erikmuntz Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Hello Mish and everyone else! This group build has been eating away at my conscience ever since it started so I finally made a decision: to attempt to trade for a P-51D from Tamiya. The person I offered the trade to declined the trade but sent me the Mustang anyway simply out of kindliness. Thanks again, Chad! As the release for Red Tails gets closer and closer, I've decided to do a red tail. I've traded the F-51 decals for some Aeromaster decals and since this will be my first all NMF airplane I might have to pick up some micromesh. I'm going to be using some HGW seatbelts (vinyl and Edward photoetch) along with this build to spice up the cockpit. Some of you may remember my P-47D build and I'm planning to approach this build much like that one, adding a lot of wiring and detailing to make it more accurate while not chopping the kit up at all. I'm also going to do some scratchbuilding with a Pepsi can for the first time so we'll see how that works. The kit The sprues The vinyl part of the belts The etch part This should be a fun build and I'm really looking forward to building along side you guys. I might get some done tonight but with football playoffs that is questionable. Hope you guys don't mind me jumping in right now and I'm really hoping I can make a good one out of this kit. Erik Edited March 1, 2012 by erikmuntz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 (edited) Welcome Erik Nice choice of Group ,saw the P51B at Flight of Fantasy in Florida done in Lee "Buddy" Archer bird "INA The MACON BELLE" markings. Which Red Tail are you doing. wellzy Edited January 15, 2012 by wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hey Wellzy, That is such a beautiful aircraft, and if I ever do another P-51B (which is almost guaranteed) it will most likely be that one. I'm planning on doing either Bonnie or Little Freddie. I don't know anything about the pilots so I'm gonna run by the library and see if I can't find some autobiographies. Here is a link to the aeromaster sheet I'll be using. Here I'm hoping to use a few different shades of Alclad on this one and give Krylon a try for the first time. I hope to get some progress done today on the cockpit! Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter W Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Erik, I considered doing a Tuskegee plane for one of my builds but have saved it for later. I really like the look of those HGW belts and am intrigued to see how they turn out. I fancy getting some for my 1/32nd scale Tamiya P-51D. Good luck with this one. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hey guys, Today, I spent 9 hours trying to get the seatbelts together with no luck whatsoever. nine.........! The material isn't good at all and it curls up if it is stretched even a little. The photoetch is good but its impossible to thread the material through the etch like its supposed to. Peter....it might be easier in 1/32 but I had a heck of a hard time getting these to work. The material is really really flimsy and doesn't cooperate, the instructions are terrible, and the work is just not worth the end product, IMHO. Think I'm gonna try and get a set of pre painted 1/48 harnesses from Eduard for the job or just scratch some. Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hey Erik 9 hours on a set of belts! Wow! I hadn't heard of them before and I probably will avoid in the future after hearing of your experience with them. Eduard pre-painted are the way to go although I often use wine bottle foil cut and painted. Nice kit though and she should look great when done Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hey Erik9 hours on a set of belts! Wow! I hadn't heard of them before and I probably will avoid in the future after hearing of your experience with them. Eduard pre-painted are the way to go although I often use wine bottle foil cut and painted. Nice kit though and she should look great when done Andy Hey Andy, I wouldn't avoid them as they do have great potential and if you spy a cheap set, I'd certainly try them. I might have done something wrong and since I'm not the best modeler, lack of skills could have also played a part. I'll probably give 'em a shot again sooner or later. I got the lap belts done but then the shoulder straps just curled up on my if I stretched them even a little. They also look a little big for scale. Oh well, I need to study for finals and then I hope to get some done on the IP and cockpit. Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) Hey guys, Now that I'm putting my P-40 away I plan to start chugging away on this one. Due to school (finals week in high school) I don't plan on doing any building but I will still be watching everyone else's builds! Just to prove I've gotten SOMETHING done () I decided to post this. Since I hope to detail this build with scratchbuilding like my P-47, thought I'd start off simple. The seat and scuff plates were made using a Pepsi can. A good, thin material, and easy to chip, too! I will be out of town starting Friday but next week, next week I'll really get building I'm late to the party but it will still be fun!! Erik Edited January 18, 2012 by erikmuntz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi Erik Good luck with your Finals,see you when your done. wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Hi Erik Good luck with your Finals,see you when your done. wellzy Thanks, Wellzy! I got a C on my math final, but A's and B's on everything else. Stupid math. Now that I've had a stressful week, I'm so very happy to be able to sit back down on at the bench again. Sigh, what a good feeling. Just a short update today with three pictures. Started with the pit and IP to get back into the mojo. The floor was fun to work on, as was everything else, actually. Here is the floor, not so sure if I like it or not. The wood feel is there but I think there isn't enough of the lighter yellow. Oh well, it was my first try at any type of wood. The IP was painted black, then the kit decal was placed on. The "fit" was great and all the decals lined up perfectly. One is a little of but it looks fine. Still waiting for a flat coat and then gloss for the instruments. The fuel selector was brush painted interior green and then I tried to get the black selection panel painted right. It looks the part. Also drilled out the exhausts with a 76 drill bit. Didn't wanna go much bigger as it would risk making the plastic too thin and also didn't wanna risk missing the middle and screwing through the side. When the oil paint dries, I'm going to spray some flat and then mask off and start with the flat black and interior green for the cockpit. Any comments/criticism/trash talk/question are more than welcome Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Good start Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) Nothing wrong with being late, Erik, glad to have you with us. Ian - Co-host Britmodeller 2011 P-51 Mustang STGB - Edited January 22, 2012 by Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Good start Erik Thanks, Mish. Hoping to make one as good as yours! Looking good. Thanks, haven't gotten much time to work but she's coming along. Nothing wrong with being late, Erik, glad to have you with us.Ian - Co-host Britmodeller 2011 P-51 Mustang STGB - Better late than never, I guess Hey guys, I'm back with another 3 picture update. You may wonder why I'm posting these pictures instead of waiting till I get more done. First, since I'm in high school, nobody models and I need to talk to someone about modeling, thus, I turn to my friends here to talk to. 2) You guys give really good advice so I'm still trying to pick stuff up when posting on here and I know that the only way to get better is to practice and to learn from the master. You guys are the masters I was sick today so my mum let me stay home from school and I got a little more done. Drilled out the gun barrels (which I forgot to take a picture of) and did the props, spinner, and put a wee bit more detail on the seat. The bar behind the seat was my addition as well as the side bars. When you put the seat on the backing, you can see that the detail adds a little but not a lot, but I'm happy that I did it. Plus, what else would I have done with a low fever? And the prop assembly, kinda. The prop has a gloss coat and is awaiting some decals. Thanks for looking and comments/criticism are welcome. Till the next 3 picture update , Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Thanks, Mish. Hoping to make one as good as yours! Looking good Erik. There's still time for me to ruin mine yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Nice work Erik I know the Mustang floor is wood but it did have a black non slip finish on it that got very worn. good luck wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergrunt Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Erik Welcome back, your tuskegee is looking awsome!! My Great Uncle was a Tuskegee Airman. Keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Looking good Erik.There's still time for me to ruin mine yet You couldn't possibly mess up Passion Wagon now! That build was fantastic!! Plus, your teasing build right now looked really good at your last update! (that's a huge hint for an update WITH pictures) Nice work ErikI know the Mustang floor is wood but it did have a black non slip finish on it that got very worn. good luck wellzy This comment inspired the work shown below. Thanks for the info! ErikWelcome back, your tuskegee is looking awsome!! My Great Uncle was a Tuskegee Airman. Keep it up. That is very cool! Do you know of any details involving his aircraft? Alright, since the P-51D did have a black protective coat I decided to give that a try...with chipping First thing I did was spray some black over and then chip the black paint with a tooth pick while it was still a wee bit wet. Did it work like I wanted it to? Well....not quite. The toothpick also sanded off the oil paint that gave the floor the wood feel. Anyway, onto the pics. Now I just wanted to see what it looked liked with the seat and IP Didn't quite get the look I was after but it'll do. I might go back with a spotter and try to add some oil paints to add the floor grain again. Not sure though. Depends on what I feel like Once again, let me know what you guys think and if you guys have any criticism! Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Hi Elik Try the wood grain let it dry hard then a coat of kleer, then dry brush the black. wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hey guys, I sprained and maybe fractured my ankle yesterday so I got quite a bit done on the P-51. I used the HGW lapbelts as they looked great, but the shoulder harnesses just didn't work out so I cut some tape and used that. I plan to have the canopy closed so even though the shades are a little off, they should be fine. Also got the exhausts painted up. Light wash and drybrushing. Let me know what you guys think! I closed her up but didn't snap a picture. I'm going back to the bench after I watch The Pacific and I'll update this either later tonight or tomorrow. I wish you all the best and let me know what you think. Erik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hi Erik The cockpit looks great keeping it going wellzy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 Hey guys, A quick poll. I'm at the point now where I need to decide between an open and a closed canopy and really can't decide so I chose to turn to this group build. Open?.... Or closed?... It looks good both ways, IMHO, so what do you guys think? I'd love for everyone to viole their opinions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I like to see open canopies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmuntz Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) I like to see open canopies And open takes the lead with 1 vote!! Thanks Mish, I think I might just leave it open, now Alright, who here likes albino Mustangs? Conspicuous in the summer, but stealthy in the winter. But anywho. Got the mustang primed up a little while ago. I filled most gaps just by running some MEK over them and the plastic seemed to close onto itself. The only place I couldn't seem to get to was...well, you'll see. Alcald Grey Primer. I'm going to go back over the whole model in black, but decided to shoot grey onto it first to 1) deal with seams and 2) prep the surface for some Acrylic paint for the yellow stripe as well as the wingtips and the red tail. This was the culprit. I didn't know what to do here so I just left it unfiilled it makes me sad that the ONE place that would be difficult to fill has a seam. If any of you have ideas on how to fill this, please let me know. I'm very proud of this panel line rescribing and rivet fixing work. It took me a little over an hour to refill on the panel lines I'd scratched away. I think I'm getting better at this seam filling thing! You'll notice some primer was wiped off from one of the flaps. I had an episode with my airbrush cleaning cup and it fell over and the top came off, spilling lacquer thinner all over the place. I'm really pretty lucky it was only the flap and after a quick respray, no one will be able to tell. Let me know what you guys think. Over it will be Duraluminum with aluminum access panels, gear, drop tanks, and such. Erik Edited February 7, 2012 by erikmuntz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 To fill and sand that little bit use some thin CA glue and sand with a skinny stick, here is my assistant modelling a selection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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