Just can't help myself , got the itch to build a Mustang so out comes Tamiya's kit from the stash with a few goodies to dress her up a bit .

Ultracast
Late seat with out belts
Prop/cuffed
Landing flaps
Wheel well cover doors

Eduard
P-51D Etch set

Barracuda Cast
Oval tread wheels

Quickboost
Rear wheel well

Vecter
P-51D wheel well set

Markings will be P-51D -15-NA #44-72146 " Little Joe "
Lt . Anthony A . Palopoll 83rd FS/79th FG 1944

Love those checkers !

Progress pic's coming soon


Terr

Awesome sounding build, looking forward to seeing the progress.

Terri - Nice to see everyone back at it !

Terri,
An oldie but certainly a goodie. I'll be pulling up my chair and following your build from start to finish. Love the list of goodies you're going to be adding to the build.

I'm planning on not one but two Airfix P-51Ds with some goodies myself, and when the Eduard D hits the shelves hopefully sometime next year, I'll be building a few of those too depending on the price of the kit. If Eduard is planning on including their incredible cockpit, it's not going to be cheap by any means.

Joel

You can never build enough of these. They're like the chocolate chip cookie of the model aircraft world - always a solid choice.


Likewise with their 48th scale F4U

Thank you guys Missed the bench time , but I got a new mountain bike and spent my summer on it instead .
Have a few projects plan for the winter .

Joel , I order Airfix's kit with an etch set for it and also Eduards pit , prop and wheel set . ( I'm curious if the resin will fit the meng kit ) If I like the Airfix kit I will be getting a few more of them .
I waiting for the Euard kit as well and will be getting a few as well . Not sure on the resin for it though . It is on the pricey side of life . Just for the pit , prop and wheels it was 80 bucks so I'm thinking Royal Class if they release as such , if not then the profipack version it is .


Terri

Very true Matt , one can never have enough Mustangs I got 15 sitting in the stash ranging from 72 scale to 32 scale

I actually made progress on this build over the weekend .
Not a fan of this per-paint photo etch parts . I didn't even try to match Eduards take on interior green . Place cards would have been better .

The floor was treated with a wood grain effect before the black was spray . After the blac dried for about a half an hour I went over the heel path with a damp q-tip using Tamiya lacquer thinner . Instrument panel went rather well with the multiple layers .








Terri

HI Terri,
Great to be watching your build. I hafta ask: What's the deal with prop cuffs?

Gaz

Hi Terri

Nice start. I'll be following all the way.

All the best

Rowan

Terri,
Just a great start. Great effort with the floor to show the scuff marks through the wood. I've got to remember that for my planned builds.

As for Eduard's weird Interior Green color, it look in person more like Bronze Green. I tried on my F6F build to use MRP Interior Green carefully hand painted over it, but the paint comes AB ready, so it only did so much. Once the weathering is applied, it's a lot less noticeable.

Joel

Hi again

The problem from a modeller's point of view is that there was a broad range of colours nominally bunched together as Interior Green. We traditionally love absolute matches - one size (or colour in this case) fits all - but history is obstinate and aircraft manufacturers often used local paint sources for colours that were "acceptable".

So, I've seen colours ranging from muted olive through to apple green - all supposedly correct. Crawling around inside some of the RAF Museum's exhibits as a volunteer (what privilege that was!) - the sheer range of colours is often bewildering. It'd be a lifetime's work to unpick it all.

That said, if the Eduard parts are those around the cockpit sills, their colour looks more like a version of Zinc Chromate Yellow (again there were loads of variations) compared with the paintwork around it. (Off topic- I'll actually have a bit of fun with Eduard's pre-coloured etched parts on the new Fw 190 - because they have changed their take on RLM 66 for this kit.)

All the best

Rowan

Couldn't agree with you more Rowan , colours changed and varied so much between manufactures and suppliers not to forget in the field as well, which is a whole new set of colours .
Still don't care for the per-colored though but with that said some of them are alright - such as seatbelts .

Gaz , the deal with prop cuffs is you too can have your very own pair for 19.95 plus the shipping and handling


Hi Joel . The whool should be all black . From the floor fuel gauges is interior green and under the pilots seat a squared section of olive drab . In this scale you really won't see much , but in 32 scale it does stand out more .



Terri

That is quite the list of AM stuff Terri, it should make for a busy and fun build. Your work on the pit area looks very nice, especially your highlights and shadows.

Ernest

Would be fun to follow up your (surprise!) new P-51 build.
Will sureley looking continously. Nice to see you back on bench.

Great start so far, Terri!
Thomas

Thank you Ernest and Thomas for the kind comments , it's excellent encouragement on moving forward .
Yes Ernest there are a few goodies , but I did forget to add Ultracast Shrouded Exhaust to the list .

Cockpit is finished . I did replace the oxygen hose with Model Construction Design oxygen hose . The PE part just didn't cut it . I also didn't use the PE arts for wiring the battery . I replaced this with copper wire
She is button up and the spinner has it's pin . I will leave this sit over night , there are a some spots on the under side which need attention . The Aeries Tail wheel well fits perfect , but the PE panels did not . I had to sand down their sides in order for them to fit .

Up next fitting the Aries Main wheel well ...





















Terri

Terri,
Just a sensational job on the cockpit. Excellent decisions to replace those PE parts with ones that have the proper shape. You're doing a stellar job. Can't wait for your next update.

Joel

Thank you very much Joel

There was a few more details I wanted to add , but I didn't want to get bogged down with the details . Save that for other projects

The wings are going to take a bit of time . Lot's of detail to remove and a fare bit of sanding and thinning down the inside of the wings .



Terri

Hi Terri

That is looking excellent! The data placards and additional detailing really bring the "office" to life. The weathering looks just right for "well used" without going overboard.

All the best

Rowan

Cheers Rowan

Eduards set sure dress up the pit with the right amount of detail . I must admit that I'm very impressed with Vallejo Air paints . They have a learning curve but once you get past this they are beautiful .



Terri

Terri,
I'm also becoming a huge fan of the Eduard interior sets. Really adds a lot to the kit pit without having to invest in a Aeries or other AM pit, which may or may not fit.

Joel

This is one of those resin set which requires tons of sanding and scraping the surface down to get the wheel wells to fit . I had to even thin down the inside of the fuselage wing root/engine area . The wing root area the plastic is so thin I had to fix cracks on the left side . Some areas I almost sanded all the way through . I got it as close as I could .















Terri

Terri,
You did a outstanding job shoe horning in that Aries wheel well. I've seen similar horror installs numerous times, which is why I've never attempted it.

As I said, you did an incredible job The detailing painting really makes it pop.

Joel

Hi Terri

Installing it might have been a bit of a nightmare, but the effort was definitely worth it - the wheel well looks fantastic!

All the best

Rowan

Hi Terri - Beautiful job on all accounts - very impressive ! Looks like it's almost time for paint .

Richard