The P-51"mustang" Group Build. 2008

Great work up there guys.  I've been checking in from time to time to see the pictures but haven't typed a response.  Here's where my build is now.  I've completed one of my biggest hurdles in the build: bonding on a vacuform canopy.  Those always give me grief, but they are worth it.  At this point, I'm mostly sanding and adding the last spots of putty.  I'm looking forward to applying a primer layer on this plane in the near future :)

great job on the stang andrew.

very nice

jason

Nice work IL2! That canopy looks nice!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Lookin' good, IL2!  Interesting aileron placement. 

Ken 

Yeah IL2, Great work.  Those Allison Engine 'Stangs have a classic look all their own, which is just as sharp as the Merlin powered machines.  I see you've adjusted the ailerons and rudder.  It's a nice effect.

Semper Fi,

Chris 

Saturday should be my most productive modeling day of the week, but stuff happens.  I wanted to get a glosscoat on the thing today.  However, I decided to add the LG and guns before I glossed.  The landing gear went together with little problems (comparitively).  However, the guns... well, lets just say that there's even more rattling around inside my Apache.  She's still looking good (at least I think so), but I've definately hit a snag or two this weekend.  I've found, primed and painted new engine cowl guns.  Plus, I've shaped two of the four dive brakes.  Then, I did some weathering.  Here's how she's looking. 

This one's still challenging me.  

Nice work ridleusmc! Looking forward to seeing it done!

Cheers,

Azgaron

firesmacker - I like your coffee P-51 mug ;)  Yes, read up on using sharpies for pre-shade, good for you if it works....  As for taking pics, my dig cam sometimes focuses on a different plane as the object I want to photograph, especially at close distances. I have to play around on where I "aim" with the cam until it focuses on the model and not the background.

ridleusmc - I had a similar problem with a Revell canopy (P51D).. I used CAREFUL sanding... I did ruin one canpy with scratching overspray, I got a replacement from Revell, good thing to keep the receipt and box (UPC symbol) around until you are done :)  Thanks for the info on the running lights. Hawkeyes posted a method of using lite-brites (stretched) to simualte running lights (looks better than painting the colors). Will try on mine, late summer when I start!

Is the back wheel well "closed" or opens to the inside of the fuselage? Maybe you can roll up double sided tape, insert into the back wheel well (and into the inside of the fuselage) and have the "rattlers" catch on the tape, then use forceps to turn/extract the offending parts? (Yes, I had to do that manuever on mine!)

 raptordriver - nice work Andrew!

IL2windhawk  - Oh that looks nice and small :)  Good job! Canopy looks great....

I did go fishing for loose parts, but I didn't catch all the fish.  As far as the rattlers are concerned, I will only care if they end up in the cockpit and are visible.  Then I'll have to open the pit.  

I've done the decaling, and I've prepped the dive brakes.  Models tend to take on new attitudes at this stage, at least for me.  So I'll post another progress pic.  Let me know if I'm going overboard with the progress shots.  I like to take the pics while building for my own entertainment.  They are interesting to look through a few builds later.  If you guys are getting sick of them, let me know.  

If you're wondering, those bomb decals are a challenge (PITA).

Semper Fi,

Chris 

It's Ok with me! Love seeing progress pics, and so far it looks great!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Sometimes colors don't work my way - and I'm a little fresh on airbrushing too, so I had a tad too much thinner in the paint.

Now, I'll let this dry, fix some minor blemishes, and put one more layer on.

Cheers

Practice makes perfect.  It's looking good.  Those spots will disappear after another application of paint. 

Semper Fi,

Chris

Thanks Chris!

Yes, I guess it will!

Cheers,

Azgaron

 Silver I think is harder to paint on than regular colors. Chris is right though.

Yes I think so too! I like to try alclad or some other metalizer somtime, instead of the Humbrol range.

Cheers,

Azgaron

Alclad is great.  It takes many, many light coats to get a true "Aluminum" skin, but it's worth it.  It's expensive too.   

Semper Fi,

Chris

Az - I had the same "blotchy" look while doing the P51 in my sig, using MM Metalizers. As mentioned, just let dry/cure overnight, hit it with another thin coat. In my meager experience, many thin coats seems to work (for me) better. I also let cure overnight instead of waiting just an hour, but that may be overkill? My paint was so well "cured" I was able to put tamiya tape on top to paint other sections; nothing came up when I pulled the tape... cheers! james

Well Gentilemen,

After dedicating another Saturday to the project, it's time to call the A-36 Done.  It was a good kit, but there were some fit problems with the clear parts.  IL2Windhawk has a similar kit and he used an aftermarket canopy which was definately a good idea. 

I'm very pleased with how the model turned out, but the finished model does have a handful of errors.  I'm not going to worry about them too much, because I don't want to make them worse, or create new ones. 

Here's pics:

Here's a pic of my A-36 next to a P-51B I made many years ago. 

Thanks for looking and giving me feedback.  I'll still be hanging out here, but it's Corsair Time over at the F4U GB.  Good luck with your 'Stangs fellas.

Semper Fi,

Chris

Chris, yes it's a bit expensive, but it seems to be worth it.

Beautiful looking Stang! Very excellent work!

James, yes several coats sounds like a good method. I've also thought about mixing a bit white, grey or black to achive different hues of metal.

Here's what she looks like with the yellow nose. Not sure if I like it. I may just wait a few days for the paint to cure, mask of the upper part of the cowling and paint the rest of it OD. Although, it may end up looking kinda cool with the decals breaking it up a bit. What do you guys think? Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks for looking.

Jeff

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/baptizer/mustang013.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/baptizer/mustang010.jpg

http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/baptizer/mustang012.jpg

Azgaron, Raptordriver, Jmart,

Thanks for the kind words.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  It's one of my best paint jobs ever, but I think it fell a little short in the constuction.  Accurate Miniatures makes some really nice kits.  They need a little more TLC than Hasegawa or Tamiya kits, but just a very little.  Then there's that missing dive brake panel... Oh well.  It's on the underside.  I'm looking forward to seeing your guys' progress. 

Jeff that Mustang looks Unique with the bright yellow nose.  It almost looks like a Bf-109.  Are you going for a confiscated by the Luftwaffe look?  Oh yeah, the Abrams looks good too.  

Semper Fi,

Chris  

Interesting paint scheme Jeff.

Looks great Jeff! Interesting paint scheme!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Thanks for the comments fellas. It's been drying for about 14 hrs now so the nose no longer screams "YELLOW!!". I actually had to go back and make sure I had used flat yellow and not regular yellow. I think I'm going to go ahead and stick with the current scheme. This will hardly be the only 'Stang I ever put together so I'll most likely go more conventional the next time around. Thanks again and Chris that Mustang looks awesome. That long decal must have been tedious but you pulled it off beautifuly.

Jeff