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F-51D Mustang Fuselage Colour


BetaSingh

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Hello all

I am making the Italeri F-51D Mustang, which I believe is similar to the P-51 (correct me if I'm wrong), and I was wondering which paint I would use for the USAF Silvery fuselage colour. I have Humbrol Aluminium, Revell Silver Metallic and Humbrol Silver Metallic, would any of those be the correct colour, and if not, would it be possible to get the correct colour from a place like B&Q (a DIY store) or would you have to get it from the hobby shop.

Kind Regards and All Answers Appreciated

BetaSingh

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BetaSingh ... correct its the same airplane. The USAF just changed from P-Pursuit to F-Fighter. As for the colors on the F-51. Well the skin on the wings was painted aluminum on the real plane. So use the Aluminum you have for the wings. Then if you want to show a slight color difference like the real airplane take the aluminum and put some into a seperate cup and add a little silver or maybe a drop or two of a darker color like blue, grey, or black and mix it real good. That should help give a color change enough to see the difference. A good example is like the aluminum foil your family has in the kitchen. Match the dull side of the foil to the color on your wings. Use the shiny side of the foil to match to the body/fuselage of the plane.  The anti glare panel on top of the nose was a green olive color. If i or anyone else can help you more just post additional questions. Someone will answer it soon enough. 

 

Best of luck

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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2 hours ago, BetaSingh said:

Hello all

I am making the Italeri F-51D Mustang, which I believe is similar to the P-51 (correct me if I'm wrong), and I was wondering which paint I would use for the USAF Silvery fuselage colour. I have Humbrol Aluminium, Revell Silver Metallic and Humbrol Silver Metallic, would any of those be the correct colour, and if not, would it be possible to get the correct colour from a place like B&Q (a DIY store) or would you have to get it from the hobby shop.

Kind Regards and All Answers Appreciated

BetaSingh

The fuselages of F-51s (just the postwar designation of P-51s) were unpainted metal. If you look at photos, you'll see that certain panels (notably the ones around the exhaust, where the wing root meets the fuselage, and the rear fuselage bottom area at the supercharger discharge) are frequently darker, or at least different from, most of the other fuselage panels. I replicate this with different shades of Alclad spray metallic lacquers. You can also use a few slightly different shades (from the basic Aluminum) for other random panels to give the fuselage more of an unpainted, slightly patchwork, look. The wings, OTOH, were generally painted with aluminum lacquer and were more homogeneous, but you should check out the diagrams found here --

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

-- which show the areas (lighter) that were puttied and painted, and those (darker) that were left unpainted.

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Would a Humbrol Aluminium Metalcote be a closer option for the fuselage, as I think you guys have said to use plain Aluminium for the wings? The problem is I don't know whether my local hobby shop stocks Humbrol 27001/02, and would getting variations in the Aluminium paint just be the better option if I can't get Metalcote?

Best Wishes

BetaSingh

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IIRC, some of the Mustangs that were used in Korea went through overhaul before being shipped overseas on aircraft carriers, and were painted with silver laquer, so you might want to find a photo of the one you want to model to confirm whether or not it was still in bare metal or silver paint. Wings could either be in silver paint over the putty/surfacer that was applied to maintain the laminar flow or in many cases, bare metal as the surfacer/paint had been removed over time. The metal on many of the Mustangs used in  Korea was pretty dull and shabby looking, but keep in mind they were ex-WW2 and ANG airplanes that had been in storage or had seen a lot of use. One of our resident Mustang experts can help us both on this topic, I am hoping.

Mike

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6 hours ago, BetaSingh said:

Would a Humbrol Aluminium Metalcote be a closer option for the fuselage, as I think you guys have said to use plain Aluminium for the wings? The problem is I don't know whether my local hobby shop stocks Humbrol 27001/02, and would getting variations in the Aluminium paint just be the better option if I can't get Metalcote?

Best Wishes

BetaSingh

I'm American so don't have access to Humbrol Metalcote, but from what I've just read they're similar to Testors Metalizer finishes: airbrush only, buff after applying, yield a polished surface, VERY fragile -- can't be masked over. Personally I wouldn't go that route. I stand by my recommendation for Alclad2 metallic lacquers, which I note are available at Hannants. They're not cheap, but they work really well. They come in a multitude of shades, some semi-matte, others more shiny. The three "basic" shades work very well together for slightly contrasting panels: Aluminum, Duraluminum (slightly darker and bluer than Aluminum) and White Aluminum (slightly lighter than Aluminum). Next is Dark Aluminum, darker and more purple than Duraluminum. Steel is quite dark; I use it a lot as a base coat for exhausts. You can also mix any of the shades together if you want less tonal variation between shades. The shades I've mentioned are quite easy to work with: they dry almost immediately and are quite tough -- you can definitely mask over them with some care. The various polished shades are more fragile. Alclad lacquers don't require buffing. They do benefit from a primer. I use Mr. Surfacer 1000 (grey, semi-gloss), but I'm sure there are similar products that may be more available in the UK. You DON'T need to use gloss black for a primer, although it does work well under the high-gloss Alclad shades.

 

Bottom line, I think you're going to have to do some experimenting to see what combination of finishes pleases you based on your impressions of the photos you reference. As Mike said above, there wasn't any hard-and-fast about the appearance of these planes, and I think that's true about natural metal finishes in general. It's not like RAF Dark Green where there's a reasonably firm baseline shade, and it's why you'll see so many variations by individual modelers on NMFs.

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BetaSingh im also from america humbrol may exist here somewhere. But i haven't seen it since the 1980's. Go with your best guess and what looks best. Try testing your paints on plastic spoons (sorry i know i borrowed this from someone else here.)  Then compare which look best next to each other. Remember there isnt a right/wrong choice here. Its what makes you happy. This is your hobby and if you are happy with the finished kit thats what counts.  

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