Ronan71 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I recently bought this kit in a hobby shop near work as I really like aircraft in national colours other than the country they were built in. I'm planning to build the version with the malcolm hood. The built is out of the box apart from a set of Montex masks and the Eduard photoetch set for the P-51B Mustang. So far I've made good progress on the interior, once I add the photoetch seatbelts and finish some of the detail around the radio compartment then it will be time to seal up the fuselage. It will have to wait however until I get back from my holidays. Looking forward to adding the RAF colours to it when I get back! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudolf24 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Re you going to do some weathering ? Cockpit looks nice for my, but i think it will look much better when you do some chipping with the silver paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Absolutely, I plan to give it a wash and as you suggest add some silver chipping with my silver pencil. The build is at an early stage and I expect a few hours away from getting to the stage of closing the fuselage up. It will have to wait a few weeks though as I'm off on my holidays today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudolf24 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Absolutely, I plan to give it a wash and as you suggest add some silver chipping with my silver pencil. The build is at an early stage and I expect a few hours away from getting to the stage of closing the fuselage up. It will have to wait a few weeks though as I'm off on my holidays today! Ok, have a nice Holiday ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Thanks! On the ferry to France right now, looking forward to a nice break! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Quite a lot of work completed on the Mustang since getting back from my holidays, so far no major problems with it and I'm pretty pleased with the aftermarket stuff (Eduard). Firstly I finished the cockpit: Then I clamped the fuselage together and overall I thought the fit was good: After fitting and masking the canopy I applied a coat of the interior colour. I probably would have built the model with the canopy open, but if you use the malcolm hood you would have to cut the hood from the windscreen and I decided against it. Next I painted the undercarriage bays: Next up was the wingtip lights done with Tamiya clear colours: I painted the propeller blades and the exhausts (using the AK True Metal paint in a tube). I also drilled out the exhausts which mostly went well! I also drilled out the wing guns: I applied the first coat of paint to the undersides and yesterday masked it up with Tamiya tape and blu tac and I hope to get the rest of the main paint job done tomorrow: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Nice work so far. I also have this kit. Hopefully I can build it to look ok without the photoetch. I do plan on scratchbuilding a few details. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress, Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Thanks Bob, it's a nice kit and I agree that straight out of the box it would still be great. Here and there I've used the included parts and left off the photoetch, but as I think I have a bad case of AMS I do like the aftermarket stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Ooh Ronan, ANOTHER Mustang to watch and follow .. WOW..SUPER NEAT start .. Cant wait to see more of this North American War-bird.. Woo hoo... HOUSTON 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Thanks Houston! Mustang's are great I have to agree! Just moving on to decaling now so should have some nice photos to share later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Yesterday was a productive day, starting with getting the second and third main colours on. I'm using Tamiya acrylics airbrushed on, thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinner. All went on well, although the left side of the engine cowling was meant to be gray, not green, but rather than remask and redo that bit I blended it in with the rest of the green on the assumption that their might have been some variation between aircraft (possibly not though! I heard that RAF planes were painted according to a standard template? In which case I'm putting it down to modellers license!): I finished the flaps as well, but I didn't quite get the green to line up with the markings on the wing unfortunately! The blu tack came away pretty neatly, but it does seem to leave a bit of a mark (which also does seem to be hidden by a gloss coat, so not a big problem). I've heard white tac is better in this regard, so I bought some in Eason's (the Irish equivalent of WH Smith) this afternoon for use on the next project): The propeller is all together now with the decals on, awaiting a clear coat then weathering. I'm really disappointed with the Tamiya decals as they are very thick and the carrier film is very visible. I used lots of Mr Setter then Mr Softer, and hopefully a clear coat will help, but compared to the aftermarket decals I've used on my previous two projects the Tamiya OOB decals are no where near as nice. I also applied the tail flashes as well and they haven't settled into the surface detail like I had hoped. I think I'll go with aftermarket decals in future with the other Tamiya kits in the stash. After the annoyance with the overly thick fin flashes I did not have much hope that the decals for the yellow leading edges would conform, and I was right! Liberal amounts of decal setting/softening fluid did nothing. Hence I masked everything up and painted them with a spray can of Tamiya Camel yellow over a white primer layer. I sealed the mask first with a clear coat which worked very well in preventing any seepage of yellow paint. The masking plastic sheet didn't do much for the rest of the paint however and as usual there is a bit of the step at the edge of the yellow, so next up I think I'll have to get some very fine grit wet and dry (2000+ grit I'm guessing) and try to feather it all in without ruining the paint! I'll try it first in an inconspicuous area first. Also you can see that I ended up scraping off the grey tail band decal as it was hopeless. Again too thick, and it split when trying to position it. I've since masked the area off and should have a nice (hopefully) grey band done tomorrow, and again hopefully I can feather it in nicely. Hopefully the remaining decals will play ball this time! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 Thanks for the information about the decals. I will consider an aftermarket set for my kit, either in RAF or the USAAC equivalent. Keep up the good work. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Yesterday I went to work with some micro finishing pads and wet sanded some of the paint that got marked with the masking for the leading edge and the tail band, and I was able to mostly feather in the sprayed on markings too. I gave it a good coat of Tamiya clear from a can and now she is ready for decaling. The thick Tamiya decals on the fin eventually settled down and conformed to the tail, but I think they still look too thick. Luckily I managed to find an Aeromaster set for the RAF Mustang (very similar to the kit decals) from a seller in the Netherlands and it's now in the post to me (it was the last one in stock). I plan to use the 2nd scheme here. In the meantime I'll build the undercarriage and I might paint up a pilot figure as well from a Hasegawa set I have. The prop need weathering which should be fun, but the two bombs (which I added the supplied Eduard photoetch fins to) I might actually leave off the plane, as I think it will look nicer "clean". I can always use them for another project. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 It looks like things are progressing nicely. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Thanks Bob! Hopefully the aftermarket decals won't take too long to arrive, so with any luck I'll have them next week and then be able to finish the model. Apart from the decals then the final weathering, I have to build up the undercarriage, paint the inside of the undercarriage doors, and weather the propeller. Then it should be done. It's the first WWII/propeller aircraft I've done, to date I've been a jet builder, so it's been a learning experience. I've many more prop jobs in the stash so it won't be the last! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Ronan, FREAKIN AWESOME... Love the propeller just as much as the airframe itself. MUSTANGS take MY breath away. WAY to GO Ronan !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Thanks! I'm very much looking forward to weathering it, probably my favourite job, but I have to be patient and wait for the decals to arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 The new decals arrived last week and went on beautifully (apart from one roundel on the rear fuselage which got a bit messed up when I stupidly put my thumb on it by accident, I mostly managed to rescue it!). Next up is weathering which I'm very much looking forward to! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I'm liking it a lot ... keep pressing on .... Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Finished the Mustang yesterday, and overall pretty happy with it. Here are the last WIP photos: The undercarriage was the last job, I used the kits own parts with extra detailing with Eduard photoetch and some wire to represent brake lines. I also used some bright aluminium tape for the oleo's on the undercarriage and I later dusted the Eduard Brassin resin wheels with Mig airfield dust which looks great. For the radiator hood I added a small piece of Evergreen rod to represent the linkage which opens and closes the real thing. I tried the AK metal paste paint in this area and it looks rough. It's good for small detail, but I think I'll stick with other paints in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronan71 Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 Up now in the ready for inspection section here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988633-north-american-raf-mustang-iii-no-316-polish-sq-november-1944-tamiya-148/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Henry Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Lookin good ... I'll check it out in the other section. Bob H. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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