Howdy all,
The image below is my first attempt at SFS, and not really knowing the history of the P-51’s, a history lession as well. As few things are off, and some lession learned, which I am hoping to share, and to have shared with me!
Begining with the end in mind, as Steven Covy would say, I am hoping to build an enhance and lightly weathered after SFS was assigned in June 1944, with August 1944 being the circa.
I am waiting for my new cockpit, as the Tamiya is rather lacking. But in the mean time, here are parts of the build.
I have found that cementing the stabilizers in from behind while the ship is about works better. I then use Bondex to fill and smooth any gaps.
For the drop tanks, I went with the 75 Gallon tanks, not the 108 paper tanks. The paper tanks did not have a seam, and for the life of me, I can’t figure how to get rid of the seams.
The 75 gallon tanks are also drilled for fine solder, which will serve as a fuel line.
If you are looking to make this build, the decails don’t have opening for the mounts. So, I glue the mounts to the tanks, and then I will instal them after the invasion stripes have be applied.
Hi Don,
It looks like I might be a little late with this, but I thought I’d share how I did the paper tanks for one of my Mustangs. First, I sanded to eliminate the seam. I’m sure you’re aware that doing so also eliminates the scalloped look of the paper at the front and rear of the tanks. I was able to replace the scalloped look by using scraping the parts with a #10 General Purpose Xacto blade. I scraped from the forward-most strapping towards the nose, and from the rear-most strapping towards the tail. A couple of scrapes was all it took to restore the subtle indentations. After the scraping was done, I took some fine sandpaper and rounded the “peaks” that resulted between scraped areas. The great thing about this process is that you can vary the depth of adjacent indentations to give the tanks a little more “personalilty.”
If you’re interested, here is the post showing my Mustang with its paper tanks, and a larger picture that better illustrates the final results.
Good luck with your build!
Cheers,
-O
(Edit for broken link to Mustang build post: http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/153434.aspx )
You’re both better people than I am. I looked at the tanks for my P-51D and said, “Nah, I am building this as it sits after a combat mission in which he dropped the tanks.”
It’s the lazy way, haha.
-BD-
O,
Very nice indeed. Nice soft edges on the overall, paint as well!
BD,
If it meets you end goal, and you are happy with it, well, mission accomplished!
I used a Dremmel tool, at VERY LOW SPEED, to grind off the Tamiya detail.
I found out the hard way that you have to keep the tool moving, so you don’t melt the plastic. I keep a finger underneath, and when I feel heat, I stop.
My Aires cockpit kit. Typical Aires, as they won’t insult you with including any kind of instructions worth a darm.
Nicely done so far!
Toshi
O,
All I can say is TANKS a bunch for the good tip!
DD
Looking good Don. I’m guilty of the same with the paper tanks. They are certainly are an exercise in patience. That said, they were basically made out of paper mache then painted silver, so in reality I doubt they were perfect to begin with. I may try O’s idea next time though. Also with the new cockpit, make sure you sand the sidewalls paper thin or the new addition will cause a flat dihedral. Here’s my recent build if you need a loose reference on Tamiya P-51
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/162455.aspx
Joe
Thanks Joe,
There will be a gap between the fuselage and the cockpit, but a little Bondic will fill that in. I love that stuff!
Progress on the Aires cockpit. Not my first choice, but my supplier did not have an Eduard.
Anyway, after priming, I used Tamiya XF-4 yellow green for the sides, and scale corrected XF-1 black with .25 white for the dash. I added a few cables to on side, which are jewlerly wire.
Some dry bushing, followed by a wash of black artist oil, with the highpoints carefully wiped off, and some Elmer’s Pro Bond for the lens in the dash, and we are good.
Also, it might be a bit hard to see, but I painted the inside of the P-51D with Tamilya XF-16, flat alumiunum, and the drop tanks, Alclad II ALC 103 dark aluminum. The Alclad is much smoother, and a more realistic finish.
But I do find it a drag having to switch back and forth with the paint mediums, esp when you miss a small detail.
I will most likely have more money spent on different airbrush cleaners then on the model!!
Great job, Mr. Eisenhart! Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Unlike a lot of modelers, I think that you can’t have too many P-51 kits…
Devil Dawg,
Thanks, and please my name is Donnie, or Danger Don to my Cowboy Friends.
I feel the same way about Spitefires!
DD
Looking good Donnie.
We are getting there! The right side cockpit is done, and I filled in the gaps with Bondic. Neat, but expensive stuff. The left needs the treatment.
With the Aires cockpit, the Tamiya needed some futher modification. A low speed Dremel with assorted cutters and grinders is our new best friend.
After fussing around the fit of the Aries replacement 'pit, I ended up with one nasty gap on the top, and mistakenling cut off too much of the of the orignial kit’s dashboard top.
Also, the K14 gun site sat too high, requiring some sanding of the clear plastic.
I ended up putting this down for a while in frustration and disgust with Aries.
I much prefer Eduado.
Everything looks fantastic. I await patiently for your finale of your Mustang build.
Toshi
After using my Bondex, I was able to fill in some gaps created from the Aries cockpit. On the bottom, the fuselog need a decent amount of sanding, I will jazz it up a bit with Mirco Mark raised rivet decals.
The radiator was painted with Tamiya flat aluminum, and dry brushed with flat black and Tamiya brown metal.
