1/48 Tamiya F-51D Mustang 12th FBS/18th FBG (Glessner) FINISHED

Nice subject and great job on the pit.

Bish

Nice subject and great job on the pit.

 

Nice work on the cockpit. I'm looking forward to following this build.

Excellent method for replicating the floorboard wear! I’m gonna have to steal... I mean emulate that

I got a little bit of work in last night.  These Tamiya Mustangs do build themselves and I got the airframe together rather quickly.  

I had my typical issues at the lower radiator area.  I sanded, rescribed, then added some styrene sheet to replace the lost detail.   

I normally replace the fifties with brass tubing, but on this one I got lazy and decided to just drill them out. I figured if i screw it up I could go back and add the brass.  Well they turned out ok.  I also sanded off the "bumps" on the top of the wing.  It's my understanding those shouldn't be there.  

Almost time for NMF...

Joe, looks good. Do you think the Ultracast .50’s are a waste of $$$? And no quilting on the Ultracast seat? Certainly not as classy as the Airfix kit...

The “bumps” you sanded off were a post-war patch applied for strength by the private owner of the plane Tamiya looked at when they made the measurements for this kit, or so I’m told. 

A unique and inresting subject.  I look forward to your WIP!

Your friend, Toshi

RadMax8

Do you think the Ultracast .50’s are a waste of $$$? And no quilting on the Ultracast seat? Certainly not as classy as the Airfix kit...

The “bumps” you sanded off were a post-war patch applied for strength by the private owner of the plane Tamiya looked at when they made the measurements for this kit, or so I’m told. 

Thanks guys...

Not at all....QB fifties look great  I used to shove them in the outboards all the time before I switched to using Albion Alloy brass tubing.  I was being lazy on this one. 

Thanks for the info on the bumps.  I remember reading somewhere they weren't supposed to be there and that was an error.   

I took a little break from the bench for awhile.  Long work hours have left me somewhat unmotivated. It happens with me sometimes.  Last night I shook off the cobwebs and sat down to get some work in on this turkey.  I started by firing down some Alclad Duraluminum, which is my standard base NMF for "combat" aircraft.  It's not too shiny nor too dull. 

Now I tape off some panels and use different shades of Alclad.  I sprayed the wings Aluminum as they were painted Aluminum lacquer at the factory. I taped off the gun doors and some other random panels which will get various shades.  I start with Dark Aluminum. 

I like to tape off the little line of rivets on the doors which leaves a nice effect after sprayed.  

It's subtle but noticeable.

The final effect of the different shades. To my horror I had some issues with paint lifting on the starboard wing.  It's the first time ever I've ever had this problem using Alclad. Apparently I did nor prep this area well enough.  I sanded and resprayed the affected areas.  

I then turned my attention to the flaps.  I always have trouble with the red "no step" decals.  Tamiya's offering are thick and unforgiving and the aftermarket versions never seem to look right to me.  This time I decided to try and paint them on. After sprayng them both White Aluminum, I used the Tamiya decal as a size reference and taped the red area off thusly.

XF-7 Flat Red with a touch of XF-1 Flat Black..

Very pleased...

Now it's time for the anti-glare panel.  I sprayed it XF-69 NATO Black for starters.  I then added some white to fade it a bit.  I then went back and hit the panel lines and rivets very lightly with straight XF-1 Flat Black.  I'm pretty darn happy with the effect.  I'm having P-61 ideas....

That should do it for the paint scheme.  I may spray the rudder gray to simulate the dope material. I did spray the prop hub Polished Aluminum.

Good work mate, really nice subject matter.

I look forward to the next stage.

Airbrush maestro strikes again. Looks fantastic Joe!

Looking really great! Effect over the rivets is unique, i like the effect.

Looking good.

You are such a talented guy with an airbrush Joe!

It always befudles me how you're able to get all the different shades of aluminum just right on your metal finish builds. I guess patience and practice.

Your spraying the red on the flaps turned out great.

Joe, I think it's coming along great! It's too bad the person for whom you're building doesn't want the "Buckeye Blitz" markings! They do look sharp.

Just to go off on a slight, but still related tangent, here...A few months ago I built the Meng Mustang. Great kit. Went together well. When I built it, I had the hankerin' for a Korean War Mustang since I had never done one of those before. I found the Tamiya decals that I had leftover from a previous build years ago. This is going to surprise you because it sure as heck surprised me: The Tamiya decals, as unpleasant as they look on their backing paper, went down just as flawlessly as any other decals that I've used! Can you believe it? 'Cuz I sure can't. They went on kinda stiff but after placing the decal, pressing it down with a paper towel and then applying Solv-a-set, they looked like they were painted on.

Just thought I'd pass my experience along (from one doubting Thomas to another).  I can't wait to see your finished Mustang!

Eric

Well that's good to know Eric.  I'll save them for when I do build Buckeye Blitz then.....and thanks for stopping in. I just ordered Tamiya's Mark Fit decal solutions and look forward to trying them.  I bet they work great on their stickers......er I mean decals.   

I guess I'll seque into my decaling session. I fired down a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss then used an old Superscale Sheet.  You can decal right on top of Alclad, but I wanted the acrylic gloss barrier for an oil wash later.  I had no issues.  This is an actual plane that existed, but I deleted the sharkmouth.  

I used the later "Aeroproducts" prop without cuffs.  I guess you could use either, but I wanted something different.   

I also turned my attention to the HVAR rockets.  Believe it or not this was alot of taping and spraying, but I'm happy with them.  I had to make a new tail fin piece on one of them which disappeared somehow.  I plan to added fuses dangling off the back like I did on my Typhoon.  I saw a picture of a Corsair that had the fuses so thats all I needed to see.  

Looking tight, as always. Nice.

-J

Just beautiful metal finish .. 

Nice finish with the Alclad, I don't  recall if you shot primer down prior to the smashing job you did with the top coat. On another note, I have not yet gotten Alclads Aqua Gloss to shot well, may I enquire what settings and type of AB you use.

Thanks for posting. 

damouav

On another note, I have not yet gotten Alclads Aqua Gloss to shot well, may I enquire what settings and type of AB you use.

Thanks guys,

Damian, I spray it around 20 psi (if my gauge is right).  I switched to an Iwata Revolution CR about a year ago.  It fits my needs pretty well, but I'm still trying to figure out how to clean that tiny screw-on nozzle (or whatever it's called).   

After a fairly nasty bout with the flu and being bed ridden for 3 days, I managed to drag myself to the bench and finish this turkey.  To recap, it's an F-51 D Fighter Bomber from the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron/18th Fighter Bomber Group flown by Lt. James Glessner.  In November of 1950, Glessner flamed a Soviet Yak 9 while flying this subject.  Of course it should be donning a killer sharkmouth, but I won't get into that again....lol. 

For this project I added an Ultracast seat and tires.  I substituted a spare Airfix sliding canopy to replace Tamiya's abomination. I scratch built rocket fuses with fine wire and small rod styrene for the end caps.  For weathering I used AK Interactive enamels, namely a dark brown pin wash for the panel lines then Panzer Grey streaking fluid for some random streaks.  I think it gives the airframe a used look.  I hope I didn't overdo it, but I'm still experimenting with these products.    

Overall?  The Mustang just looks funny to me with red in the stars and bars with USAF plastered all over it.  I don't hate it per-se, but I can promise my next Mustang will be an 8th AF subject with drop tanks instead of rockets and bombs.  It's definitely time to get back to something more my cup of tea.....that Tamiya 109! 

Thanks for following....

Mate, Sorry to hear you have been unwell I hope your kicking its but like you did this build.

Another stunner, you should be very proud of your work (again).

Thanks for the info re: AB'ing Alclad Aqua Gloss, I will give it another go with my Iwata Revolution and see if I get a better result.

I hope I can build something 1% as good and it would look great.

A real stunner Joe I’m sure you'll have a most satisfied client 

damouav

Thanks for the info re: AB'ing Alclad Aqua Gloss, I will give it another go with my Iwata Revolution and see if I get a better result.

Thanks guys....

Damian, try light coats and build them up to the level you want.  The only reason I switched to their Aqua version was as a barrier for the AK enamel wash(s).  I like it so far and it performs like their other version.  I still use Testor's Dull for my flat coat though.     

Oh man, the flu ran through our house like a hot knife through butter!  But, this Mustang is beautiful.  I can’t seem to gather the courage to try an all aluminum finish! Well done.