Preface; I’m new here and new to modeling. Joined this forum a few weeks ago and already got some friendly advice from a few of you felllows, including that there is a more appropriate forum for the 1/24 scale model I’m building. I’m having trouble with the registration there at this time.
I was half way into this build before I discovered ,on the net, what an art model building has become. Even though it might be in my best interest, I’m not a quitter so this one will be a gear-up flying display that no one who appreciates quality modeling will likely ever see.
I’ve had to do a fair amount of putty/sanding work and in the process have filled a bazillion simulated rivit indents with putty. I haven’t been able to find an appropriate tool to repair all those rivits with, and hope somebody here can point me in the right direction. It’s the Trumpeter 1/24 P51D.
BTW My computer had a terminal mishap about a week ago so everything I’m using here is new to me. even got a new printer/copier/scanner thingamajig. Once I figure out how to use it all I promise to post up a few pic’s to give you all something to giggle about, providing I get enough advice to bring this build to finish.
The first thing you need to know is that the vast majority of the rivets on the Trumpeter 1/24 P-51D ought not to be there. this is especially true of the wings, which were specifically puttied smooth and painted silver (hence not natural metal) to aid the laminar airflow.
Therefore, if you’ve puttied in some of the rivets, don’t worry. Putty in the rest. I use typewriter correction fluid for this. Here you can see it being used to fill in the over-deep panel lines on an Italeri 1/72 C-47:
and sanded smooth:
If you fill in actual panel lines in doing so, you can rescribe them There are various tools which people use for this. Dental probes are popular, but I use a sewing needle held in a pin vice.
Chris, I was elated when I read your reply-thinking how much easier this task had become. Then I read the next one, and DAMN!
I appreciate your input very much however. Hopefully there will be more responses to settle the controversy, and I will do what research I can, as well.
Fred - for restoring rivets, if that’s what you want, pounce wheels work very well. I bought a set to replace some of the panel line detail on the C-47 with rivets, which you can see on the natural metal part of the nose,here:
Pounce wheels, which are mainly used in leatherworking, come in various sizes, according to the number of teeth per inch. For 1/32, 9 teeth is probably the best size.
Since, in the fullness of time, you’ll probably want to restore or create rivet detail in 1/48 and 1/72, you might want to save some money and get a set, instead of just one. they normally come in sets of three, 9, 10, and 12 teeth.
Chris is correct, the panel lines were filled at the factory on P-51’s for better airflow. That’s not to say it may not have been stripped off in the field for various reasons.
See this article over on ARC for some good information regarding the P-51 wings.
The main areas where this happened were around gun and ammo box covers and other wing access panels. The vast majority of P-51 crew chiefs didn’t have a spare PFC with nothing better to do than wield the putty knife before the start of each mission. In other areas, the wings stayed pretty smooth though. Especially on aircraft stationed on front-line bases, and likely to encounter FW.190s and Me.262s.
