Hi all,

I figured I'd throw a couple of shots of my in-progress Tamiya P-51D. I'm doing "Petie 3rd" from the Aeromaster "Blue Nose Bastards Of Bodney" Set. This is my first attempt at a bare metal finish-type paint job and it turned out okay. I used Tamiya Gloss Aluminum and Blue spray cans for the basic paint job and brush painted the interior, wheel wells, etc.

At this point, I've sealed in the decals with Future, applied a wash to the panel lines, and dirtied up the overall scheme. Most builds I've seen are really clean, so I wanted to be different and envisioned the plane on how I thought it would look after a tough mission. I've still got the do some more weathering around the guns and exhaust, but I'm fairly happy with the outcome so far.

As always, comments and suggestions are gladly welcomed!

Wow, That looks excellent, your Pony looks awesome. Everything looks so real! You might need to scratch up the blue and black parts a tad. You dont even need to do that either, it looks excellent as it is. Does he have 1 kill or are all those yellow circles his kills also? Excellent job bro.

Ok, so I don't build wingy things, but I do enjoy looking at the ones that others do.
The Mustang has always been one of my favorites so (Hellcat up there too) I just had to take a peek at yours. It looks terrific thus far. I love the "blue nose" you did on her. The panel lines and the decals look excellent. Makes for a colorful craft.

Frank, thats honestly the nicest p-51 ive ever seen!!!

Frank

Wow, That's a pertty target if I say so myself!

Ditto. I have nothing to add as this sums it right up. Great job.

Jeff

Hello all!

Thanks for the compliments and suggestions. They are all very much appreciated.

TsunamiBob - the yellow markers are his actual kills. The markers are actually made up of two layered decals: yellow swastikas on the bottom, black outlined swastikas on top.

3442 (Frank) - You flatter me so! Makes me afraid to finish it up for fear of messing up the results.

As for finishing, I've got a set of True Details resin wheels ready to go along with the struts and gear doors. I just need to Future and paint both canopy pieces and get them attached as well.

My one sticking point now is the final coat. As it stands, it's got a glossy Future coat which looks pretty good. I'm wondering if it would be more accurate if it had a semi-gloss coat?

Frank you have a wonderful P-51 there, thanks for sharing.


A difficult call and I don't want to influance you at all cos she looks very good as is. However you say you want to show it after a tough mission? With all those kill markings I think that there are a few tough missions behind this aircraft and therefore I don't think that she would be very shiny. You could always try a semi-gloss coat and if you don't like it re-apply future?
Once again a very good P-5
Mal

Thanks Mal! I was doing some more research on this particular plane and it turns out that it still exists and has been restored. The finish is definitely more semi-gloss.

I picked up a can of Model Master Semi-Gloss Coat to try out. Anyone have any experience with it? I've used Testors Dullcote without any issues and I'm assuming this will be the same.

I like the glossy look, but the stickler part of me is pushing to tone it down.

Looks excellent. I have done the same markings on a Tamiya bird, but I used Bare Metal foil for the finnish and it is too shiney by half. Think I will try to weather it down a bit, like you have done.

Is that all oil wash?

Hi Jakkels. Thanks for the compliment. The wash is done with acrylic tube paints from the Arts & Crafts store. Academy brand, if I remember correctly.

In creating the wash, I use a plastic bottle cap from a 20oz. soda bottle, filled about 3/4 full with water, then add a pencil eraser-sized drop of Mars Black paint from the tube, along with 2-3 drops of liquid dish soap. Mix and apply. It took a few applications per panel line to get the color that I wanted, but it's easier to add than remove in my experience.