If it weren’t for the dreaded sink marks this kit would be the equal of the AM SBD and TBF. Actually I found the sink marks to be “much ado about nothing”. I used Mr. Surfacer 500 & 1000 and then used sanding pads to get everything smooth. The sink marks added about 1 hour to the total build time. The cockpit went together with no glitches for me, but it is a bit fiddly.
Finish is Alclad II with no primer. I used white aluminum on the fabric portions but for some reason there is really very little contrast between the two colors. Decals are from the Yellow Wings decals “Dive Bomber” set.
No real problems that I can recall. It is rather delicate. I left the exhasust off until after painting and of course, lost one down inside the cowl and couldn’t get it out. These exhausts are Q-tips cut at an angle. They look better than the kit ones!
Tha main finish is the Aluminum shade of Alclad II? The reason I am asking is I am working up to a NMF P-51 right now and I might go your way with the Alclad, I use Future as a primer just to get a smoother surface but am interested in the shade you used as your seems to look a little less grainy than some I’ve seen…
Good work!!! That isn’t my favorite AC but in NMF it actually looks ok!!! Might have to try one one day now…
Yes the Alclad II is aluminum. The fabric areas of the fuselage and wings are white aluminum but there isn’t much contrast between the two colors. To be completely accurate these aircraft are not NMF (natural metal finish) but painted aluminum lacquer. I use the Alclad with no primer because my rule of modeling is to keep it simple! It seems the more I try to do the more things get screwed up. [:)]
very nice looking build, just a great paint job overall. Nice to hear that the sink marks were farily easily fixed. Some of the reviews seems to say they can’t fixed without removing all the details. But your build sure prove otherwise.
