The finish looks good. If its not too late, repaint the gear bays in aluminum. They weren’t green on the P-51.
I have this kit, a long with a few other tamiya mustangs and the accurate miniatures C version for the red tails. I cant wait to see the end result.
Hey Bronto, did all mustangs (including the allison engined versions) have aluminum wheel wells?
Yes. All P-51 variants had aluminum gear bays. Allison Mustangs would have had aluminum painted, then later in the production they were left in bare metal. On the first ones with bare metal bays, the wing spar would have been chromate yellow. After a while this was left in bare metal also. Unfortunately I do not have the exact serial # when these changes took place, but it was during the P-51B/C production.
Nice looking finish! I’d like to admire that up close! Uh-oh, now I’ll have to build one! I could only hope to achieve those results!
Very nice, great looking NMF.
That one’s looking good so far. Please keep us updated. Bob H.
Nice finish.
Looking great so far; will definitely be following your build!
Hello all-
I’m back on the build this week (when not working on the honey-do list) and hitting some of the smaller parts. I have a question for those following. The instructions call for Tamiya TS-49 True Red to be used. To my knowledge, it is only available in spray can. I had hoped to airbrush the red. I have never decanted paint for later use, but would be willing if someone could give me a quick tutorial. Also, if there a good match from Testors for this?
Hate to say this, but wishing for rain so I could spend more time on the kit.
Thanks,
Pete
If you are using Testors MM enamels, Insignia Red is often used on military kits, it has a little deeper appearance which may need to be lightend up or go with their standard “Red”.
Nice NMF on that 'stang!
Hello again,
The intermittent weather gave me some time to do some work on the P-51. After painting the nose, tail and non-glare panel I began to apply the decals. The red band that goes around the front of the fuselage was a much different red than what I used on the nose. I used MM Insignia Red versus Tamiya rattle can. Beyond that, the yellow wing stripes were too thick and hid the rivets. So I stripped off the aforementioned decals and painted my own bands and nose art. Hope I get an E for effort. I’m pretty happy with it. The yellow was MM Deep Yellow with a drop of Insignia Red. Plane is now half decaled and the weather is brightening up so I need to get back on the honey-do list.
Cheers!
Wow I like it! It was probably best to paint the red over the decals so the color matches, I think when I do mine i’ll make a template from the decal and cut it out from tape to mask it.
I’ve got the icm p-51b/c kit in 1/48 scale, detail is great for the price
Early morn Pete,
First off, welcome to FSM… I see you found a great home!! Wow I am really liking your WIP especially the office!! I definitely like the NMF finish as well as for the tones of the NMF…
When doing your washes, you should try Tempra kids paint which is water based paint and works like a champ. You can find it at area arts and craft shops like Michaels & Niagara Hobby…
Looking forward to seeing your completed Stang Pete! By the way, I noticed that you are from Buffalo NY… I am a bit more North of you in Niagara Falls…
Flaps up,
Mike
Thanks again for the comments and feedback. I’ve had family in from out of town and for some reason the Missus frowns upon me working on the plane so I’m taking a few days off. But this is also a good time to plan out the rest of the kit. With that I have a few questions.
The decaling is done and looks good with one exception. Masking off the yellow stripes on the wings caused me to ruin the red decals on the wings (fueling points?). So I need to replace those. Any idea who makes a decal sheet that has those?
Next. Do I need to seal the decals before I begin with washes and weathering? And what should I use?
Finally, after all is said and done, what kind of coating should the plane have? Dull? Satin? Gloss? It seems that if it’s NMF it should be a gloss or semi. Again, what are your thoughts and what should I use?
Thanks all. Hope to finish it this weekend and then get on the two group builds I committed to.
Pete