The P-51"mustang" Group Build. 2008

Well, after a marathon round of decaling, finishing touches and photographing (which I still stink at), she's finally finished.

So, without further ado, here she is, Petie 2nd

And a closeup of the steel replacement barrels

I decided to go with no weathering on this build as I had spent so much time on the NMF, I didn't really want to dirty her up. 

As always, constructive criticisms and comments are welcome.

Enjoy!

-Fred

Wow! Very lovely Petie 2nd! Very nice work, Fred!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Ooooh. Killer! That NMF came out really well. How'd you pull it off?

Just picked up the Hasegawa "Mustang Petie" - is that a different kit than this one? 

Beautiful job, Fred!  That's a pretty Mustang!  Nothin' stinky about your photography either. 

Ken 

sweeeeet!!! looking mustang fred.

you did an awsome job.

jason.

Thank you, everyone

For the most part, this was the easiest build.  By that I mean, most of the parts went together with very little fuss and very little filler.  The worst part was the AM wheelwells.  It's almost like they weren't designed for the kit (though it says they were).  I had to sand them for days until I almost wore out the bottom.

Dupes, for the NMF, I primed it with krylon, then sanded it with my soft-touch pads in 2400, 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 grit.  Then I sprayed a few light coats of Talon aluminium then many applications of SnJ aluminium.

If you're going to go this route, I highly suggest getting cotton gloves.  I spent nearly as much time polishing the finish as I did buffing out fingerprints.  Once I got the gloves from micrmark.com, it was no longer an issue.

Mustang Petie may be the first incarnation of this bird.  There's Petie, Petie 2nd and Petie 3rd.

I was in Michael's the other day in their meager modeling section.  They had a 4-piece snap together of Petie 2nd.  It was the fuselage, the wings and the two elevators.  Funny thing is is, it was missing the Petie 2nd markings and of course, the swastika kill markings.  But the blue nose, fuselage decal and HO and M were present

-Fred

Gigatron wrote:

Dupes, for the NMF, I primed it with krylon, then sanded it with my soft-touch pads in 2400, 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 grit.  Then I sprayed a few light coats of Talon aluminium then many applications of SnJ aluminium.

Looks like I've got everything on the checklist except for the uber-grit sanding pads. Are those an automotive product? Or modeling-specific? Here I was thinking my 1200 grit sandpaper was overkill! Hah!

dupes wrote:

Gigatron wrote: Dupes, for the NMF, I primed it with krylon, then sanded it with my soft-touch pads in 2400, 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 grit.  Then I sprayed a few light coats of Talon aluminium then many applications of SnJ aluminium. Looks like I've got everything on the checklist except for the uber-grit sanding pads. Are those an automotive product? Or modeling-specific? Here I was thinking my 1200 grit sandpaper was overkill! Hah!

I don't know if they're modeling specific, but I got them from micromark.com for under $10

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=81601.  Combined with the rest of my sanding sticks, they make for an incredible finish.

-Fred

Starting to get ready with the interior parts. A few minor touch-ups and then I'm ready to start assembling. Painted the pilot in a Swedish summer suit with white cap and gloves. Took a try at woodgraining the floor too, but it don't show that much in the picture.

Cheers,

Azgaron 

looking good azgaron, keep it up!

started applying decals this weekend.

had big problems with the kit decals, they would not release from the backing paper.

once they did release,when i went to position them on the model,they cracked into

several pices,so i ordered some new ones.

jason.

Thanks Jason!

Yours is looking good too! Not fun when the decals don't behave the way you like!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Great progress Azgaron and Jason.

Jason I really like Aeromaster. Its coming nicely.

Azgaron, You always paint figures well from what I see.

Ok here's my progress. I just started today so its not much.

Azgaron - Looks good so far, I really like the "Swedish" touch. never seen that suit before, always learning in here! Thanks for posting and look forward to the rest.

invertman - Shame the decals; isnt there a solution you can use to "bond" old decals so they dont explode upon water contact? name escapes my mind at the momment... nice paint job!

raptordriver - Hey, its a start! Looks good from here, looking forward to the rest

great start raptordriver.

keep it up.

jason

Thank you Jason I got more done today.

I just filled the seams with squad putty so I'll paint in a few days.

Looking good, Raptor.  I'm working on the same Revell kit and am about as far, but need some warmer weather to paint.  Keep up the good work. 

Ken 

Thanks Andrew and JMart!

Andrew,

I try to do that, and I like to paint figures. Your Stang is progressing nicely!

JMart,

Actually I hadn't either until recently, but a friend provided me with pics for both the summer and the winter suit.

Cheers,

Azgaron

Hi Andrew,

I haven't decided yet.  It will be some kind of silver - maybe a finish suggested by the kit or an old ANG look.  I don't have my airbrush going yet, so probably rattle can. 

Ken 

invertman wrote:

looking good azgaron, keep it up!   started applying decals this weekend. had big problems with the kit decals, they would not release from the backing paper. once they did release,when i went to position them on the model,they cracked into several pices,so i ordered some new ones. jason.

i'm not sure how to help them off the paper but to hold them together i use testors dull coat. i usually spray 2 coats to be sure then just cut and apply as usual.

hey all,

just wanted to drop another progress pic.

she's ready for a panel line wash then i can start putting landing gear under it.

everyones builds are coming along awsome.

jason

Looking good, Jason! Keep it up!

Cheers,

Azgaron

Looking really good, Jason !

kbuzz, if you want to go for a metallic look, try any of the rattle can silvers, but while it's still a little tacky, try dabbing in some SnJ buffing powders from hawkeyeshobbies.com.

Then, after it's dried, use a little more and buff it up some.  Should give you more realistic metaliic effect than silver paint alone.

-Fred

Some really great-looking Mustangs up there! --^

Invertman's is particularly good-looking in my opinion!
Inspired me to get back in gear and putty some seams on my Allison Stang

mask, putty, mask, putty, mask, putty, mask, putty, mask, putty...