TJTX

Progress on the panel:

Merlin is mostly wrapped up.

I've been looking at pictures and want to make sure I have the correct drop tanks. I have the under wing tanks from the Trumpeter Skyraider. Are those correct or are the too big? If they're too big what will work? I've also seen pictures of smaller tanks with a red/white checker pattern. What size are those?

Messing around with a Merlin.

Love it. The discoloration on the bomb is perfect!

Is anyone else having problems getting on the forum? I use my phone, and if I'm connected to wifi, I can't get on. If I turn wifi off, I connect easily.

Love when the mailman brings joy in a big brown box.

Yes, there was more than 1. There was a pylon racer bird, the long distance bird that I'm building and a 3rd but he can't remember what that was for exactly.

Well, it's a hell of a small world. The guy I share my office with worked on this bird!!! Of course I proceeded to hammer him with questions but he loved talking about it.

Absolutely love it. Thank you so much Martin for the effort you put into helping all of us.

It is very interesting to watch the progression of the aircraft over time.

I used Gunze gloss for my Mig. I could wipe it off without issues and not needing to use anything to help. On the Spitfire I used it directly over the paint, no gloss coat. I used mineral spirits to help remove it off that. It did leave light staining in places but that was actually what I was looking for. Moving ahead I'll do it over my gloss coat prior to final full coat going down.

Worked on the mighty Merlin a bit today after having lunch with Ernie and Mark. Somehow ended up with 2 new kits and an eye on a 3rd.... Anywho, does anyone have any idea about the prop I need for this bird? I read it's a P-51H prop. What type of prop is that and is there an aftermarket one I can use?

Your the best! I'm starting to realize I can do whatever I want it seems and at some point the plane would have looked that way...

Another interesting note, the discolored nose has different parts from different times. Check out the bottom of the R. It doesnt have the black border on it....

Also looks like I need a P-51H prop. I have a D and K prop but I guess those won't work?

From the picture of the engine run, I believe the gear doors and legs are white, and the bays are Green. However that picture shows them as grey. It seems this bird got painted a lot, or parts were replaced at different times. The discoloration on the nose is very interesting.

Draw Decals. They have a ton of civilian options for the Mustang.

Excellent. I couldn't tell if that was what I should go with. So, empty behind the pilot and the battery up front in the nose?

Those are the decals I've ordered Martin. What's interesting is it seems most everything is white, even the oil tank. I can find a picture of the later life Bardahl Mustang cockpit during restoration but I'm not sure how it was during its early years. I'm presuming based on the drop tanks it carried the fuel tank behind the pilot as well and was probably pretty standard up front.

I'm ready to start thinking about 2020 nationals. I really wanted a civilian build to take, and finally settled on a P-51 in civilian colors. When I saw "Bardahl Special" I knew that was the one. I picked up another Tamiya Mustang for a good price, ordered my decals, and tracked down some drop tanks. If anyone has any good photos of the cockpit of this aircraft I'd appreciate it. The actual photo is for reference only as to what she looked like.

Just played with the AK interactive enamel wash. I wanted to see what all it would work on and how it would look. I'm using it on my Mig right now and I'm really liking it. Combined with black-basing and possibly salt weathering I think it'll really pop.

I reworked an earlier build playing around with weathering. Nothing special, just having fun learning.