Peterpools

Thanks Kev, much appreciated.

Kev Remarkable progress - primer looks brilliantly smooth as silk

Kev Looking mighty good and the finish line is close at hand. Interesting comment on the ASK mask and stencils. I've watched a few reviews and all the comment were very good but none had actually used them, just a 'package' type of review. Any additional detailed comments or thoughts on the stencils would be appreciated as I am planning on purchasing a few sets.

Gus Pretty much what I thought but I'm hoping he can pull it off.

John Got ya. I'm pretty sure after my current build, any more Mustang builds for me will be also with the engine cowlings on.

Seems Laminar Flow Design is working on a P-51B conversion kit using the Revell Mustang. Not much information yet but OMG, this is going to be great. Anyone have any updated information?

I have my paid pre-order in and the kit should be shipping from the Squadron by late June. Of course, is it an immediate build or do I wait for Quinta to do a cockpit set? I watch the Squadron unboxing review which was very good and the kit looks excellent - has PE and a full die cut mask set for the greenhouse canopies. He commented that so far the Devastator is their bestselling kit for the year! Anyone else pre-order the kit?

Carl Not good news and going to be a long summer.

Scott Some mighty nice, realistic Tomcat weathering. Looking good.

John Brilliant progress - amazing as always and looking so good. Are you planning on having the engine cowling panels on or off and displaying the Merlin?

Gaz Nice to see you back at the 190 again, with the GB entry beautifully built. Absolutely agree o million percent that almost every kit that has parts molded to be open, are a nightmare to build closed. Only time I seem to find the opposite is when the company provided separate parts and instructions for building them both ways and this isn't often to say the least. Yikes, the cowling is a true nightmare - same on Hasegawa for a bad job here.

Ernie been following your progress and you've made some mighty awesome progress on the Val. I'm still not sure the manufactures actually test build a few pre -production and production kits using the instructions and their build sequence o see how it goes. Just the way the engine is shown to attach to the cowl and then the fuselage, seems more then odd and swimming upstream against convention - why reinvent the wheel? Kudos to Infinity for their great idea of short carry through spar for the horizontal stabilizers - absolutely insures they are straight and true. Looking mighty good

On the news this morning, they expect the fires to last for a good few months - that's really bad news.

Phil, Thanks so much for the very kind words. These days I spend a lot more of my time at the bench and less time outdoors for health reasons and a very large portion of my non-modeling time is spent as my wife with doctor appointments and health issues. 🙁 I do enjoy building mostly OOB and with a museum type finish as I treat my display case as my mini museum. Even in the days when I owned my own plane, she was washed every week and waxed at least once or twice a month. Why not go for a set of aftermarket P-51 decals with a non NMF, as there are a good number to choose from? Not sure how kits without decals would sell unless it helps reduce the MSRP quite a lot, you just never know. .

Thanks Rob, very much appreciated. Looking at both my display case and stash, the majority of kits are Tamiya, with 32nd scale leading the pack. I just enjoy building their kits and their subject matter is right up my alley. I'm looking forward to your P-38 build, as I have mine almost ready for the paint shop and most likely will finished it right after the Mustang. Yup, I'm taking the dive and using the new style of Eduard decals for the Mustang and hopefully all will work out - see how it goes 🤞. I have noticed these days, that the number of 32nd scale decals are a lot less then what they use to be when Tamiya P-51's hit the shelves. These are the Eduard decals I'm planning on using:

Ernie Not sure I understand, It just seems now, it's set in cement that Tamiya has left the 32nd scale aircraft market (new kits) their focus is on 48th and 72nd scale. Back when Tamiya was setting new ground with their 32nd scale kits, we all had our wish lists and the Jug and Lightning were always high on those wish lists. JUst seems never to be from Tamiya.

Thanks John. so far, the Mustang has been all fun and enjoyment.

Carl Sure does. My idea is just a large model, can be any scale.

Carl We're inside except for an appointment with our oncologist tomorrow. Diane and I will be wearing KN95 masks.

Carl I went back and saw your Lanc. I just thought a GB based on Large/Big kits and not by scale would be a great idea. The possibilities are nearly endless. ,

Thanks Gaz and I'm right with you. Back in the day, we all use to guess and wonder the next 32nd scale release and wished for a P-47 and P-38 but that has proven never to be. I just can't see any hope that Tamiya will ever revisit 32nd scale with a completely new kit - as it seems their talent has going down the 48th scale path.

Bill Glad your smoke isn't as bad. Souther Conn and just north of NYC and norther NJ are supposedly pretty bad as well.

The smoke from the wildfires in Nova Scotia has reached us here on Long Island. The vis is less then a half mile, the smoke is orange and thick. We're inside and safe (not safe for us old folk to be outside) but I had to go outside for a minute and it smells just as if we're in the fire and smoke.😷

Thanks Kev Making progress is small steps and enjoying the build.

CLOSING UP THE FUSELAGE With the Mustang being manufactured on our side of the pond, she was fitted with the Packard built Merlin. There are a number of differences between the Rolls Royce and Packard Merlin’s and the parts for each are included in all the Tamiya Spitfire and Mustang kits, so follow the instructions. The Merlin went together without a hitch, as I’ve had lots of practice building Tamiya Merlin’s over the years. Air brushed with Tamiya LP-5 Semi Gloss Black Lacquer, a few parts brush painted Tamiya Flat Aluminum Lacquer LP-38, the larger NBW were picked out with gloss aluminum (just for effect) and then a light dry brushing to bring out the details. Done, finished and unfortunately, much of the details will not be seen. The Merlin is attached to the firewall with a nice size screw for a solid fit as compared to how I struggled with the DB engine in the ZM 109G. Tamiya’s method was simple, secure and full proof. ZM’s chosen method was anything but. The Merlin and firewall were solidly glued to the forward fuel tank and let dry for a few hours. The last of the internal fuselage parts were now added and then it was time to glue up the two fuselage halves. Time was devoted to removing paint from all of the gluing surfaces to help with the fit. Of course, things didn’t go perfectly, a lot of tweaking and tinkering were required, as there are so many assemblies coming together. A good number of the cowl framing and forward engine parts have been built but left off until all the air brush work and decaling has been completed, as what I have on now, is just being test fitted. All the screw attachment holes have been drilled out and adds quite a bit to the overall look. Going back to Tamiya’s Spitfires and Mustangs, I never liked the toy like features of movable control surfaces, vent doors and even a sliding canopy. Suffering through them but next time around, they all will be left off.