Revell P-51D Mustang - 2nd time around

[Peterpools]

Thanks Harv

Making steady progress and onto the wings, which so far have easily proven to be the toughest part of the kit.  The large MG cutout don't fit worth a dime and some re-scribing panels lines has been called for. Of course it's my weakest ability in modeling and the one I also dislike the most. Full steam ahead.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[mark31]

great work Peter

and take your time on the wings

another beauty in the works

 

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mark

Crawling along on scribing wing panel lines - oh what fun.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Spitfire]

Looking good, I must admit that I like Revell kits, fantastic value for money and good subjects, I have a couple of Mustangs in the stash waiting their turn.

Cheers

Dennis

[Peterpools]

Thanks Dennis

Completely agree about the Revell kits. Surely not as detailed or nor is the part fit and fidelity equal to tamiya but they are well worth the money, need some extra work and the result is excellent. As long as they are doing Mustangs, a BRAND new tooled P-51B would be a treat for sure.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

THE WINGS

11/2/21

Oh, what fun! Without question, the wing assembly has to be the weakest portion of the kit: fit issues and even two small short shots. Lately I’ve been on a campaign questioning why nearly all manufacturers design their kits with an insert part for the machine guns in the leading edge and with the Revell kit, that part also becomes the leading edge to the fuselage. Part fit is normally iffy with fit issues and in the case of the Mustang, required more then a few hours over five days of fitting, sanding and tweaking until I had a reasonable fit. I’ve never been more careful with part assembly and no matter how hard I tried, the fit was not up to par. Finally, I reached the point of gluing them in place three areas at a time so I could adjust and work the fit. When the parts had completely dried, the fit was a bit worse then I thought, requiring sanding and re-contouring, plus a thin piece of Evergreen strip to fill a nice size gap!

With all the sanding and tweaking done, I was now faced with replacing about a lot of panel lines and scribing is the one portion of any build I dislike and am really bad at. Bit the bullet, CCA to the rescue and done.  After numerous attempts, lots of extra thin CCA, I was done. I even went as far as using Tamiya Panel Line Wash to check my work and it looked OK.  After discussing  scribing with Rob on his Arado 234 build thread, I started out using the UMM SCR-01 and switched over to the Tamiya 74139 scriber with the .2 Tungsten Steel Blade and the results were very good – just need to now use a small metal rule for a guide rather then Dymo Tape as the blade is that sharp.   

On the lower wing at each the tip by the aileron there was a small but short shot that needed to be taken care of. I filed back the tips, leaving enough surface to build up the tip shape with some Evergreen strip. Come on Revell how about some QC here!

The wing is sanded and polished, ready for primer but that’s a bit down the road.

I’ve been test fitting the wing and mine needs some work for a good fit.  I’ve read build reviews and seen videos where the builders said the fit was great – mine just wasn’t. Could be how the spar and rib assembly went together in the gear bay – but it is what it is; who knows.

I’m still more then pleased with the kit, especially after I remind myself how little the Mustang actually cost – a good hundred dollars less then Tamiya’s P-51 (I’ve built three of the Tamiya P-51’s).

Next few Mustang work sessions will be devoted to mating the wings to the fuselage, installing the radiator and oil cooler assemblies and also back to working on the Corsair.

Thanks for checking in

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

Tamiya Panel Line Wash used to double check my scribing and normally requiring lots of CCA to correct my splendid work.

 

White tips are where the short shots were found and needing Evergreen Strip to take care of Revell's QC. This time around, I decided to paint the wheel wells AK Real Metal Aluminum and MRP Yellow Chromate - talk about a lot of masking. BTW, never use pointed tweezers at this stage of the game.

My two new scribing tools of choice, replacing my trusty old Tamiya P scriber.  Bottom scriber is the UMM SCR-01.

[BlrwestSiR]

Nice work Peter. Still surprised at thr amount of dry fitting required but I guess that's reflected in the price like you said.

UMM make a stainless ruler that I use for scribing panel lines where possible  i just tape in place so it's less likely to slip.

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?products_id=3377&osCsid=a90df386950e2ad03832761af89d993e

 

Carl

[Peterpools]

Thanks Carl

For the price, there has to be a compromise somewhere and it seems to be in parting lines and fit. For the money, it's still a bargain and I'm really thinking of buying Revell of Germany's Fw190 and the Spit Mk II. Talk has it Revell is going to release a new Hurricane Mk II next September but only time will tell.

Thank you the reco on the flexible ruler - ordering it today.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Nice work on those wing leading edges.  Revell...   might be cheaper.  But time is precious.  I won't be buying another Revell kit.  I have two left in my stash...  One of which I will build...   the second, I'm not so sure.

 

BTW...   do you sharpen your UMM scriber?

[DocRob]

Somehow I knew, the wings would be a task in itself to get the build ongoing. You seemed to have managed the obstacles nicely, Peter, as the wings absolutely look the part.
I'm a bit like Gaz, I would question myself at least more than once to buy another Revell kit. Building itself is not my favorite part of the hobby and often bores me. Spending extra time with that phase, needs a satisfactory explanation for myself, like in the case of the Arado 234, that there are no other players and I want to  build one.

It's good to hear, that scribing went well and I will benefit from your experiences with the Tamiya engraving tool, thanks for that.

5 hours ago, GazzaS said:

BTW...   do you sharpen your UMM scriber?

Sharpen the UMM scriber shouldn't be to hard, if necessary. I imagine a Japanese grinding stone with one coarse side and the other to hone the material would do the job, with careful strokes in the correct angle.

Cheers Rob

[Spitfire]

Looks like it is progressing nicely and you are winning, the wings look great.

Cheers

Dennis

[Peterpools]

Thanks Gaz

Yup, with Revell you’re so right,  it’s absolutely a trade off of time and detail vs cost. I’ve built so far three Tamiya Mustangs and surely will be building more but when I’m more interested in the overall ‘feel and look’ rather then detail and accuracy, I’ll still be going Revell. I still wonder why Revell didn’t go with really brand new P-51B and have the party to itself, as what’s out there just has too many issues. Can you imagine how many P-51B’s they could have sold.sell. 
After you suffered through your 109, it’s a wonder why both of the two remaining Revell kits in your stash weren’t binned.

As far as the UMM scriber, never even thought about sharpening the blade, as I use mostly the curve tip.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

[mark31]

loving it great work

 

Mark

[Peterpools]

Thanks Rob

Believe me, I’m the last person who loves a challenge rather when there are other options but Revell does offer a nice alternative, less detail, no where near crispness and accuracy of Tamiya but it’s a bargain at nearly $100 less, just a ton more work. My next few Mustang will be from Papa Tamiya Unless a sweet and accurate P-51B happens to show up. I’ve looked so many times at ZM’s Mustangs but couldn’t pull the trigger as I’m not a fan of all the internal details/assemblies that won’t be seen.
Never thought of buying a set of Japanese sharpening stones, as I do the bare minimum of scribing and they still are pretty sharp.  My trusty old and mostly now retired Tamiya P scriber had replacement blades, as does my new Tamiya scriber.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Dennis

Slowly but surely we’re closing in om priming and then the paint shop.

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

Mark, much appreciated

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

Never thought of buying a set of Japanese sharpening stones, as I do the bare minimum of scribing and they still are pretty sharp.  My trusty old and mostly now retired Tamiya P scriber had replacement blades, as does my new Tamiya scriber.

I would not buy a sharpening stone for the scribing tools, but already have one to keep the good kitchen knives and other tools sharp. By the way, I could resharp my scalpel blades with it, never thought about it before, stupid me .

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

I’ve looked so many times at ZM’s Mustangs but couldn’t pull the trigger as I’m not a fan of all the internal details/assemblies that won’t be seen.

The only Mustang kit I have is the ZM P-51. In the box it looks pretty good, but after my very mixed feelings, while building their TA-152, I tend to have the same opinion as you about all the inner clutter, which mostly isn't even correct. Only a build can show, how well the kit is designed, though.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Never thought of resharpening my cutting blades either - we're on the same boat.

My feelings exactly on the ZM Mustang and why I haven't bought the kit. I just never seem to have much luck with all the outer panels enclosing the interior assemblies. even including pistons for the engines just seems such a waste of time and money.

I am looking forward to their FW190 and if need be, will have to bite the bullet on all the hidden internal assemblies, as I've heard that there will not be a basic kit, just the standard SMS style kit.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[DocRob]

For my stupidity, I instantly tried to sharpen an old Tamiya blade and it works a miracle, it's super sharp again .

I have the HE-219, the Mustang and the Horten from ZM and built only the TA-152 until now. I only would add to these, if I have a very pleasant build with one of the others. When I remember right, they announced an Arado 234 as well, but for a second build, I might would buy another Fly kit again. The resin and PE is just too tempting.

I hope the best for my two future Revell FW-190 builds, where I have a lot of goodies and plans for the finish. The only other LS Revell, I own is the early Arado seaplane with mono float, which doesn't look too bad in the box.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Thanks for the test on the blades - now all I have to do is buy the sharpening stones.

Nice stash for sure and I also have the ZM He 219 but half way though the engines , my hands were still way too shaky and unsteady as a side effect from the chemo. I'm starting to think of picking it up again but doing it with the engines all buttoned up, as I think I would like the look a lot better. I built my tamiya Mossie with the Merlin's completely hanging in the wind as well as one of my Tamiya Mustangs and Spits, so ex[posed engines have kind of run their course for me for at least a while. 

You 190 projects sound very intriguing, as I've seen the kit built up with a lot of AM and it does look mighty good.

Keep 'em comin

Peter 

[DocRob]

3 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks for the test on the blades - now all I have to do is buy the sharpening stones.

It never ends with buying new stuff , but the sanding stone is at least to me a multi purpose item, for sharpening knives, tools and now, scalpel blades.

One of the 190's will be made as a plane from the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, an organization formed by the Soviets with German POW's who were willing to fight against the Nazis, the other will be crashed and showing a lot of details like engine other innards. That's the plan at least.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Now that's a plan and I'm already front and center in the first row

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Peterpools]

ATTACHING THE WING ASSEMBLY

11/11/21

The hot topic when it comes to modeling the P-51 Mustang: the wing -rivets and panel lines: yes or no. One prominent difference between the Revell and Tamiya is Revell only has the major wing panel lines and no rivets, while Tamiya has both. I went with the Revell kit and re-scribed any panel lines that were lost while working on the wings, as I prefer this look.

The next giant step was attaching the wings to the fuselage and no matter how careful I was up to this point, there were fit issues that needed to be dealt with. A few hours were needed to work everything in place, then firmly gluing the wings on with a fair amount of Tamiya Extra Thin and Revell Contacta Professional Glues and the same amount of masking tape while the glues dried for a good twentyfour hours.

At the same time, the horizontal stabilizers and elevators were added.

Playing around with the wing/fuselage fillet blend was up next, needing a few hours of wet sanding and all done. The last remaining part was the lower nose panel which had a few minor fit issues (what a surprise) and done.

Next up: more scribing and masking and if all goes well – priming.

Thanks for checking in

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

 

 

I've never built a P-51 yet where the radiator intake fit without needing a lot of sanding and shaping - but it's done and looks pretty good.

Paint scheme and markings. These are Eduard's new decals and are not printed by Cartagraf. They look good on the sheet - fingers crossed when I reach that point.

 

 

[Kaireckstadt]

Great update Peter! That looks absolutely flawless! Perfect job!

Great eyecatching  camo Peter! 
Curious how the BMF finish will turn out!

Which colors will you use for it?

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kai, much appreciated. I'm back to hopefully the last round of scribing.  I'm just as curious how the BMF will turn out.

Right now, over the MRP Gray Primer, I'll be using either Mr Color or MRP Gloss or MRP Gloss Black back as my NMF base.

Wings: Alclad Semi Matte Aluminum to replicate the aluminum lacquer paint.

Fuselage and BMF areas on the  wings: AK Aluminum and then I'll add the various aluminum colors.

That's the basic plan and fingers crossed.

Keep 'em comin

Peter