Mustang Build

My update will have to wait. Need to repaint some things Since I found out some new information.

Thanks for the links Groot,

Those will be helpful when I get back to my stang. I've ordered a IP dial decals from the UK so it may take a couple of weeks.

Rob. Don't worry about how the preshade looks You're only going to see the differences in the color of the top coat.  

Sounds great Psyco!  We will be glad to see it!

Rob-  Nice info there!  Should come in handy for a number of folks!

I should have an update on my mustangs this weekend, was putting the seat belts in the A-36 and they wouldn't stick so I'm going to repaint it sometime today.

So I was trying to make sure and check as to whether the ailerons on a P-51 were fabric covered (they weren't, only the rudder was) and came across this site. (Click Here)  Lots of great info and images.  If you want more than just Mustangs, here is the link to the main page as there is no "Home" link (Click Here).  Some fairly technical stuff that will generally help a lot with construction of various aircraft.

Groot

I love Alclad, and as you see, the base coat dictates the outcome of the shine. I've never been very good at pre-shading, I always put too many main coats on and just wipe out everything I did..

Excited to see your pair of  blue noses.

So after holding off on painting during the cold my daughter accidentally woke me early this evening so I figured I'd take advantage of the relatively warm weather.  I got the priming done using MM super fine lacquer primer when we got up to a balmy 45 a couple days ago.  It worked so-so, but the cold snap may have had something to do with that as I paint in the garage.

This evening I was able to knock out some pre-shading.  The rear windows are glued in, but the main portion of the canopy is just a dry fit and holds into place nicely, no glue, tape, etc.  I'm still working on my pre-shade technique, and definitely struggled with the airbrush this evening (suggestions are welcome!  I'm using a Badger 200 single action with the "gravity feed" attachment that goes in the bottom).  I think the pressure was too low, but it will all be covered with the green and grey anyway.  

Not pictured is my first attempt at Alclad on the external fuel tanks and the exhausts.  I painted directly over the white primer as I wanted a relatively dull look to the metal finish.  I'm pretty happy with the results, I may need to do a second coat, we'll see.  I'll post pictures of those after they are dry.  I really liked the way they looked when I was finishing up though and the Alclad went down like a dream.

Groot

 This funny car's name brings up some...  ummm...  yeah..... bad things on image search if you are not specific enough...  

PJ-  Nice work man!

Steve-  You bet it will be up! Im not looking forward to painting the body black though.....  everything shows!!!!!

I REALLY have to try some of that.

Thanks MC!

That Perfect Plastic Putty was a huge help in getting the filled areas even and true as it doesn't shrink and sands smooth as glass.

Cody,

I assume you will be displaying that funny car with the body up so we all can get a look at all the goodies? Love those funny cars.
Love the little angry face BTW. 

PJ,

I don't know how you do it, but I've zoomed in on your build, and it looks like the kit was make that way. You have astounded me again.

Nice save sir.  

Here's where I'm at as I began to apply some of the decals.  I was very surprised that the old MicroScale decals that must be nearly 40 years old were still in excellent condition. I have admit that I'm pleased how it's coming out. The other two Monogram Mustangs will get built with the panels open next time to avoid the putty issue.

Finally able to start!  Here is the kit.  Great tires and chrome but the engine and chassis parts have a ton of flash!  I also have some slixx decals to use to make the "Trojan Horse" funny car.

MC

You should have jumped on it for $27!

Would have, but I spent my fun money for the next couple of months on a PE set for my Indianapolis. Besides, that 1/32 Hase kit is going to take a while.

Can't wait to see yours though.

Just checked at 11.20 pm Eastern time and they are sold out. Hope somebody here got one.

Got my Dragon Mustang on order but I will continue with my old Monogram putty monster in the mean time. The Floquil paint can actually be polished out to a brighter sheen with an old cotton t-shirt. I shot some Aqua Gloss to seal up the finish as it has a tendency to pick up finger prints that have to be polished out.

I think I will start decaling in a bit so I will post some pictures then.

Hey heads up gentsl!!  Squadron has the Dragon 1/32 Mustang on sale for $27

www.squadron.com/.../dr3224.htm

STX440

I'm in with a 1/48 Tamiya P51B.

I got you updated.

Looks great PJ, way to persevere. your almost there.

I know your going to make that beast look stellar.

This has been an extremely frustrating build and I would have been pulling my hair (If I had any) but I think I got it under control. It took me 4 putty sessions and 4 paintjobs (and removing them)  to get it looking ok. Since the wings were puttied and sanded smooth then painted in aluminum lacquer, most of the panel line detail is gone. I shot the wings and rudder Tamiya Aluminum and the ailerons and flaps Floquil bright silver. The fuselage was also sprayed bright silver but I still have to tape up  a few fuselage panels and spray Floquil platinum mist for some panel color variation.

Alclad produces a better metallic effect but due to this being a putty monster, the Floquil does an adequate job.

Steve - No worries man!  I was surprised I ran across the restoration pics.  I haven't seen anything like that before.  Must be nice to restore a real p51 just for fun!

Ken- Cool to see a Car coming into the mix!  I also have the Malco Gasser but its hiding in the stash and honestly I forgot about it totally!   That's when you know that you're collecting a bit too much. :/ Great work on the 51 as well!

Cody ans PJ, Thank you guys soooo much for the help, that is great reference info.

PJ, that's probably just what I'm going to end up doing"gizmology", I like it.

kenjitak

Nice job on both the Malco Gasser and the Merlin. I wish my Hasegawa engine had as much detail. I need to try to scratch most of it and won't turn out as nice as yours.

Here's some beginning work on my Mustang duo. First, my Malco Gasser. Photos I have show that the hood bubble extends further back over the cowl, almost to the base of the front windshield. So a bit of plastic surgery is in order:

I extended the hood bubble by about 3/8" with sheet plastic and putty to fill and smooth the gap. A number of seams and mold marks also needed to be dealt with. The front and rear lower panels in particular needed attention:

A bit more filling is in order to take care of some unnoticed sink marks and then it'll be ready for primer.

So in the meantime I'll start the P-51D. Opening up one of these Tamiya kits is almost like opening an Apple computer or iPhone. Everything is elegantly packed, with separate compartments for the sprues, the metal and vinyl parts and photo etch.

In addition to the 36 page instruction manual they even include a glossy folder with the box art printed on it that is handy for storing the decals; I guess that's what its for.

Here are the decals, the canopy masks, and some AM stuff for the kit:

I've got some Eduard PE

Probably this is all overkill. The kit already has so much detail. I'm really not sure if I want to do the gun bays and those cockpit stencils may be just too fiddly to deal with. We'll see.

So starting off with the engine:

I just couldn't bear to paint everything semi-gloss black as the instructions called out, so I rounded up all the 50 shades of black (just kidding!) and some metallics to try to get some variety and texture. The engine parts are very detailed, better than many 1/24 car kit engines.

They even include some photo-etch gaskets for the intake manifolds!

So here are some shots of the engine as it nears completion:

So far so good. I haven't decided whether to put in ignition wiring, I may wait and see how much room there is with the engine mounts and framing. 

More to come!

John,

No problem. Go into the Tools menu of Internet Explorer - Select Compatibility View settings and add finescale.com to the list of websites with Compatibility View.

The same thing was happening to me, so this should fix it.

Steve