80 Years of the Mighty 8th GB

Looks great, Gary!  Can't wait to see it all finished up!!

Dave

I finished the striping on the propeller hub, and it didn't turn out too bad.  I've seen better.

The props not attached, just stuck in place.

As of now, I still need to finish up the canopy, and then attach a few minor bits such as lights, antenna and pitot.  Then comes detailing and decaling, followed by weathering.  I've been testing various liquids to see what sort of effect they have on the Rustoleum paint.  So far, I'm on schedule to get it done by July (I hope I haven't jinxed it).

Thanks for looking!

Gary

Fotofrank> That's another nice looking Jug!  Unusual to see them in British green! 

Thanks for the tips, guys!  I ended up using a method similar to what PJ described, but I cut the tape strips about a 1/16 inch wide. This makes them more flexible.  I'll post a photo as soon as the paint dries.  Here's keeping my fingers crossed...

John> That Spitfire looks fantastic!

Gary

I've heard of people defining the lines by rotating the spinner against an exacto knife blade.  I think I used Steve's method on this one, but with thin strips of the Tamiya yellow tape, I can't get the white tape to adhere as well as I like.

GAF

PJ,

It's the striping on the nose as seen here:

That black band is hard to replicate.  I can free-hand it, but it will still come out looking rough.  I have a couple of my own ideas, however.

Gary 

 

How I would do this I would use the Tamiya thin plastic white tape that is very bendable  and can produce smooth tight curbed lines. Shoot the white color first then yellow and let it dry overnight. White under the yellow will brighten it and cut on additional coats, light tan will darken the yellow a tad too.

Now take the Tamiya plastic tape and carefully create the yellow rings then shoot the black color. Spray light coats to avoid a step between colors when the tape is removed.

jeaton01

Very nice, Frank.

 

Thanks, John.

Very nice, Frank.

I've been away from this thread for way too long. So much great work on display here. GAF, your HAWK Mustang is looking really good. I must have built that kit 3 or 4 times when I was a kid, the last time when I was in the Air Force back in the late '60's.

Here's another Thunderbolt. I finished this one maybe two weeks ago. An Academy P-47D, 82 FS, 78 FG, just after D-Day.

.

As some Thunderbolts were camouflaged after they arrived in England, this kit is camouflaged RAF Dark Green and Sky. The Invasion Stripes are on the underside of the aircraft only, typical for after D-Day. Everything on this build is painted, even the checkerboard cowling. The only decals are the Curtiss Electric logos on the propeller blades. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.

PJ,

It's the striping on the nose as seen here:

That black band is hard to replicate.  I can free-hand it, but it will still come out looking rough.  I have a couple of my own ideas, however.

Gary 

Mustang is coming along. Can you post how the striping looks like . Maybe I can give you an idea.

Fearlessfarless, John> Thanks for the comments, guys!  Paint has been the least of my worries on this one.

As for the old Hawk P-51 model, it's also from the 1960s and was one I built in my youth.  I kept it around in hopes that I could restore it one day.  Little did I know that it would be 50 years later!

I also have one of the Testor's repops in the stash.  It's an interesting model, and was considered accurate at the time.  Interesting that it has recessed panel lines on the fuselage and raised panel lines on the wings!  All it needs for updating is pit and wheel bay detail.

Gary

The paint looks great, Gary.

I love that old Hawk Mustang kit, I have one around here somewhere that I built in the 60's, and a more recent Testor's reissue in the stash.

 Your Mustang is looking great!

The wing stripes went down okay, what with the sanding and enamel paint.  I must remember that.  Always use enamel on enamel.  Saves headaches.

The wheels and covers are on, and I felt it was about time to start work on the canopy, so I removed the aluminun foil and scrapped off the glue.

Meanwhile, there's the problem of how to do striping on the propeller hub.  If you have any ideas, let me know.  If I could make a circular decal, I'd go that route.

The old Hawk 1/48 P-51D is nearing completion also, but it will be a 4th FS Mustang out of Italy, so doesn't qualify for this GB.

Thanks for looking!

Gary

Thanks, Dave!  I prefer "it looks okay".  I view other's efforts at P-51s, and I'm almost ashamed to post mine.

I went ahead and attached the flaps.  Then I measure and taped off the wing stripes.  When I peeled the tape up, it left a ragged edge.  I guess it had something to do with the Rustoleum paint and the acrylic flat black.  It didn't adhere well.  So I'll re-tape the edges and try some enamel flat black, first going over it with some light sanding.  I hope it works better this time!

Thanks for looking!

Gary

Thanks Gary!!  Your Mustang looks incredible! 

I'm thinking about doing Scat II in full invasion stripes and am thinking about building the wings and booms seperately and doing the stripes before joining them together.  I always struggle with getting the recognition stripes lined up correctly on the wings and the tail surfaces.  I haven't built a plane in a long time, so I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Dave

Welcome, Dave!  I know Bish hasn't been around, and no telling when he will be back (if ever), but Robin Old's P-38 will be a nice addition to the group build.

As for me, work continues on the P-51D.  I've started striping the fuselage and finished up the OD anti-glare.  Now I've got some wing stripes to do (not invasion stripes, thank goodness!)  I'm wondering if it would be best to install the wing flaps now or later?  It's a question of ease of painting a stripe on them.

Shiny, isn't it?

Thanks for looking!

Gary

Hey Bish!!

I know that you may be taking a break, so I'll be brief.

Would like to join this group build with a Robin Olds P-38.  I will be using the tried and true Monogram kit.

Thanks,

TAD

Looking good Gary.

Yes, it did, but Alclad is much superior.  However, for large jobs it has advantages.

Gary

Looks like the Rustoleum went down nicely.  I'll have to look in to that, though I do like Alclad.

The P-51 has it's base coat laid down.  I used Rust-Oleum Metallic Silver (it says it bonds to plastic) for the base.  Turned out okay.  I actually laid a coating of gloss black over the fuselage and left the wings in grey primer, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.  Spray cans, I suppose.  Still, any variations in tone will have to be done in post work.  Right now, I'm letting the base coat de-gas for a few days, though it seems to be completely dry.

Next up, trying to do invasion stripes on the bottom of the plane.

Thanks for looking!

Gary

The primer went on without a hitch.  It showed a couple of seams that needed work, so they're puttied and ready to be sanded.  And I remembered to cover the ID lights!

Looks like its about to rain, so any further painting will have to be postponed, but I like how it's turning out so far.

Gary

Progress has been slow, but the P-51 is about ready for primer.  The flaps are not attached, but I'll do that after.  Mostly it's just to check seams.  Hope to get to it tomorrow, along with a couple of others.

Got to remember to cover the ID lights.   Wish me luck!

Gary

TJ> Those are some fine looking Jugs!  You did a wonderful job on them.  Congrats!

PJ> No word from Bish except what we've already heard, that he's taking a break.  It may be related to family.

Gary

Looks great TJ.

Anyone heard from Bish? I haven’t seen him post in a while. Hope he's ok.

Those paint schemes are nice!

Neat work.  Could be 1/48.

Finished these up. The Revell kits are not bad but definitely not a Tamiya. Used Aeromaster decals for both

fearlessfarless

Mary looks great! Maybe with some forced perspective your 1/32 and my 1/48 Mustang could do some 84th FS formation flying LOL