Ok, I’ve been working on these for a few months, figured I’d share some wip pics. They are not done yet but not that far off either. The kits are, 1 testors P-51D, 2 revell P-51D’s and a revell P-51B. All are 48th. The testors D got a bit of a head start, so I brought the other 3 up to speed, now the testors kit need to be caught up.
Some more pics.
The original plan was to foil to of them for NMF, was’nt happy with one of them so I changed tactics on one. I decided on aluminum powder over gloss white.
I updated the testors kit with the help of donated parts from an old tamiya mustang that had crash landed and was written off for salvage.
Even more pics![whstl]
Tried this for the fun of it, yes, that’s all by hand.
And now with some paint.
Questions and comments are all welcome
A suggestion. A little of the SnJ Polishing Powder goes a long ways. Try applying it with a soft cloth such as a piece of an old T-Shirt. The cloth will take on the powder and become “seasoned” making it much easier to apply and control the powder. Keep the rag in a ZipLoc bag until next time.
Another good applicator for large surfaces are the Kiwi Shoe Polishing applicators which you can get in most places that sell Kiwi Shoe Polish. Large plastic handle and a foam pad.
I did a post about Polishing Powder Applicators
Applying SnJ Polishing Powder over a gloss white or black has been a trick auto modelers have used for years for bumpers and mouldings.
Looks good!
Wow! A Mustang factory! I’ve tried the assembly line approach painting my 54mm Civil War figures, but I don’t know how I would handle that many similiar aircraft at once. Did you do each step on each aircraft at the same time? I mean all the cockpits at once, wheels at the same time? I tried the panel lines your way recently and it seemed to work out pretty well. Sharpie makes a fine point and an ultra fine point. Sharpie gives a solid dark line. It was a little tedious, but it was more convenient than going down to my paint room. That is a cool process you have going on there, but I hope you don’t give all those Mustangs to the Germans. Rick.
Your fleet of Mustangs looks really great. I still have a hard time with German markings on them, even though I know it did happen a few times.
Darwin, O.F. [aln]
Three good looking Stangs. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Rick
Like Darwin, I also have a hard time with German markings on my favorite aircraft, but nice jobs! Wow, four Mustangs on one bench! [:|] Keep up the good work.
Ken
Its just weird seeing Mustangs in German camo. But I like the production line. And all four look like they are coming out really well.
JOHN
I like the Mustangs in German markings. Was thinking about doing that to the D I have in my stash, for something different than the ordinary.
All of them are looking good.
Hawkeye…love the powder! The gloss white and black trick works damn good, future also works.
Your right, alittle does go along way and the stuff is easy to get everywhere. So far the Q-tip and an old sock have worked best for initial application and buffing, I like to thow on a little more than is necessary at first to get it going and then just buff the hell out of it, after that i get much more precise and add tiny amounts as needed from there. Trust me, very little of what you see in the pic is wasted, it all gets picked up and pushed down to uncovered areas.
Wabash…I love the assembly line method, everything was done step at a time, IP’s, cockpit painting and assembly all done as one rotating step. The panel lines were time consuming, not too bad though. I just used acrylic paint for them considering I was doing the main colors in enamels. Sharpie’s not a bad idea, I may have to try that next time. And I assure you only half of these pony’s will be german.
Yardbird…Thanks man, I appreciate the compliments. I had a hard time with the markings too actually, it just looks wrong to have swastikas on such a beautiful plane, but I wante to something differant now that I’ve done it, I’m good. Besides, it was a PITA going through the spare decals to find balkenkreuze that matched for these birds.
Pilot, tempestJ, rjk, kbuzz, …Short of the B-17, the P-51 is my all-time favorite, I love the mustang! And it was a bit difficult to put “bad guy” markings on them, my kids even pointed that out to me when I decaling. I just wanted to do something differant. From what I’ve read of german used mustangs, they used all US fuels, oils and other fluids and parts too keep them flying, the only thing besides the obvious that’s differant is the fact that D models only flew with 4 guns. They removed the middle .50 on each wing and faired them over, looks wierd so i had to include this detail.
Alright…there will be more to come. The first three are off the bench at the moment, I’m gonna focus on getting the last one foiled and brought up to speed. Having problems with that one though, we’ll see what happens, this is my first foil job, wish me luck!
Nice stuff all the way around… Shall I change your handle to “P-51 Guy”?
I have but agree about putting a ‘twisted cross’ on such a beautiful aircraft but fine work! After all the captured P-51s will get some attention at any show you enter them in. Next you could try a P-51 with Japanese markings since they did capture a handful.
Looking forward to seeing them finished!
Ha, ha, thanks hans, I’ll stick with B-17guy though. I’ve still got 4 more of those in the stash. I’m sure that will change though, can never have too many B-17’s. After this batch of mustangs are done, I’ve got a special project to build, then I’m planning to start the biggest conversion I’ve ever tried. Converting the revell F to a D model. Lots of cutting there!
Gamera, thanks man! I havent really given thought to doing a japanese captured mustang, I may be leaning more towards a P-40 for that one.
I’m looking forward to seeing them finished to, just trying to get this damn foil job done! I’ve never tried it before and may not do it again, we’ll see. Plus, I modified the hell of the last one to give some detail because the testors kit sucks in that department, and I’m having major troubles with getting the wings to fit right to the fuselage. The fuse didnt want to close right so it wont let the wings sit right.
That’s right![:D]
Got one of those conversion from F to D in the works, pick it up off ebay started already and have to do repair work on it. Enough repair work that its like I will be doing it from the start. Also got two more in the stash to create them from the begining. Its in the pipeline after the G is finished.