Phantome

I think calling them dodgy is a bit unfair. There are some localized shape issues (Spit has a very flat top nose) but they look the part in the end. Perhaps the exaggerated Hurricane fabric is the worst offense. Should give the new Airfix kit a try one day...

I was planning to submit these for the KUTA group-build but figured I was not going to finish on time given the disaster in my last Mustang builds. I was right, didn't finish until today. Both kits had been painted but I was unhappy with the paint job so were stripped and re-done. Quite frankly I think the improvement was so modest I shouldn't have even bothered as it was very time consuming. The Hurricane Mk. I is the Hasegawa kit. It's fabulous, and has great fit, it's main issue being that it has a rather spartan cockpit which was propped with Eduard superfabric seats. This was a bit overkill since there's no open canopy option but oh well. Decals were from Sky Models and represent Douglas Bader's LE*D plane. I think the letters were a bit oversized and there was no serial markings although I have seen some profiles of it without serials. I did not like that the letters were a very pale gray that makes them look almost white once applied. They should be darker. The last issue was that because this kit had been in limbo for so long, I lost the wing lights transparencies. This is annoying since it's so obvious that they're missing, so will need to think about how to recreate them. The Spitfire Mk. I is the excellent Tamiya kit which despite some alleged shape issues looks pretty good to me and has amazing fit. I also used Eduard superfabric seats which also a bit overkill. Decals came from an Airfix kit. I love the oversized and slanted 610 squadron letters but the Airfix decals also had the problem of being too light, practically the same as the Hurricane. Anyway, enjoy the kits. My 2017 count is now 5!

I have a bad feeling it has a one-piece canopy (does not seem to be a seam between the two parts) I just don't. get. it.

Awesome build of what is IMHO the best kit ever made in 1/72.

It is my favorite Mustang of all. Loved it ever since I got my hands on a Hasegawa kit back in the 90s. It's a shame there's no aftermarket decals in 1/72 scale, although Superscale does one for 1/48 which I will definitely get around to using one day... Of the three builds I think the one I am most proud of is Bonnie B, mostly because doing the invasion stripes was such a pain!

And all three together

These are the completed builds from the recently finished P-51 STGB III which I did not complete on time. The original thread is here which has the work in progress. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235015012-phantomes-triple-172-build-2x-tamiya-p-51d-1x-academy-p-51b/ Quick summary of the three aircraft: 1) P-51D "Jumpin' Jacques" (Tamiya). Built OOB except for Eduard superfabric seatbelts (amazing stuff!). Decals were some spares from a Hasegawa kit. Paints were Mr Metal Color for the NMF and Gunze/Tamiya for everything else. Weathering was done with Flory washes, with Tamiya Smoke for the exhaust stains. 2) P-51D "Detroit Miss" (Tamiya). Same as above except decals from an old Microscale set. 3) P-51B "Bonnie B" (Academy). Same as above except decals from Xtradecals. Color was Gunze H73 as Olive Drab. I was extremely pleased. Gunze totally botched RAF Dark Green (which is what it was supposed to be) and unwittingly created a very nice faded olive drab with just the right amount of green and brown. H73 was also used for the olive drab anti-glare in the other two aircraft. Weathering was done with Humbrol enamel wash. There are a few inaccuracies in the markings, some my fault some from the decals.In particular I was not pleased with Detroit Miss as the markings seem somewhat oversized. Also I think the Bonnie B markings on this set are incorrect (no locomotive kill mark and Bonnie B should be white). I used TallyHo decals for the insignia of the first two planes which ended up being noticeably translucent (and did not conform to panel lines). Terrible stuff. Anyway, were fun builds and reminded me why the Tamiya 1/72 Mustang is my favorite kit in the universe (and the Academy P-51B is nearly as good)

Just saw this, what a godsend! Such a shame that site went down without warning. Thanks for sharing

There's also such a thing as common sense: "Hey, you don't think that modellers who spend on a kit as detailed as this will want to display it with the canopy open?" "Nonsense! Who does that!?"

Actually, the 1/72 Italeri has a very characteristic "hump" behind the cockpit which really spoils the look. Rarely do you see this mentioned in reviews for some odd reason... Being the same price as the Revell it's not worth the price in any way, although one of the Luftwaffe boxings has the submunition dispenser that was used in the 80s.

A black-gray type paint is great for these cockpits. You can then create a bit of contrast with the side panels and dials with proper black. And although the Jaguar does genuinely look like the cockpit is black, some other allegedly black cockpits are really dark grays (like the Rafale) http://smg.photobucket.com/user/cesm1/media/RafaleCOCKPIT.jpg.html

None of which are exactly original. Another P-38 dual combo box? Pffft...

What does AZ Model/Kopro have against drop tanks?! Seriously annoying. Don't they have someone from the company frequenting these forums? I vaguely recall. Can't believe they haven't realized the negative feedback. Shame because that brown/blue camo scheme (white 43) looks killer.

I've given up on Academy now that all their new otherwise-super-amazing kits come with single-piece canopies. Such a waste of great engineering...

Ok, this will be my last post as they are almost finished. I only need to add some streaks of Tamiya smoke and a panel line wash (and later a matt coat on Bonnie B). The finished results will be displayed in the Ready for Inspection forum at some point in the near future. Slightly sad that I missed the deadline but was a wonderfully fun build! 'Till Mustang STGB IV...

That has to be a new record for a modern tactical fighter MSRP not by Hasegawa. Oh well, I'm sure there'll be cheaper prices via eBay

Ok so this is the end result of my efforts. Got up to the decalling stage Bonnie B is coming out particularly well, as is the Jumpin Jacques despite some liberties I took (no blue lines around the olive drab anti-glare panel). I am less pleased with Detroit Miss. The Microscale decals appear too big making it look somewhat toy-like. Also don't think standard blue is appropriate, would look better with something darker/more orange like RLM04. So why did I not finish? Masking! Took hours and Bonnie B was particularly difficult not just because of the invasion stripes but because of the annoying olive drab bits inside the stripes. At least it came out pretty good in the end.

Unfortunately I have not been able to finish I will post pics here tomorrow to show how far I got and then post the finished pics in the Ready for Inspection thread. Was a valiant attempt though!!

Trench-like panel lines and some other inaccuracies. That said, thanks to the sheer size of it the panel lines don't like that awful and you can produce something quite decent with it. http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=172&t=16354

Nothing much to see for non-anime fans. Yet another disappointing 2017 catalogue. This truly is turning into a most dismal year for modelling (dismal in the sense that nothing much worth excited about is coming out) And of course there's the price issue (which is mostly Amerang to blame). Thanks to ebay though, I probably have not paid full price for a Hase kit in half a decade.

What I did not like about Mr Metal Color is that it has yet to cure, hours after spraying. Masking does not lift the paint but leaves reside on the tape and the plane. A solution to this is to simply rub with a cloth but still a bit annoying. I think my next experiment with NMF will be decanted Tamiya AS-12 as it's a primer in itself and dries rock hard from what I've read.

Big day today. Trying out lots of new products. Some good, some a bit disappointing. The good: Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 in gray. I have used Mr Surfacer for priming in the past but this stuff is light years better. I'm talking best primer by a long shot. Sprays like a charm with a lovely, smooth finish. I am not using a different primer. Ever. Next up was Mr Metal Color for the natural metal. I had only brush painted it before and the result was amazing for the aluminum (218) although a bit more grainy for the chrome silver (211). Spraying was less great. Coverage was fantastic but it was far from chrome-like perfection. I suspect this is because I did not polish the primer. On the plus, side, it resulted in a sort of "matte aluminum" finish which looks better at a distance for a WW2 bird. The gun panels were sprayed with Chrome Silver do give some contrast. Plan remains to do the original aircraft, Bonnie B, Detroit Miss and Jumpin Jacques. I have painted the stripes on the two -51Ds, but will re-do them on the -51B for convenience in masking. Bonnie B was painted with Gunze H73 which as suspected, looked like a really nice faded Olive Drab. I have compared with Xtracrylix Faded Olive Drab and it is even more convincing, as it has a more brownish tint but not entirely brown as would be H62. This will be a photo finish but have nothing to do tomorrow so I think I'll manage. Somehow.

I really wish Airfix attempted to break into segments where it would have a comparative advantage, say French aircraft (hugely neglected in 1/72) rather than do aircraft that have been done by others in the past and that they should have the humility to know they will not improve on. Frankly Airfix detail is still nowhere near up to par with 80/90s Fujimi or Hasegawa so making an effort with a Phantom or a B-25 seems... odd. Ok, the Phantom will be a British variant and there's a UK market for it but a B-25? An A-26 would have made so much more sense since only Italeri has done one and that's probably the only mainstream kit manufacturer that Airfix can beat out on quality. Many other options one could think would have been better choices. Then there's the issue that Airfix has been hiking its prices to levels that frankly don't correspond to quality. £9.99 for their absolutely atrocious Bf-109G? One of the worst kits in 1/72 in recent memory? What a joke. All in all, I'm really disappointed with the offerings for 2017 in 1/72 by the major manufacturers. You really wonder who their marketing people are whether they really have a clue on what modellers want.

Update with the Academy fin fillet tail piece. Canopies have been masked and models are almost ready to be primed.

Academy has arrived! Question: I notice that a lot of modellers have the top part of the P-51D seat (where the headrest is) painted black. However, I have not found a single WW2 picture to confirm this. Was this standard practice?