Calum Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 The new Airfix P-51D is the kit for this years NSW Scale Model Show's "Airfix Cup". But although the Mustang isn't really my thing I figured I'd build one anyway. As I've built 2 RNZAF P-51's in the past I wasn't in the mood for another one (plus they're pretty boring) so I figured I'd do a colourful US one straight from the box but different decals. The kit generated a bit of conversation here particularly due to it's breakdown so I was interested to see if Airfix can pull this off. I cracked the box and was quite impressed with the detail and engraving. I usually always go for a resin seat but the kit one had nice moulded on belts so I elected to use it. The sidewall detail is also excellent - no need for aftermarket here. After about 2 hours I had some major sub assemblies done. The next day I painted the kit with Mr Color Lacquers, once this dried (after about 5mins) I picked out the detail with Vallejo acrylics. After this I dry brushed the finished cockpit parts with Vallejo RLM 02 and then applied a wash. Next was the cockpit decals. The instrument panel decal fits well. I applied it over some wet future and set it aside to dry. Airfix even give you some placard decals for the side walls - nice touch - these were also applied over wet future and left to dry. Once dry I shot a flat coat with new Mr Color flat. Next I fitted the fins. I glued these from the inside. The horizontal panel line joins were a little to thick for my taste so I filled with a micture of CA and Baby power then rescribed the line Dry fitting the cockpit to fuselage halves at this stage looked good. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Very nice interior work there. Looking forward to how this turns out. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Nice work so far, I concur twith the fin panel lines. I'm a little head of you n the build I think but nowhere near your quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Wow! This looks great. Impressive work sir. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeSau75 Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 Off to a good start - looking forward to see this one progressing. Cheers, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Me too John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Thanks all. Here is the next installment. I fitted the vents in the forward fuselage. There are 2 types. The ones appropriate for this model fitted OK. I'd heard from some mates that these were a little small, and the photos show a slight gap around the edge. But I reckon using your naked eye and under paint they'll be fine.(Note these were taken later in the build ) The fuselage halves were joined. Fit of these was OK although I did need to clamp them for 60 mins or so for the glue to set. There was a little gap along the seam on the underside. This would become a minor issue later. I expect I missed cleaning up a sprue attachment point (or something similar) somewhere on the cockpit assembly or fuselage halves. This image shows the join along the underside that has been filled with CA and baby powder (this was taken after the wings were fitted). This is currently my filler of choice for seams. Another join I was worried about was the part on the cockpit/internals assembly that forms part of the fuselage. The parts on the internal assembly sat a tiny fraction proud. I may sand these flush later but the join is really good. Onto the wings. The upper and lower parts fitted well. The inserts for the guns took a bit of finagling to get right, I spent about 20 mins on this(again photos these were taken later).They weren't perfect but were far better than those on the Hasegawa P-40 series. Wing to fuselage join was as good as anything I've seen before (even Tamiya) . So good in fact I didn't even want to run glue along the join. So far I reckon I've spent about 4 hours on the build and I'm very impressed with the overall fit. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Nice presentation, nice work, and you make me want to order one right now (I figured it was an inevitable purchase anyway, but...) bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Progressing well matey, I have also made a start and hope to show some photos soon. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 25 minutes ago, gingerbob said: Nice presentation, nice work, and you make me want to order one right now (I figured it was an inevitable purchase anyway, but...) bob If you want to build a US Mustang in 1/48 then it's a good buy 4 minutes ago, Kahunaminor said: Progressing well matey, I have also made a start and hope to show some photos soon. Regards, Looking forward to it Kent... Nice to see you do something from the good guys for a change 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 (edited) Part 3 Fitment of the front part of the lower wing /main gear bay /forward lower fuselage. I made sure it was flush with the front of the lower fuselage (under the nose) and glued it there first from the inside. There is some nice detail there so I wanted to get this join as good as possible. There is a tiny gap there and on the right hand side a fraction proud (by fraction we're talking less than 0.0005 thou. This may have been the melted plastic squeezed out from the glue join and was easily removed by scraping with a sharp knife. Once this set I then glued the rest of piece in place. There was a tiny gap along the leading edge of the wing and along the join on the fuselage. The join on the forward vertical surface needs to be filled anyway but you don't really want a step. Apart from the tiny gap the fit is fine with no step on both sides. The upper cowl was fitted at this stage. The instructions called for it to be fitted earlier but I'd dry fitted then, saw it fitted perfectly then decided I wanted to glue the lower pieces from the inside. Eduard, take a note... this is what you should have done with your Spitfire cowl's , instead of that stupid 2 piece arrangement Onto the tail planes. I ended up with little gaps here but I think it was because I rushed the fitment and didn't do a good enough job on the mating surfaces. There is a supposed to a join here, but this was a little to wide for my taste so I smeared some filler into the gap. Now the the airframe is pretty much complete so I removed the other parts from the sprue I needed to use and got them ready for painting. The prop tips and gear doors have some tiny sink marks that need filler The exhausts are but would benefit from being drilled out. I had a go at this and got most of them done OK, bu hose up a couple. I'll need fill the holes and try and redrill those but I think I'll look at some aftermarket ones . The wheels are probably the weakest parts of the kit. The wheels are 2 part affairs that don't have tread right up to the join which is a shame as they go together OK and the tread that is there is nice. And although you'd lose some detail when removing the join you'd still more tread to either re-scribe or still have a tyre that looks serviceable. I have got some Eduard wheels coming which I think I'll use. The drop tanks is nice. Last thing was to fit the gunsight/glareshield/windscreen assembly. The way Airfix engineered this is excellent. The gunsight has a good joint to the glarsheild and the glare shield a good join to the forward windscreen piece. This assembly just clicks into place and fits (just about) perfectly. I did end up with a very tiny step (again less than 0.0005" ) on the right side that I removed with a couple of scrapes with a knife. The left side was perfect. Conclusions on the Build Experience. My initial impressions when looking at this kit in the box was that it looked overly complicated for a 1/48 kit and I was a little worried that those pieces of the internal assembly, which were also part of the external fuselage would cause issues. But after actually building it the kit is actually pretty simple to put together. I estimate I only spent about 6-8 hours assembling the kit and I enjoyed every minute of it (I do like building more than painting though). Everything fits as designed and those internal assembly/fuselage pieces I was worried about work well ensuring the internal assembly sits correctly in the fuselage. Even the fit issues I've found are very minor in nature and are probably due to me not cleaning up the sprue attachment points as well as I should. I also like the plastic Airfix have used, it scribes nicely in the few areas I needed to restore some panel lines The cockpit is great for a 1/48 kit out of the box and the engraving on the kit is excellent. Where possible , having a big clear plastic piece for the forward windscreen that also forms part of the fuselage is the way every windscreen part should be (The Tamiya's F-14 does this as well). The only areas that I think could be improved are the treaded wheels and exhausts. Plus, as I’m lazy I’d also like a mask set. This kit is nearly as good as the Eduard Spitfire kits, which are my current bench mark for 1/48 prop kits. It is definitely better than and more fun to build than the Tamiya kit. I don’t really like the Mustang but I’d build more of this kit. Spend the time doing the basics, especially cleaning up the sprue attachment points and you’ll be rewarded with a trouble free build. Now onto the painting... Edited February 16, 2018 by Calum 11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Very nice model and some really good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Ok then there’s another on I’ll add to the list. You’re doing a fine job by the way. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJJunis Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Calum, Thank you for an outstanding build review of the kit. Your build is going very well. I hope your paint comes out as well. I have built the new tool Lancaster, 1/48 Hurricane and Stuka. It seems Airfix is progressing in closing the gap , so to speak, on the difference between the CAD Design with the actual tool cutting and molded parts. That is excellent. All the Best! Don 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 3 hours ago, The Spadgent said: Ok then there’s another on I’ll add to the list. You’re doing a fine job by the way. John +1 from me, I just don't know wether to go for this one or wait for the next release I'm beginning to regret having rushed into it and bought the Meng kit ( mainly for the correct wheel bay ) and being faced with having to fill the wing rivet detail. Cheers John G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 11 hours ago, DJJunis said: Calum, Thank you for an outstanding build review of the kit. Your build is going very well. I hope your paint comes out as well. I have built the new tool Lancaster, 1/48 Hurricane and Stuka. It seems Airfix is progressing in closing the gap , so to speak, on the difference between the CAD Design with the actual tool cutting and molded parts. That is excellent. All the Best! Don Thanks Don I've built the new tool Hurricane last year (or the year before). The Mustang is definitely better than the Hurricane I've also built the 1/48 Spitfire Mk 22/24 and a couple of the Lightnings which were generally considered Airifixes finiest kits up until recent times. The Mustang is significantly better than those. A mate is building the Walrus and he's said it seems to be relatively vice free (Between you and me he's not much of a modeller so if he's having no issues it must be simple ) Airfix do seem to be a company on the rise at the moment (kit wise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacificmustang Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 9 minutes ago, Calum said: A mate is building the Walrus and he's said it seems to be relatively vice free (Between you and me he's not much of a modeller so if he's having no issues it must be simple ) Airfix do seem to be a company on the rise at the moment (kit wise). Droll, very droll. Actually, between you and me Don, Calum's a bit Nice build and write up mate. It certainly looks a great model. Cockpit interior looks very busy out of the box It will look superb in the scheme you've chosen. Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stathis Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 I really like the interior. But I think that you have overdone the drybrushing at the black area behind the seat. I have the ICM kit and I see that Airfix has done a very nice job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, Stathis said: I really like the interior. But I think that you have overdone the drybrushing at the black area behind the seat. I have the ICM kit and I see that Airfix has done a very nice job! In those images it does look over done but you have to remember they are 2-3 times larger than the actual kit part. Edited January 23, 2018 by Calum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Paints on. Overall base coat is Tamiya AS-12 with some Alclad tints here and there. The Olive Drab is Mr Color (USAAF). The White is Mr color off white. The blacks in Tamiya NATO Black. The blue nose is Tamiya Flat blue with some white. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonio argudo Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 (edited) Nice work mate, the NMF looks great, one tip if I may, the armour seat was painted in black, does the new airfix kit mention it? looking forward to your progres I saw my ever first Mustang flying at Point Cook , are you from Melbourne? cheers Edited January 26, 2018 by antonio argudo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 (edited) I don't think you can beat Tamiya AS 12 as the base for a NMF, I use it all the time.I have unpacked kits which I brought here 12 years ago and it actually appears to have weathered. John Edited January 27, 2018 by Biggles87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 8 hours ago, antonio argudo said: Nice work mate, the NMF looks great, one tip if I may, the armour seat was painted in black, does the new airfix kit mention it? looking forward to your progres I saw my ever first Mustang flying at Point Cook , are you from Melbourne? cheers Airifx tell you to paint the whole seat green. 21 minutes ago, Biggles87 said: I don't think you can beat Tamiya AS 12 as the base for a NMF, I use it all the time.I have unpacked kits which I brought here 12 years ago and it actually appears to have weathered. John Agreed John, I don't do many NMF or silver finishes but I've always used AS12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum Posted February 9, 2018 Author Share Posted February 9, 2018 Got the decals on last week. Just got time to post the photos. I used the Airfix Decals for everything bar the art, codes and serial number. The Airfix decals are Cartogragh and went down well although they did need a bit of Mircosol and a fingernail to settle into the grooves. The nose art, codes and serials are from Kits-world. These also went down well. Although i found out they do not like really hot water. I did have to spent 20 minutes unravelling one of the codes.There is a little nick missing as a result of this.. I'm calling that weathering 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Nice Calum It is looking the biz there now. No doubt you will finish this weekend? Must add a P-51 (or 2) to the collection, well, the built collection that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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