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P51D Nose Art


MalX

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walkaround_p51_b_043_small.jpg

 

250_Hasegawa-1-48-SP65-51565-P-51D-Musta

hi

 

i'm building the Nose Art Mustang right now before i return to the B17G, i've had her before; about a month ago but i messed her up.

 

this one i'm going to spray the wing in Light grey (laminar flow) and the rest of her in Aluminium, this should be an interesting kit. the top photo shows what the wing looks like, i'm not going to get too fussy over this, it'll be a light grey close to polish Aluminium in colour.

 

the chequered nose decal is total rubbish, so the nose i'll spray yellow and cut the red squares out of a spare red transfer.....i've already painted the spinner

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Please post Your model builds in the "Work in Progress - Aircraft" section.

Also, I recommend starting a topic when You have some pictures of the model in progress to show.

 

Regarding the P-51 wings, I have to point out a slight correction: the P-51's wings were not painted grey, but silver to hide the puttied seams.

It should look different from the rest of unpainted aluminium fuselage.

 

Regards,

Aleksandar

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Yes I was lucky enough to have had a good close up look around several P51s this year at Oshkhosh. You can literally touch them. Most had the puttied wings. Those which were finished more or less authentially show  a distinct difference in tone between the natural metal and painted wings but I think light grey wouldn't look right.

However it might be better than P51 models I've seen with perfectly painted inaccurate natural metal wings. 

 

Looking forward to seeing the end result. I can't get enough Mustangs.

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mine is painted now i chose mid/light grey !!!! maybe it's too dark, but it's not quite as dark as these photos, i highlighted the panel detailing yesterday...............i'll do more with Acylic weathering later on.

 

it's very hard to spray in this cold weather, but she's got 5 coats of gloss Acrylic to seal the Metalcote, plus already rubbed down................so she's now quite strong and knock resistant :D

 

the nose decal will be a nightmare, because it was last time, this is the next thing to do after the weathering.................Cockpit needs touching up etc etc...................BUT THE WORST PART IS DONE.

 

i had to use the Badger 200 for the metalcote, because my new Badger Renegade got blocked up instantly, it's too delicate for Humbrol paints and your Acrylics need to be very thinned down too, but it does give a perfect weathering spray, if i mess up the weathering it's easy to wipe off the shiny laquer when it's dry, so the nest part will be really enjoyable.  (water and paint only, no matt laquer in it, because if so you cant wipe it off the next day if you dont like it) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

p51d_1.jpg

 

p51d3.jpg

 

 

p51d2.jpg

 

Edited by MalX
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i'll lighten up the wing colour with a spray wash, but it's definitely not Aluminium colour..............the rudder i'm not sure because on the box artwork above it looks light grey, that's really easy to change though 

Edited by MalX
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This is all you need to know about Mustangs, from people who own or maintain them. The wings were filled in factory and painted with silver lacquer.

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/21362-mustang-wings-and-panel-seams/

 

Although TF51GregWise has left the forum and edited his posts out, there is enough info for you to finish the perfect Mustang. ;)

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ok thanks, i've redone her in a light battleship grey, she looks miles better.....the lightness/tone is about right it just needs a thin coat of aluminium, but not enough to hide the grey.............then weathering and polishing i'll do this next week .

 

p51-11a.jpg

 

 

 

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/gallery.php?Group=339&Style=item&origStyle=list&Item=248&Temp=2714&searchString=

 

Edited by MalX
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yea but it's too late now m8, i've masked off the wing panels to highlight a lighter shade of grey, like i did with the fueselage.........the aluminium ``tint`` will have to be sprayed over tomorrow................i've already mixed it up, it's gloss varnish, thinners and about 5% Metalcote.

 

if this looks rubbish i'll strip the wings and repaint it from scratch, this model is a pain i wish i never bothered with this silly flipping wing :angry:

 

 

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P51D%20LATEST.jpg

 

That's her with with the panelling, it aint looking good :unsure: that wing needs wet and dry tomorrow and the rest of the model covered in Copydex  ........................because metalcoat over that grey wont work, it'll go too Aluminium.......it's bound too

 

i  have no metalcoat left so it'll take 5 days to arrive from ebay:(

 

 

 

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happy new year

 

i managed to spray 2 coats of light grey tinted metalcoat, the wing looks much better, it has strange shiny tint and at certain angles it looks like Aluminium, esp in direct light, but if you turn it away from the light it still looks grey.........a final dusting with light pure metalcoat might get it, but WOW it's hard.

wing%20tint.jpg

wing%20tint2.jpg

 

Edited by MalX
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.............i've got it ! :D:D

 

LATEST.jpg

 

LATEST%202.jpg

 

LATEST%203.jpg

she looks really good, but that is soaking wet i cant touch her again till later tonight...........it's humbrol aluminium mixed with gloss lacquer/thinners ........ it took 3 attempts to get right, the first 2 coats were too thick and hid the grey.

 

 

Edited by MalX
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i've had to repaint the fueselage from scratch, the copydex mask left a sharp edge behind, i'll put the panelling back in tomorrow, cockpit will need repainting too :(

 

the vertical rudder fin is now Aluminium, i dont like it, but i'm guessing that's what she looked like ( not light grey)............she now looks like a brand new Mustang fresh off the assembly line :P...........but that wont last long because she looks totally unrealistic clean, i must not touch her till tomorrow, it'll take flipping hours to cure !!!

 

the weathering should be good fun....................the worst weathering topside appears to be that large panel underneath the cockpit..........then of course we have a real mess on her underside around the radiator, i bet the underside was also covered in dirt splattered up from her wheels, she should look damned good.

 

the best model i ever weathered was the Millenium Falcon from Star Wars, what a brilliant model that was !  

 

P-51D_Mustang_356th_Fighter_Group_361_Fi

 

 

Edited by MalX
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20 hours ago, MalX said:

13.jpg

 

look at the weathering on the underside :o  ..............wow that's a mess, but it's great for hiding faults in the Metalcote :P

 

look at the radiator area :o 

Note the different appearance of the landing gear doors, fuel tank covers, and flaps and ailerons, compared to the rest of the wing. These were not puttied and   would be bare metal, unlike the surfaces that were filled and painted silver. There were also panels on the upper surface of the wings that were not filled and painted, with the gunbay access doors and panel surrounding the gunports  being exceptions, IIRC. The P-51 SIG has very good text and diagrams showing the areas that were filled and painted. I will try to find that diagram and post it, if it would help.

 

Just found the diagram and photos I was alluding to; I have posted the link below. Hope it helps!

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?s=f4ce704971f70b491a59344d5719ecf5&showtopic=40939

 

Mike

Edited by 72modeler
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yes thanks, that Tamiya mustang is brilliant but too expensive.............the Hasegawa kit is very old and structurally weak, you have to be careful it doesn't crack at the glue joints......you can only get mine from the U.S.A

 

yes the underside looks all the same, the important point is the filthy weathering, esp the rad and tail wheel, i bet the underside was never cleaned that well in wartime because they look like that in Google photos too !!!!!!

 

the best Humbrol colour for the puttied finish looks like normal Aluminium, which compared to Metalcote looks very flat and grey, but i decided not to use it.....too late, i opted for a bright Aluminium tint , not metalcote because they didn't have it in the shop................when the metalcoat arrives i will use it to highlight some panels esp the flaps etc................i'll only weather the fueselage tomorrow.

 

the fuesalage right now has a much brighter finish than polished metalcote........but that wont last long ;) 

 

Edited by MalX
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16 minutes ago, Wm Blecky said:

I find this post quite interesting and think it will add some valuable information for the next time I build a Mustang - thank you!

 

 

for me it's trial and then error :D because Aluminium paint is a TOTAL nightmare to work with, because your biggest enemy is dirt in the paint and when the damned Airbrush starts spitting :angry:.............my B17G  Texas Raiders is miles easier to paint than this.  

 

if i was going to tackle another mustang again, i'd therefore do one in Green, i'd make ``Passion Wagon``............in fact, anything with a naked woman on the side:D

 

i'm no expert modelmaker like these guys, but my advice is with bare metal:- your looking to pick out and highlight panels............but not too many or it'll look too obvious what you're doing, finally, weathering is your friend with Aluminium because it'll hide those annoying paint faults;)

 

 

Edited by MalX
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Some pics,not mine but from the Jeff Ethell library and just used for illustration purposes.

Tails :-

P-51b's fresh looking and in the States

 

p51tail2_zpsiyxgkalg.jpg

 

ETO

P51TAIL_zpsp5y8bwor.jpg

 

Wings :-

 

Early production D Stateside ,shows the tail nicely and the wings filled/sprayed to just aft of the main wing spar,look at the contrast in finish on the wings.

 

p51wing3_zps8wg9ftvc.jpg

 

A D in the field,again the contrast between natural metal and sprayed wing and rudder.Look at how flat the wings have become and how much untreated areas stand out (blue lines).

 

p51wing_zpsdenh1dio.jpg

 

A well worn B/C wing

 

p51bwing_zpsz2izktwt.jpg

 

.

 

 

 

Edited by Gwart
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Don't forget you can mute down the wing colour with some post shading/weathering and scratches of aluminium and rub wear/staining.Also various varnishes mattin,gloss a satin mix for different area's post or prior to decalling.

 

 My attempt at the same on an Airfix 1/72 kit.

 

2nd%20air%20commando_zps0jl4xyia.jpg

 

I need to blend the gun access panels into the surrounding colour as they were painted also.

 

3aircommando_zpspayc1375.jpg

 

1st%20air%20commando_zpsyxsdopyl.jpg

 

It's a matt varnish finish that i've rubbed with my robe,next steep is to weather it all.

Edited by Gwart
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thanks for that 

 

 

 

wings and underside are done photos later, camera needs recharging..................fueselage tomorrow, the rudder fin is a definite grey tone, so a wash of light grey should get close to that.

 

the fueselage isn't that weathered so i'll pick out 4 panels on each side.........the fueselage is now darkish so i'm after a very bright Aluminium to add contrast.............but i might wait for the Metalcoat because i think that's the brightest of all..not sure 

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