Chris Jephcott Posted June 26, 2012 Posted June 26, 2012 (edited) It\'s my full intention to enter this, having been roped into it by Andy. And this will be the one I attempt: More Alclad coming right now! In the meantime, I\'d better try and finish my Trumpeter Lightning build! Chris Edited July 29, 2012 by Chris Jephcott
Chris Jephcott Posted June 26, 2012 Author Posted June 26, 2012 Hello Don! Why, indeed - there's a sense of deja-vu about this
Chris Jephcott Posted June 30, 2012 Author Posted June 30, 2012 And it's off to a great start: Just called off block standby and must now nightstop tonight - when I was hoping to start this tomorrow morning. Oh well! Slight delay... nevermind!
Chris Jephcott Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 So anyway... I've finally got around to making a start on this, as work has hit a bit of a lull at the moment: It's a fairly ubiquitous kit - most of us will have probably made one at some time or another, and equally, I'm fairly sure that most of you are saying "Oh crikey, here's another Mustang". So why did I chose the kit as my first build for this group build? For me... The P-51D represents pretty much the ultimate in all piston engined fighters. The fact that it was still serving in the Korean War, and continued with active service in various air forces around the world, is a testiment to the strength and design of the aircraft. She not only looks graceful, elegant and fast, but apparently was an absolute dream to fly too. The CAS role in the Korean War was where the F-51D really showed its flexibility as a ground attack aircraft. The sleek lines were cluttered by the addition of the rockets, and, it was a case of the old World War II fighter meeting the modern role as it fought alongside the more modern jets! So with that in mind, I started this build. It's a pretty straight forward Tamiya Kit really - you know what you're getting and you know it will fit well (unless great daft fingers take over!) My starting point, as with many builds, was the cockpit. Most F-51D aircraft in the Korean War were actually refurbished P-51Ds. On the way out to the conflict, this meant that there weren't too many changes, but the most noticable (according to my sources!) was that the cockpit became a "coal hole" - so the seat, cockpit and area around the cockpit were painted in an anti-corrosive black paint. So, this seemed like the logical first step. I sprayed these surfaces in Vallejo Model Air black And then sprayed the area aft of the cockpit, including the radio bay in Vallejo Interior Green: I then proceeded to highlight the details to add some texture, using Tamiya Nato Black and a mix of Vallejo Interior Green and Black Green: The details were then dry brushed with Citadel Chainmail and various handles and buttons were painted red and yellow, according to pictures of the cockpit. I also added several bits of detail including a new radio panel and canopy release, and extended the oxygen hose: Finally, I painted up the instrument panel: And added it to the cockpit tub: Now, I'm waiting for tomorrow to come round as I'm collecting some lionroar USAF seatbelts off Smuts at the club meeting tomorrow night, so I can continue onwards with this. Cheers, Chris
AndyC Posted July 10, 2012 Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) Nice start Chris - I was toying with the idea of one of these, possibly SAAF, but the old Able Dog won out in the end Edited July 10, 2012 by AndyC
Chris Jephcott Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 Thank you very much - my camera does tend to show my work in a massive close up, and in the most unflattering way though!!
smuts Posted July 10, 2012 Posted July 10, 2012 belts wot belts ........................nice work on the pit mate Andy.
Chris Jephcott Posted July 23, 2012 Author Posted July 23, 2012 Sorry about the pause in this build - I have been on holiday for a week and finally am getting around to doing the photos! So... this kit just falls together. It's almost perfect with very little need for sanding, and I don't think I've actually used any filler on it at all as of yet! I then primed it in Vallejo Model Air Aluminium, covered with a layer of Klear: When this had dried, I went over the panels with Tamiya Smoke as a preshade: Before covering in Alclad aluminium: That's all the photos that I have at the moment, however, I have now covered the whole silver airframe with a light dusting of Alclad Polished Aluminium and then added the different coloured areas. I will update this when I get half a chance to do so!
Chris Jephcott Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) Thank you very much! So I've done a bit more work, but had a little bit of a finger slip - and the slogan: "Was that too fast?" has broken in 2 on the fuselage. EDIT: And also, upon looking, I've also discovered that a "FF-943" decal has come apart on the side of the fuselage too!! Bother! Does anyone have any spare decals for the above that they could help me with please??? Many thanks, Chris Edited July 25, 2012 by Chris Jephcott
SaintsPhil Posted July 26, 2012 Posted July 26, 2012 That's a real pain, the number of times I've put a model down to discover the odd decal on the end of a stubby digit! I would suggest the wanted section is your best bet, you may be in luck with the Mustang STGB having finished only a couple of months ago! Phil
Peter W Posted July 26, 2012 Posted July 26, 2012 Chris, Is it the Tamiya decal sheet that you want, or are you using aftermarket decals? If it's the Tamiya then I'm certain that I have a couple of this boxing in my loft and you can gladly have the decals from one of them. PM me your address and I'll dig them out. Pete
Chris Jephcott Posted July 28, 2012 Author Posted July 28, 2012 Hi Peter, Please excuse the delay in getting back to you - I've had a very busy few days at work and have only just got around to checking the forums again! The situation has now been sorted - but thank you so much for your offer! I must just be more careful with my thumbs in the future!! Cheers, Chris
Chris Jephcott Posted July 29, 2012 Author Posted July 29, 2012 Well there's not too much to say about this kit - it just falls together, which is unlike anything I've made recently! So with a bit of work, this is where I've got myself up to over the last week - sorry about the lighting in these photos - I'm not sure why the photos have come out like this: And spent today doing the rockets and bombs: I hope to get this one finished in the next few days now!
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