So I was able to finish this up yesterday, AMT’s boxing of the Otaki 70’s vintage 1/48 P-51D. My original plan to use some Draw Decals markings for a Mustang features in “Empire of the Sun” was scuttled when the Draw Decals malfunctioned on me. So I used some Super Scale Decals from my stash combined with the Draw Decals personal markings. Aside from adding a decal IP and seat harness in the cockpit and replacing the kit’s 1000 lb bombs with some 500 lb bombs from my spares bin, this kit was built OOB. I used primarily AK Real Colors and Tamiya lacquers for the main colors, with Humbrol and Model Master rounding out most of the rest. This was a pretty much trouble free build with only a bit of filler needed at the wing roots and on the bottom of the fuselage in the radiator area.
The actual aircraft used in the movie…
and my build with the mixed decals…
Thanks for looking… comments and critiques are welcome 
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That kit built up really nicely. The lightning bolt down the fuselage is very cool.
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Good to see additional photos of your ‘stang. And now you have given me a thought of doing my own Cadillac of the Skies from that underrated Spielberg movie. And as luck would have it, I have an Airfix 48th scale P-51D in my to-build stash for this year.
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Really nice job. That wash picked up all the details really well.
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stikpusher, that is an outstanding model there especially when you consider that it’s an AMT kit. I love the markings and your rivet work.
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Many thanks guys!
Frank, I’m with you on the fuselage lighting bolt markings. It’s very sharp looking.
Aggie, the movie is one of my favorites. Such excellent storytelling in that film. I do hope that you build one of your own with the Airfix kit.
John, thank you! It’s really easy to make up the homemade wash using pigments, water, and a bit of liquid soap. And on nice recessed surface detail like here it really works well.
Tom, this may be an AMT boxing, but the molds are 1970’s vintage Otaki. Not bad for a 50 year old kit. And some new decals…
@stikpusher That is now my official plan for that Airfix kit. I found the DrawDecals set that I believe you utilized, but I haven’t bought it yet. Just bought a new pair of Lucchese boots that set me back quite a bit, so need time for the budget to get back to normal. Do you mind sharing what the issue was with those decals?
Nice Mustang!! The wash turned out great. The lightning graphics are super cool. Congratulations.
Awww Aggieman, I’m so jealous of you! I sure do miss my Western boots. Did you get a pair made from exotic animal hides/skins?
@MR_TOM_SCHRY Nothing exotic, just cowhide leather. I do have an older pair of Ostrich and what I think is gator that I inherited from my dad after he passed.
Aggie, the fuselage lightning bolt decals in the Draw Decals set “cigarette” rolled on me as I tried to apply them, and I was unable to unroll them. I didn’t care for how the Draw Decals were printed as a single unit on the sheet and each one has to be cut out separately from all the others. In hindsight if I had cut the bolt decals into smaller sections rather than trying to apply them as a single length, they might have worked out better.
CB, thank you! The wash is an easy homemade concoction of pigments, water and a bit of liquid soap, and the lightning bolt decals are from a SuperScale sheet.
fantastic work and result!
Do you need a wingman? 
Decals used from Eduard’s P-51K kit, they went down perfectly.
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Sure thing Zvezda! Wingman it is! 
Loved it on MSC and love it here, too! I’m looking forward to your next project.
-O
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Very nice build. Too bad about your first decal set but the results show your got around that quite nicely. Well done.
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O and Steve, thank you.
O, you can keep track of my latest project in the usual places. I’ll post it here once it’s finished.
Steve, yeah, I was quite disappointed with the Draw Decals and thank goodness that I did have the SuperScale Decals on hand to save the day.
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