premixed in a glass bottle since I use it a lot. Here's some pics of the completed lower surface. I hope to get to the RAF green upper in the next few days.
Joe
