The P-51"mustang" Group Build. 2008

Butz/Mike - Thanks again for the info; I have a Word document open and I copy/paste all the great info and tips in this thread :)

The build looks great! I like the dry brushing/highlighting the office area; construction looks flawless...again, excellent work!

gzt - Interesting kit, low on details? Look forward to the build!

Mike I see that perfectly straight stabilizers. That seems like a great idea I just line them up hoping for the best

Greg Thanks for showing us that kit it looks nice.

Jason Glad you like it here. excited to see that RAF paint job.

hey hows it going everyone,

looks like great progress going on.

i've gotta tell you guys, this has been one the most fun and inspiring

group builds i've been in yet.

i almost called it quits to scale modeling last month.

it seemed that i could do nothing right,but being in this group build with all you

great guys

has given me the enthusiasm to try new things,be a better modeler and not to be so hard on myself.

anyway.......

started spraying pant this weekend on the mkIII.

man.....having a new airbrush is like driving a new car........lol

will post some pics soon.

jason.

I opened the box and here what it is:

Looking great so far, Mike! Love to see how it'll turn out painted!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Howdy all,

 Well heres a little update my friends.. I fixed up any lil imperferfections that I saw and went from there.

 I added the stabilizers and the antenna mast...

On a side note, hey Andrew, I used a HO train box for a platform to see if my stabilizors were straight..

 The box has a insert which is hard foam and makes a great platform just like using a napkin holder(a wooden one works the best)

 The next few pix are of me air brushing on the flat black for my base coat.. Laughs, my neice Kristina(got to love her), she gave me some silly putty for me to use on my Stang. Yuppers, this stuff sure comes in hand..

 I used it for covering the main wheel bays... The last pix as she stands now and yes, as a little hint, the paints that I'll be using..!!

 Hope ya'll enjoy and thanks fer having a look see..!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

Hey JM,

 You are very welcome my friend... As for the layering/dry brushing, just remember to go lightly w/ the dry brushing.. You want to build up the layer.. Beleive me, you like how she looks once you get it to where you want it.. ANy questions, please fire away..!!

Howdy Fred,

 OMG, I really like how Petie is turning out.. She sure will be a looker thats fer sure... Hope your girlfriend wont mind.. LOL ALso, I like how the finish has that slight worn look to it!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

Ken, 

Good looking Stang! Nice work!

Fred,

Love that Petie 2nd! Nice work! Just got a set of decals for that machine, that I'm going to use on a kit that a bit too much done to join here.

Cheers,

Azgaron

Looking great, Fred!  Beautiful metal finish!  The Tamiya kit is a beaut - I really enjoyed building mine last year.

Ken 

Nice look stang, so far, Ken

Here's a quick little update on mine.  I was able to get the port side decals finished and glued on the aux tanks.

Here's a quick and dirty pic

and a closeup

The canopy isn't attached just yet, I just layed it on there for the photo.  I'm leaving off the antenna, wheels, bay doors and pitot until I'm done with everything else so I don't keep breaking them off .  If you can make it out, you can almost see that I replaced the stock guns with hypo tubing.

Enjoy

-Fred

Seems the Revell kit is going together just fine.    By the way, the mug is rather appropriate.

Making some progress on the Revell P-51D.  Was surprised to find how well the wing/fuselage fit turned out.  The Revell P-40 I've been working on didn't fit well at all.

Drilled out the exhausts here:

The formed guns on the wing leading edge were terrible, so drilled them out to 1/16 in. and inserted 1/16 styrene rods drilled to a smaller diameter.  They are not glued in yet, so will move further into the wing.

I don't have a nice setup for painting inside and it's too cold here to paint, so guess I'll have to work on something else for awhile. 

Later, Ken 

Thanks, JM!

Invertman, I too added steel barrels to my D-ride.  It was one of the few "free" upgrades I wanted to do since the beginning.  I know on the D, they were dual sleeved.  Are they the same on the Bs?  I had to snip off the the plastic barrel, drill out the sleeve, then attach the steel replacement.  All in all, about an hour's worth of work for six guns.  Thankfully, the inboard 50s were recessed into the sleeve, so I didn't need to make barrels for those.  I'll post pics tonight of the mods. 

But, since Lost is on tonight, I most likely won't get any decal work done .  Hopefully, come saturday, I can get some done during the day.

-Fred

Fred - looks very nice, that is a great paint job! I have never used Talon or SnJ, dont have any suggestions; look forward to the final product!

invertman - I think it works, have thought about doing something similar. Maybe make them come out just a tad more? Sometimes its hard to gauge distances/3D from a static pic

Azgaron - good start!

Butz/Mike - Thanks for the info! I am still learning about the "layering" of various coats and pre-shading. Will try that on my next build, thanks again!

Thanks, Mike!

She's being done up as Petie 2nd.  I just love the markings that that bird carries.  I was considering dulling the wings, but I can't find good enough pictures of the original to show if she definitely had the treatment.

The only good pictures I have are of after the restoration, which shows chrome-like skin on the entire bird.  And to be honest, if I had the skill to pull that off with the Talon and SnJ, I'd probably give that a go just to see how she looks.  But alas, the slightly buffed aluminium is the best I can do - for now.

I've been so busy, I haven't had a chance to dress her up yet.  The girlfriend's working this weekend, so that should free up a few hours to get some markings on it.

-Fred

raptordriver wrote:

Azgaron, is this a Tamiya kit? also what verson of mustang a "D"?

No, it's an Airfix kit, and I must say I was a bit surprised about the level of detail, that maybe not is commonly thought about when it comes to Airfix kits. It even got engraved panel lines, although a bit on crude side or not so crisp as you might want them to be. I'll see if I can do anything about that. Also the rudders need to be fixed since they where canvas instead of metal, which according to the information came later, and only a few of the Swedish Mustangs would have metal clad rudders. Most of the machines are supposed to be D-20s.

Mike,

I guess the above answered your first question. The wash is oil color thinned with turpentine.

Cheers,

Azgaron

Azgaron wrote:

Looking good, Jason! Been busy with maybe too many GBs but here is how far I've come. I was thinking of maybe adding some more colors to the details. Cheers, Azgaron

Hey Azg,

 Who's kit is that?? I am really liking what I see thus far!! What did you use for a wash my friend?

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way 

Gigatron wrote:

Just a little update. She's painted with Talon paints and SnJ buffing powders for the NMF and MM dark sea blue on the nose Next up is decals and then add on all the little fiddly bits that usually get broken off 2 or 3 times by now -Fred

Howdy Fred,

 Wow is she comin along... What particular markings will she be dressed in? Possibly one of The Blue Nose Bastards out of Bodney by chance?

 I like the blue you used especially the NMF!! This is me though, I would possibly put a dull coat just on the wings to represent the aluminum dope paint that they used for the laminar flow wing...

 Other than that, I am really looking forward to seeing her completed!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way 

JMart wrote:

Butz - Looks goods! Interesting combination on the tires... pardon the (yet again) newbie question but, what is the advantage over flat black? I mean, tires looks REAL good, I may try it on mine Invertman - great looking pit! I keep saving pics from this WIP for reference :)

Hey JM,

 First off, thank you very much, I am glad that you like the build so far..!!.

 Secondly, MMmm leme see here... Why do I use flat black as a base coat? When I go to dry brush, essentially I build up the interior colour and as I move along, the base coat still has a presence!! In all this allows the natural shadows to come out and also gives the paint some depth.. 

 Hopefully this answer you question my friend and if not, please let me know? And just remember this, no question is silly wether your new or not.... In the times that you need help or have question hopefully we can lend a hand and help you to our best abilities...!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way 

Thanks Andrew and Jason!

I hope I can get some more done soon!

Cheers,

Azgaron

great start azgaron.

keep it up.

jason

kbuzz01 wrote:

That Mustang looks really great, Fred!!  Right out of the factory - you're not going to spoil that beautiful finish with weathering are you?  Ken

Thanks, Ken.  It's a question I've been going over and over in my head.  Normally, I like to do some weathering, like it's seen some service, but I think this one I may actually keep clean.

So last night, I added the steel barrels and drilled out the exhaust ports.  Tonight, I may start on some of the decals, but I have no idea how they'll behave with the finish I put on.

Has anybody here used the Talon paints and SnJ buffing powders successfully?  While I think I did ok, I can't seem to get anywhere near the finish Hawkeye shows on his site.  I tried using the felt buffing wheel, but all I do is end up burning through the plastic.  So, my method has been to apply 3 light coats, waiting 15 minutes between each coat.  After the 3rd coat, I wait 5 minutes then apply the powder with a q-tip.  I buff it lightly with the q-tip and then switch to a cotton cloth.  But I never really seem to get that highly reflective finish.  The first time I tried it, I ended up with a dull silver finish.  This at least looks like aluminium, but nothing like like you see on the restored planes.

Anyway, I'll do a few decals tonight and post some more pics.  I really have to find a way to take better pictures.

-Fred

Looking good, Jason!

Been busy with maybe too many GBs but here is how far I've come.

I was thinking of maybe adding some more colors to the details.

Cheers,

Azgaron

no,i used aluminum tubing from k&s.

i measured the dia of the kit barrels and they measured just

about 1/16" dia. so i used some 1/16" aluminum tubing.

jason.