Well, taking the advice of several members here who told me it was a joy to build, I tackled Tamiya's P-51d. They weren't lying, it's a great kit. Basically no frustrations that weren't caused by my own acts, although getting the color bands on the spinner was a little challenging.

Tamiya's decals, as always, were quite thick, and their interpretation of the red used for the checkering is very different than standard insignia red. This meant that the decals had to be overcoated to get the red toned down enough to match (sort of). Their insignia decals wanted to permanently crease under the microsol, so I used some aftermarket stars and bars.

This was the first time since high school (10+ years ago) that I did something with a natural metal finish. I used MM metalizer through my AB, and was quite pleased with the results. It is a very fragile finish, and I had to do touch-ups repeatedly as I worked through the decals, dangly bits, and overpaint (invasion stripes, anti-glare panel, etc.).

I'm sure I got carried away with the weathering and paint chipping, but I was having too much fun to quit. I bet if the Glamorous Glen ever got to looking this rough, Yeager would have given his crew chief the what-for. Just consider that it has just returned from a punishing mission, with plenty of flack bursting around to chip the paint.

Here are some pictures. I obviously failed to do a good job of white balancing the camera, so there's a wierd yellowish tinge to them. The countertop is actually white, so use your imagination to white balance them better.


















I know it can't compete with the works of Mal, Rowan, the new guys from the former Hot Wash forum, or the other lions of the A/C borad, but I had fun with it and am fairly pleased. Comments welcome, of course.

Hi there Part-Timer,
You really have done a great job on this kit. I think it would look better if you had dropped the rear stablizers. You say that you had fun building this one, then you should get the F-51 Korean War version of the Mustang. This kit is also made by Tamiya, and is available in 48 and 72 scale. I have built one in 48 scale, and loved every minute of it. I have a picture if it on my web site. Just follow my link below.


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The metal finish is superb, well done on producing a splendid P51. I know what you mean about Tamiya decals wrinkling, I've had the same problem, especially on the larger sized decals.

Part Timer, this is excellent. I love the finish and the weathering. The streaking and staining from the wing fuel caps (I think that's what those are) is impressive. No P-51 I've done has come out as nice. You should be proud of this build.

I think it looks great, very nice work the paint looks good to me. any tips on this kit? gonna give it a try here in the near future

bender

Wow! Amazing work! Congratulations!

Thanks Penny. You're right about the elevators; I just didn't think of it. Is the Korean war 'Stang the one that got published in FSM?





It's just Tamiya smoke airbrushed on. All you do is thin it way down with alcohol, and it's amazing stuff.




Just a couple, Bender (did you take your name from the character on Futurama?).

First, do yourself a favor and get some a/m insignia decals. All the other decals from the set worked fine (although I masked and painted the invasion stripes, so I can't comment on those decals), but the insignias were a nightmare. It's worth another $5-$10 to get ones that will work. Another decal issue is the bright coloring tamiya used for the red and yellow checker decals. If you want the reds, and, to a lesser extent, the yellows, to match those on the spinner and tail, you've got a few choices: 1. use the Big Beautiful Doll markings, which are b&w checkering, rather than those for Old Crow or Glamorous Glen; 2. use a totally different a/m set of decals; 3. try to find some bright red and yellow paint that will match the decals; or 4. tint the decals once they were applied to get them close. I chose #4, mainly because I didn't notice how stark the difference was until after they were on and the spinner and tail were painted. I just used some very thin Tamiya smoke applied with the a/b to darken up the decals. There's still a slight shade difference, but it doesn't jump out at you.

Second, if you're going to do a naked (metal finish) bird, all the usual rules for that approach apply. I used micromark's polishing cloths to shine up the flat areas before the laquer went on; there are many other ways to prep the surface. Just make sure it's smooth, as I'm sure you know.

the plane looks great.
and the metal finish looks great .
iam going to build a p-51

thanks for the info part-timer, I will look into the aftermarket decals, and as far as my callsign, no its not from futurama, had it before that show came along, Im a online flightsim-aholic (click on my selected link below for more details on the greatest flight sim ever Il2 sturmovik!!, although the site is slightly out of date, that will be fixed soon) and when I first started fighting human opponants I had a problem, I would contuinually collide with other aircraft, usually in head on passes, I was given the name "fender-bender" by the guys I flew with, so I dropped the fender and kept the bender, thanks for asking lol

"fender"Bender

A very nice P-51, the NMF is well done, as is the weathering, I particularly like the cordite and fuel staining.
Thanks for the nod but if this is what you are turning out you certainly aint in the back seat
This has me looking at my Tamiya P-51, I quite like the Blue nosed birds Can I actually start another model
Mal

Hi PT...
Yeah that's the one....... Trust me.... you'll really LOVE that kit....


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