Revell P-51-5NA Mustang

[DocRob]

5 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks Rob, just wish I was gliding through the build and solving the issues as fast as I find them. Planning on a NMF, using Alclad paints with the wings being finished with Alclad RAF Speed Aluminum - replicating the paint aluminum and the fuselage with various shades of Alclad as well.

Have you done a NMF with Alclad's, Peter? You can get great results, but with my experiences the Alclad's are very sensitive in general some tones more than others. I would test a lot if you go for different shades on panels, which involves masking. Some of the colours don't adhere very good and some loose a bit of luster when taped, even with detacked tape. Another issue can arise when varnishing. Shine and tone of the colour may change. Don't get me wrong, they make great metallics, but you need to be careful and test a lot.
I changed into the Extreme colour range because of that, using my old Alclads only where there is no masking involved or where they have exactly the shade I like, e.G. exhaust manifold.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

10 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks Kai

you are going to love the decals - easy to use with no mess or fuss. Having all sorts of fun with the fit issues and the latest is fitting the wing assembly in place. Not having the fuselage assembly aligned perfectly seems to be the culprit in getting the wing assembly to fit without needing a modeling chain saw. Oh what fun

Peter

 

 

Thanks for your reply Peter. I hope I will. The details on them are awesome

Hopefully you will not need the modeling chain saw for your beautiful Stang.

I‘ve also a tipp for you regarding the drilling of holes into exhausts or MG‘s you mentioned in your comment in the Corsair-post:

When I have to drill a centered hole into e.g. MG or an exhaust-port, I use a needle and press it carefully into the center marked with a pencil to create a small hole that is used as a guide for the drill and keeps it in the center when drilling is started.

This method works quite well and avoids that the drill is moving out of the center when you start drilling.

All these holes I drill by hand and not with my Proxxon-Tool. But this is nothing new to you...

[Reuben L. Hernandez]

Very nice Peter, think this might be my next build to get my mojo back. Looking at doing Happy Jacks Go Buggy

[Peterpools]

Kai

At my age, finding the center of the X is the hard part, no matter how big

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Rueben

Looking forward to your build

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

 

P-51 Mustang

Progress has been marked by constant tweaking, major part assembly adjustments, loads of sanding and filing and my glue of choice for added strength has been homemade sprue glue – as I needed to both fill gaps and increase the strength of the mating part surfaces. In the old days, we called it “Goop” and it was a combination of Testor’s Liquid Cement and good old sprue. These days, the mix has greatly changed to Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and Evergreen Styrene.

First order of business was the wings and what a nightmare of getting them to fit or fit as closely as I could. Forget just the drop in and it fits – it was off by a good mile. Loads of sanding and filing over a weeks’ worth of work brought them close enough and then a combination of Sprue Glue and when dry Mr Surfacer 500 did the blending and filling and I’m still at it, with more filling and sanding needed.. 

The rear stabilizers were next and the fillets proved to need tweaking and a good deal of sanding to fit smoothly. The last major areas that needed a lot of work to fit was the radiator assembly, the lower cowl (not started yet) and the prop spinner assembly. Holy smokes, that’s just about the whole enchilada.

While I was at it, I decided to follow up on Antonio’s suggestion of painting the upper armor plate flat black (MIG Rubber Black). Removed the seat assembly as carefully as I could, some delicate hand painting and the seat is ready to reinstall. Looks a lot better and a good reminder to double check references.

I’ve been doing a lot of research and thought on the ‘Stangs wings’ and since Revell left the rivets off, no sweat on what to do. I have a well-researched set of drawings by J.R. Heilig, as to how to apply the painted aluminum finish. Right now I’m leaning in three directions:

1    ALCLAD II RAF High Speed Silver.

2    Tamiya Flat Aluminum and polish when dry.

3    Best solution might be to basecoat the wings wing medium gray, polish and then the High Speed Silver.

The metallic shine should be a lot less than the fuselage and with a distinct color difference.  I’ll need to do some testing to see which looks better and doesn’t have the appearance of Alclad Aluminum Metallic finishes. So far none of the three Tamiya Mustangs have the same wing finish!

For what the Revell Mustang cost, I bought two, no complaints. No way are you going to get Tamiya fit, precision and detail at such a bargain price and taking everything into account, is still a gem – just needs a bunch of TLC, wet and dry sandpaper, loads of sanding sticks and Mr Surfacer 500.

Over the past few months, the stash has been slowly growing and my next few builds are ready for their bench time when the Mustang is done:

A Tamiya 1/48 F-14A and a F-14D Tomcats with the only AM being planned; Quinta 3D decal sets.  My overall thought is to alternate 32^nd and 48^th scale builds to keep the juices fresh and flowing.

Thanks for checking in

Peter

The armor plate is now black as it should be

 

Loads of filling and sanding will be needed to blend the lower cowling in place.

 

 

 

 

 

[Kaireckstadt]

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

 

P-51 Mustang

Progress has been marked by constant tweaking, major part assembly adjustments, loads of sanding and filing and my glue of choice for added strength has been homemade sprue glue – as I needed to both fill gaps and increase the strength of the mating part surfaces. In the old days, we called it “Goop” and it was a combination of Testor’s Liquid Cement and good old sprue. These days, the mix has greatly changed to Tamiya Extra Thin Cement and Evergreen Styrene.

First order of business was the wings and what a nightmare of getting them to fit or fit as closely as I could. Forget just the drop in and it fits – it was off by a good mile. Loads of sanding and filing over a weeks’ worth of work brought them close enough and then a combination of Sprue Glue and when dry Mr Surfacer 500 did the blending and filling and I’m still at it, with more filling and sanding needed.. 

The rear stabilizers were next and the fillets proved to need tweaking and a good deal of sanding to fit smoothly. The last major areas that needed a lot of work to fit was the radiator assembly, the lower cowl (not started yet) and the prop spinner assembly. Holy smokes, that’s just about the whole enchilada.

While I was at it, I decided to follow up on Antonio’s suggestion of painting the upper armor plate flat black (MIG Rubber Black). Removed the seat assembly as carefully as I could, some delicate hand painting and the seat is ready to reinstall. Looks a lot better and a good reminder to double check references.

I’ve been doing a lot of research and thought on the ‘Stangs wings’ and since Revell left the rivets off, no sweat on what to do. I have a well-researched set of drawings by J.R. Heilig, as to how to apply the painted aluminum finish. Right now I’m leaning in three directions:

1    ALCLAD II RAF High Speed Silver.

2    Tamiya Flat Aluminum and polish when dry.

3    Best solution might be to basecoat the wings wing medium gray, polish and then the High Speed Silver.

The metallic shine should be a lot less than the fuselage and with a distinct color difference.  I’ll need to do some testing to see which looks better and doesn’t have the appearance of Alclad Aluminum Metallic finishes. So far none of the three Tamiya Mustangs have the same wing finish!

For what the Revell Mustang cost, I bought two, no complaints. No way are you going to get Tamiya fit, precision and detail at such a bargain price and taking everything into account, is still a gem – just needs a bunch of TLC, wet and dry sandpaper, loads of sanding sticks and Mr Surfacer 500.

Over the past few months, the stash has been slowly growing and my next few builds are ready for their bench time when the Mustang is done:

A Tamiya 1/48 F-14A and a F-14D Tomcats with the only AM being planned; Quinta 3D decal sets.  My overall thought is to alternate 32^nd and 48^th scale builds to keep the juices fresh and flowing.

Thanks for checking in

Peter

The armor plate is now lack as it should be

 

Loads of filling and sanding will be needed to blend the lower cowling in place.

 

 

 

 

 

What a mess this Revell Stang is! You do not only have to walk the extra mile, it‘s lots of extra miles you have to walk! Never thought that this would be such a bad kit regarding fit! 
But the fotos show that this will be a flawless build in the end! Looks beautiful so far!

I would use your 3rd proposal for the wing-painting. Seems to be the most promising for me. The high speed silver will give them the right look.

I’m curious what your tests will show.I have the Tamiya Stang in my stash and have to deal with the same topic...

Can‘t wait to see your next update!

Kai

[DocRob]

Despite all the obstacles, she looks like a Mustang and thanks to your extra effort, it will be a beauty. At this stage, there shouldn't be to many new issues lurking somewhere. I'm not overly eager to start with my ZM Mustang IV, before I here some positive signals from Phil, concerning the body panels and cowlings fit. I still have nightmares about ZM' s TA-152, which should be build all open for that instance. Like with your P-51, I can't stand, when weak engineering or overenthusiastic all-open-options lead to a very difficult fit, when you decide to button the bird up.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

Peter,

     Your extra work has paid off, and the wings look nicely fitted.

 

Keep up the good work!

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kai

Just seems Nothing fits the way it should and I’m willing to bet it all stems from the cockpit assembly being a bit askew - just wish Revell would have used the drop in from below method of inserting the cockpit rather then the glue one side to the fuselage wall and then hope for the best in my case.
I’m going to shoot some Alclad Micro Primer Gray on test mule piece of plastic, then when dry, polish it out to 12,000 grit and then on goes the the RAF Speed Silver. I’ll compare it to my standard NMF of Alclad or AK over Gloss Black and see how the colors match up. Hopefully there will a big difference plus I don’t want the Speed Silver too metallic but more of a paint look.

If it works out, hopefully it will work for you when you do your a Tamiya a Mustang
Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

[Peterpools]

Rob
Much appreciated and I’m also hoping plus fingers crossed, the majority of the fit issues are over and done with.

Right with you - all the over engineering adding in countless internal parts, which are killers when trying to get the skins on, just never seems to fit, regardless of the manufacturer. Only way the interior detail seems to work, is to leave the panels off and the details can be seen.
Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz

It’s been a lot of unexpected extra work and I’m glad the tweaking is close to being over and then onto paint time - my favorite part of ant build.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter