Thanks for your comments, guys!

Damian, good to hear that your P-70 fits together nicely. I heared, Italeri plans to rebox that kit this year. Well I have another Boston Mk. III in my stash and hope she fits better. Have you put enough weight in? I glued about 50 grams of old tyre balance weight in the gun nose.

Diego, in fact these canons were the reason to build the VVS-version. As I wrote in my posting, the USSR got many of the early G's. And they were mostly equipped with four 20 mm canons. Later they were replaced by four "Point Fifties". I read, the canons made some troubles.
Glad to know you like my Bearcat and the Lightning, too.

Oh, and there won't be any aircraft ready in June, sorry. I just started to build NATO's No. 1 tank .... But after that I come back, promised ....

Torsten

Hi there, folks!
After a few weeks break from building model kits due to my fantastic holidays in Norway and organizing our own model expo in June I started successfully in building my first 1/35 tank But now I'm back here at Aeroscale to show you some twins. In part 1 I want to invite you to walk around my new F-51 D Mustang from Tamiya in 1/48 ....




... I guess there's no need to talk much about the P-51, as it is one of the most famous aircrafts in aviation history. And you guys surely know it better than me, as I'm no expert on this aircraft. Out of a total of 14819 Mustangs, 7956 were the D-model and 6500 of them were built in Inglewood. The aircraft was powered by a licensed built Packard Merlin V-1650 inline piston engine with 1695 hp, which gave the aircraft a speed of 700 km/h at 7600 meters. The maximum range was about 2000 miles, which are about 3200 kilometers. The armament consisted of six 0,50 in (12,7 mm) machine guns plus two additional bombs or six rockets. After WW2, the Mustang still enjoyed empolyment in over 50 air forces all over the world ....



... and I have built one of these. My model shows aircraft No. 265, an F-51 D of the Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya (Uruguayan Air Force) in June 1955. Though I have a Tamiya F-51 D kit in my stash, I used the P-51 D kit, because I have something in mind with the F kit .... The decals come all from the sheet "Latin American Mustangs Pt. 1" from Aztec. I found this sheet last year at an expo in Switzerland and it has some really, really nice Mustangs on it. So there are more to come .... The decals are very thin and need no softener, except for the side rudder. The unit emblem consists of 2 decals (one coloured, the other one clear/black) and both fit perfectly over each other. Fantastic! All stencils are also taken from the Aztec sheet as they are all in Spanish, not English ....





... the kit is really great, typical Tamiya engineering quality. Everything fits perfectly together, there's no need for fitting and filling. Only a bit of sanding the seams, that's all. The radio antenna on the fuselage is not provided in the kit and was proudly sponsored by a Hasegawa P-40 For the natural metal finish I have used Vallejo Aluminium 71062, all other paints come from Revell. I have not sealed the kit to keep the metallic shine. So please only look, but don't touch And of course the Mustang is not weathered as usual. I like the way the propeller blades look, never saw red tips before ....




... I hope you enjoyed walking around my first ever built Mustang. Part 2 of the twins is not completly ready yet, but will follow in a few days.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Hello Sir...1

A "Charrua Mustang"...!!!

Like always, Your model it's a pleasure of view..!

Diego

P/D: "Charrua" is the nick name used by the Uruguayan People in the River Plate Basin...

Torsten, I just read through your incredible "assembly line" thread. I must say not only was it an enjoyable read, but the shear number of aircraft kits you built is certainly an amazing feat. All are finished as brand new museum aircraft of a high standard.

My personal favorites are your P-47D, P-38, and the Ventura.

I'm looking forward to your continued entries in this on going thread.

Joel

I'm having a little trouble interpreting what I'm assuming is the squadron badge on the tail. Is the cat not catching the mouse implying that the squadron's pilots can't shoot straight or is the mouse escaping from the Big Bad Cat implying that the pilots are experts in not getting shot down?

Enquiring minds need to know.

Diego, what is "Charrua" the nick name for? Is it for the Uruguayan people or do they use it for what or who? I like that word "Charrua Mustang" ....

Joel, thanks for your nice words about my models. Glad you like them. Yes, I do spend some time for my hobby. At least I try to sit 1 or 2 hours at the workbench per day but that doesn't work every day. All are build right out of box. You've picked some really nice models from this thread as your favourites. The P-38 is one of my favourite warbirds, though the Academy kit needs some extra work to look fine in the end. The Tamiya P-47 is simply a great kit, not cheap but worth every Cent. You can't go wrong with it. And with the Ventura Revell brought out one of their finest kits ever. My next Ventura will get Atlantic camo one day which is also no painting scheme from the box. And you're right, I'm no fan of weathering my models. As Rowan (Merlin) recently wrote in another thread "most models are often overdone with weathering". I prefer to do none and leave it to the dust. That's what I call "natural weathering" You can be sure that I will carry on in this thread, the next Mustang stands right at the end of the assembly line. Hangar doors will be open soon.

Jessie, I also thought about this matter earlier and I guess the answer is in the second part of your question.

Torsten

Hi,

My English trick me..?

Certanly, it's not the nickname for a person; it will be better used for a natinality description...

Like, "Charrua Mustang"; or when We are talking about Futball Soccer, "Charrua Fans" are the supporters...

Diego

Thanks for the explanation, Diego. So the word stands for the Uruguay nation. Nice to know.
Oh yes, while we're talking about football, we have nice memories the last time Germany played against the Urus. It was 2010 in South Africa and the game ended 3:2 for us

Torsten

Okay, here comes Pt. 2 of my newly Mustang twins, the P-51 B from Tamiya, again in 1/48 scale and finished last weekend ....




.... in summer 1943 North American began to produce the P-51 B in Inglewood and an identical version in Dallas was designated P-51 C. The USAAF got 2828 of these aircrafts. The RAF designated the aircraft Mustang Mk. III and was delivered with 910 of them. 91 of the US Mustangs were modified for the tactical reconnaissance role with the designation F-6 C ....




... I have build a very famous of these P-51 B and I'm sure especially you guys in the USA know this aircraft. It's the "Shangi La", flown by Captain Don Gentile from 336. FS in Debden in spring 1944. I searched the internet for some informations and was nearly "bombed" with facts about this famous man. Though on every webside I found a slightly different account of his kills. So I would say he has something around 20-21 aerial victories. Maybe someone of you can bring some light into my darkness. If you like you can read about his too short life on Wikipedia. I found this nice photo of him somewhere during my search ....




.... there's no difference in the fitting of this kit with the P-51 D from the same stable. I only had some minor problems with getting the external fuel tanks together. Or maybe I became too stupid to get 2 parts together Anyway, the decals are all taken from the kit, which offers 2 more versions ....




.... after painting the whole kit with a white primer I first painted the white stripes on the wings with Revell 301 and the red fuselage front with Agama 42. I tried to find a colour which matches closely with the red/white checkers under the exhausts. Then I applied Neutral Grey for which I used Revell 43. The upper side was painted with Vallejo 71043 Olive Drab. After some layers of Glänzer (our equivalent to Future) and putting on the colourful decals the final coating was again made with a 50/50 mix of clear satin and matt varnish from Marabu. For Interior Green I used Revell 360 and the wheel wells are painted with Revell 362. The kit is build straight out of box and not weathered as always ....




.... so that are my first P-51 Mustangs ever but I have some more of them in my stash, so there are more to come. But now the "Club Med Campaign" starts in a few days and I take part in it with a nice pair of .... Well, you'll see that later here I say thank you for walking around. Hope you've enjoyed it.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Torsten, Just another outstanding build.

The Gentile P-51B has been a personal favorite from every modeling come back I've ever had. Built several times in 1/72 scale, none from my memory compares to your 1/48 scale Tamiya replica. Perfectly built, expertly painted, & decaled. A museum quality effort for sure.

Well done my friend. Looking forward to your next posting.

Joel

Joel, thanks again for your comment! I thought it was time for some Mustangs finally after all the years of building model kits. Yes, both came out quite good, I guess. Can't say, which I would prefer. Not sure if it's good enough to stand in a museum, but definitely worth to get a good parking position on my shelf. Both will fly to expos in October. Oh, and of course the name for the P-51 B is "Shangri La" and not "Shangi La". Unfortuatly I cannot correct my own postings on Aeroscale the next day ....

It will take some time for the next roll out here. But it will come. I'm already working on new sins ....

Torsten

Torsten, looking forward to your next roll out.

Joel

Hi Torsten,
great Job - that´s what i know from you.

Lutz, schön, Dich auch hier anzutreffen! Thanks, that your first posting on Aeroscale is in my thread See you!

Torsten

Torsten, both Mustangs are great to look at! I particularly like the P-51B. I think it and the almost identical C model were overshadowed by the D and K models with the bubble canopies. I know some people don't like the B/C variety but yours looks sharp as always. Russell

Lutz, welcome to Aeroscale!! I hope you enjoy hanging around with a bunch of aviation historians who build models!! LOL

Russell, thanks for your comment. There are more Mustangs to come, that I can promise ....

Well, it's been a long time since I built my last Japanese aircraft, and it's even longer, that it was a Zero. Today I can show you my new Mitsubishi A6M3 Type 32, which left the assembly line earlier this week ....




.... in an effort to improve the Zero's perfomance, Mitsubishi installed the Sakae 21 enginge with a two speed supercharger and a larger propeller and named it A6M3. A more rounded and slightly larger cowling was installed with the carburetor at the top. To increase manoeuvrability and help compensate the added weight, the folding wings were removed. This version is known as the Type 32. Only 343 Type 32 Zeros were produced and they saw action in the Solomon Islands campaigns. The engine had 1130 hp and gave the aircraft a speed of about 540 km/h at 6000 meters. The armament consisted of two 7,7 mm machine guns in the fuselage and two 20 mm cannons in the wings. The allied code name for the A6M3 was "Hamp" ....




.... I have built an aircraft of the Tainan Kokutai during the Solomon campaigns in 1942. The pilot is not mentioned. But sure one of the most famous aviators of this unit was Takeo Tanimizu, an ace with 32 kills, who was one of the few Zero pilots to survive the war. The Tainan Kokutai was established in October 1941 in Tainan, Formosa (today Taiwan) and was one of the most famous IJNAF units due to its early successes. Reorganised in November 1942 as 251. Kokutai it was disbanded in Juli 1944 ....





.... Hasegawa came out with this limited edition in 2004. It's a nice kit, though a problem with all Hasegawa Zeros is the big gap between fuselage and wings. But clear tape, filler, sanding paper and patience helps out .... Applying the camouflage really brought me to my limits .... No, of course it didn't. For IJN Grey I used XF-12 from Tamiya, which I think gets this greenish touch of the Grey better than other paint manufacturers. Interior Green is Revell 362, the black cowling was painted with Revell 302 and for the wheel wells I used Interior Blue J6 from Agama. As you can see there are only a few decals for this kit. A bit tricky was the blue ribbon around the fuselage as I had no fixing point but it looks good to me now. For the canopy the Eduard mask is quite helpfull. Note, that this aircraft has no radio mast ....




I say "domo arigato" for walking around my 3. Zero. The other two you can see on the first page of this thread. And I think it's time to thank you all for over 10.000 clicks so far and all your responses. It shows me that this thread is interesting enough to be continued. Thank you all!

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Torsten, another one of your OOB Build masterpieces. Well done. The complete absence of weathering, coupled with an absolutely perfect paint job, just makes your model presentations have the look and feel of a museum display.

As always, I'm looking forward to your next Aeroscale presentation.

Joel

Excellent work Torsten, just good work all around. Russell

Very nice ZERO.

Just curious...any reason why the starboard navigation lights are blue?

Cheers,
Joe

Japanese "white" lights of the day were actually rather yellow. The combination of the yellow light and blue cover resulted in green.

Thanks, Jessica.....

I learn something new every day....

Cheers,
Joe

Wow .... thanks for all your comments!

Joel, my models all have this "air show look" - factory fresh with a dozen kill marks on the rudder so to say. Over the last years I have built quite a museum here at home, not just that 20 something models in this thread. Later I will show some of the earlier models also here. Hope you furthermore will enjoy to stroll through my aviation museum .... At the moment I have another dual combo on the bench for the Club Med Campaign. But still a long way to go ....

Russell, thanks for you nice words. Glad, you like my new Zero. For me, the Zero is the most elegant of all japanese aircrafts.

Joe, actually I didn't check if the position light was blue or green, I just followed the painting intructions of Hasegawa. I hope, when it comes to their own air force(s), those guys will be extra correct ....

Jessie, thanks for that information. I didn't know that either.

Torsten

Last weekend I finished my newest kit which I've built for the Club Med Campaign and today I have the time to show you my first Spanish aircraft, the Hispano HA-1112 "Buchon" from Academy in 1/48 ....




.... the HA-1112 airframe is the Spanish built version of the famous Bf 109 G type. With no German engines available after 1945, early postwar versions were powered by Hispano-Suiza engines. Later versions used the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. All together there were 9 different versions of the aircraft using either of the 2 engines. The installation of the Merlin made the nose contours of the HA-1112 look quite different from those of the original Messerschmitt fighter, hence its nickname "Buchon". The aircraft was produced until 1961 and some of them became film stars playing the role of the Bf 109 in the 1969 movie "Battle of Britain" ....




.... Academy offers 2 decal versions for this kit. Of course I have chosen the original Spanish Air Force set from the 1950's. The unit is not mentioned ....





.... the kit is pretty old (I guess from the 1990's) and so there's a lot of fitting, filling and sanding to do to make it look nice in the end. It needs some time but in the end it's worth it. The majority of the parts are the same as for the Bf 109 G-6 kit but there is an extra sprue which contains all needed parts to build the Buchon, especially the fuselage halves, 4 blade propeller and spinner. In the end I had quite some parts left for my "109 spare box" ....




.... for the underside I have used RAF Mediterranean Blue No. 71111 from Vallejo and the upper side is painted with Silver No. 90 from Revell. The cockpit interior is painted with Granite Grey No. 69 also from Revell which comes close to RLM 66. The kit is build out of box and not weathered as usual. The decals are a bit problematic as some of them tend to be a little crumbly, especially the ones under the exhausts and on the side rudder. But with patience and some softener it worked. The canopy was covered with Eduard EX 145 and that's really helpfull with all these small windows ....



.... here you can see, that I managed to get the Merlin working I say "Muchas Gracias" for walking around the new member of my Plastic Air Force and hope you enjoyed looking at the photos.

Happy modelling!
Torsten

Torsten, Very nicely done. A really nice OOB build of a older kit of a relatively fringe type aircraft. I personally didn't know about the Merlin engine option.

Joel

Joel, thanks for your comment. Yes, the Buchon is not so well known, but without the Buchon most of the remaining Bf 109 today wouldn't be able to fly at airshows, as the Buchon was used in Spain until 1967. Many spare parts are/were taken from Buchons to build up the 109 again, including famous "Red 7", a rebuild Bf 109 G-4 from EADS, a great sight at european airshows. I've seen that aircraft 4 times already.
An interesting fact is, that while the Buchon was still in service with the Ejército del Aire they already had the F-104 Starfighter. So there were 2 very different generations of aircrafts in the same air force at the same time.

Torsten