1/48 Eduard P-51 D 4th FG "Donald Emerson" (Finished)

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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Here’s my second attempt at the new Eduard P-51 D, this time the early D-5 filletless version. I’ve been waiting for a filletless Mustang for quite some time. I’ve just never been up to the necessary surgery on the Tamiya kit, eventhough I have the Ultracast resin plug in the stash.

The first filletless version on my “to do” list is Donald Emerson’s machine from the 4thFG/336FS. Emerson was a 7 kill ace and on Christmas of '44, during a bomber escort mission, he took on 6 Bf 109s and downed two of them before running out of ammo. On his way back to base, he was struck by AA fire and KIA. These were real men folks…

I love the angry Donald Duck…

I started with the pit. The Profipack gives you everything you need, a nice mix of PE and detail. It’s definitely a candidate for the best cockpit in 1/48 scale…just outstanding. It’s definitely the best P-51 pit in 1/48 in my opinion. I gave the pit “the business”.

Port

Starboard

Merlin P-51 floors were plywood with a black rubber coating. I used the AK worn effects to simulate the wood peeking through. I like the effect.

Fuselage went together beautifully.

Also the best P-51 gear bay in this scale.

Wings together with perfect fit. Here’s a test fit. Looks like no root issues. Should be painting it soon.

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Geez. Hey Joe have you done the new Airfix kit yet? Thoughts? I’ve got one in the stash and I’ve seen they also have an early Mustang too.

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Super job on the cockpit. Looking forward to the final reveal.

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Yes, that worn wood effect does look great.

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I mean… what else can I add to this…? I’m so excited about this Eduard kit. The clear windshield piece that fits snug into the fuselage has me pumped too. And that pesky radiator seam won’t be such a hassle anymore.
=D

Your not going to be able to put this thing down I bet. Lol.

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MAKE DONALD PROUD!!

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I have. I like that one too Heres my take on that turkey.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/177231.aspx

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Thanks!

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Thanks!

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I have a few little annoyances, but it’s been quite good so far and I do like the windscreen design.

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I’ll try

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Good looking 'Stang you have going there.

But dadnabbit, with 5 already in my display cases and 4 more (1 - 1/72, 1 - 1/48, and 2 - 1/32) in my stash, I really like that angry Donald Duck nose art. May have to add another 'Stang to the stash.

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I’ve got 13 built 10 more in stash and one almost ready for decals

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Looking great so far. Particularly awesome office!

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Thanks Aggie, I have at least ten myself, Tamiya, Hasegawa, Airfix…

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Now I’m curious. I need to go down there and count mine.

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Thanks Hoss

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Dammm Joe, another stella build in progress.

All the best.

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Thanks Damian. Nice to see you back. It’s been awhile.

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I’m slowly getting some work in on this turkey. The airframe went together very nice. I did have an issue with the fit of the starboard gun insert which didn’t fit that great. It needed some putty. I don’t remember fit problems here last time, so it’s probably something I did. It’s been a while since I’ve done a NMF, so I had to reteach myself. After some Grey Alclad primer (I only primer NMF subjects), I sprayed the whole thing Alclad duraluminum then just the wings straight aluminum to simulate the factory aluminum lacquer color. I was hoping for more contrast but I can live with it. (No, I will never putty the wing panel lines of a P-51, accurate or not. It looks stupid to me. We all have our vices.) I then added some different shades of aluminum to various panels on the fuselage.

Next I sprayed some panels with AK Extreme Metal for even more variations of aluminum. This paint goes down nice and smooth, but personally I don’t think it’s as durable as Alclad and it dries much slower.

I always liked the rivet detail on the Tamiya kit’s gun access doors. Eduard’s kit does not have this detail. I replicated it with a rivet tool. The line of rivets were taped off then the doors were sprayed dark aluminum so they are noticeable. It’s the little stuff sometimes…

After the NMF was fired down, it was time for OD anti glare panel, red 4th FG nose and D-Day stripes. I paint my NMF subjects in the conventional manner, that being metal application then paint. If you do this the other way around, such as painting invasion stripes then taping them off, when you add the NMF it will leave a “step” when you remove the tape. It has something to do with the properties of the lacquer paint I guess. This is my experience, but your mileage may vary.

At this point, for ease of painting, I added the masked windscreen to await the OD anti-glare panel. I had a fit issue with gaps where it met the fuse on both sides which required a touch of putty. Again I don’t remember this before, so it might be operator error. I got busy taping and painting.

Out came the Montex masks and I added the stars and bars. I had no issues with these.

While I was at it, I painted in the red no step “L” at the port flap corner. Much better than a decal.

Montex mask are way better than decals.

I look forward to griming this turkey up a bit…but I gotta add decals first.